[DragonClaw]

Looks like I'll have the cash to get a safe and take my kids (guns) with me when I leave.

Looking at bass pro or Cabellas (same now).

What are good features for safes? What are things to avoid?

I don't want one that relies solely on battery power. My dad has 2 change his battery like every 2 weeks and that's a hassle.

What's the average fire burn fire intensity and duration? What rating should be good enough?

How heavy should it be, empty?

I'm looking for maybe 12-20 long guns and like a dozen pistols. What's the cost of something like that?

How do I sneak it to the second or higher floor of an apartment (I don't want to get base floor,
that seems like it's more likely to get broken into) without drawing attention to myself?

Thanks!

 

[Fitasc Shooter]

How much are your guns worth? Go cheap and you will regret it. Solid steel plate is better then the thicker-looking composite door. The heavier the better.. Mine is over a year old and still on the original battery - your dad has something else wrong if he has to change it every 2 weeks. Look for 90 minutes fire rating at 1700 or better
You're not going to be sneaking it up the stairs as a good safe will require several strong folks and possibly some equipment to do that.

As to capacity, if any of your long guns have scopes, pistol grips like ARs, etc. figure the real capacity to be 1/3 to 1/2 of what the maker states; so a 30 gun safe will more likely hold 10-15

 

[DragonClaw]

How much are your guns worth? Go cheap and you will regret it. Solid steel plate is better then the thicker-looking composite door. The heavier the better.. Mine is over a year old and still on the original battery - your dad has something else wrong if he has to change it every 2 weeks. Look for 90 minutes fire rating at 1700 or better
You're not going to be sneaking it up the stairs as a good safe will require several strong folks and possibly some equipment to do that.

As to capacity, if any of your long guns have scopes, pistol grips like ARs, etc. figure the real capacity to be 1/3 to 1/2 of what the maker states; so a 30 gun safe will more likely hold 10-15

I only have 2 long guns and 2 pistols right now. The AR is probably the most expensive. I don't have anything irreplaceable or collector. Dad says I can have a 12 ga when I move out for self defense.

BUT, I want all my guns and stuff to be safe. I don't want to skimp. Plus, my safe will only get more full, so I want to have room for growth.

I mean, it's a little C 9 volt battery or something, I dunno how long it's supposed to last. He uses a rechargeable battery. I think maybe a month, but he changes out on schedule to avoid it dying.

90 minutes , 1700 degrees?

Hmm. Then how do I disguise it's a gun safe?

Dad has a safe with a glass plate in it and if the plate breaks (IE someone trying to drill into it, etc) the safe locks or something. Is that a common feature?

I've got a few scopes and accessories, nothing crazy.

 

[Fitasc Shooter]

Most big box safes are made in China; quality can be suspect, especially if they are sold for cheap. Quality costs money. Liberty's better lines, Sturdy Safes, Amsec, Graffunder all make quality. Personally, buy once cry once, get it bigger than you'll think you need and go from there. If you live where it is humid, don't forget about some form of dehumidifier for the onside - either a box of desiccant or a golden rod

 

[DragonClaw]

Most big box safes are made in China; quality can be suspect, especially if they are sold for cheap. Quality costs money. Liberty's better lines, Sturdy Safes, Amsec, Graffunder all make quality. Personally, buy once cry once, get it bigger than you'll think you need and go from there. If you live where it is humid, don't forget about some form of dehumidifier for the onside - either a box of desiccant or a golden rod

Yes, I'll cry. But it will be mine and I can trust it.

Humid. Texas...? I mean, el nino and the gulf and where I live now is subtropical and we get a fair bit of rain.

But it's not Hawaii.

 

[Fitasc Shooter]

I live in Florida and I have an electric Golden Rod PLUS 3 boxes of desiccant - all guns are in silicone socks and no issues.

 

[DragonClaw]

I live in Florida and I have an electric Golden Rod PLUS 3 boxes of desiccant - all guns are in silicone socks and no issues.

What's a golden rod?

 

[Fitasc Shooter]

Electric dehumidifier for safes. Google will give you the details.

 

[Wag]

https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/

--Wag--

 

[Speed]

I post this vid every time this topic comes up.

 

[Levant]

I only have 2 long guns and 2 pistols right now. The AR is probably the most expensive. I don't have anything irreplaceable or collector. Dad says I can have a 12 ga when I move out for self defense.

BUT, I want all my guns and stuff to be safe. I don't want to skimp. Plus, my safe will only get more full, so I want to have room for growth.

I mean, it's a little C 9 volt battery or something, I dunno how long it's supposed to last. He uses a rechargeable battery. I think maybe a month, but he changes out on schedule to avoid it dying.

90 minutes , 1700 degrees?

Hmm. Then how do I disguise it's a gun safe?

Dad has a safe with a glass plate in it and if the plate breaks (IE someone trying to drill into it, etc) the safe locks or something. Is that a common feature?

I've got a few scopes and accessories, nothing crazy.

Don't get an electronic lock. An electronic lock is one of two disasters waiting to happen:
1. It doesn't have a key backup and the lock quits - now you have to destroy your safe to get in it.
2. It does have a key backup - and your safe is actually just a key safe, not a combination safe.

Get a mechanical lock.

But then, I watched a video on youtube (can't find it now) of a lock smith open a multi-million dollar bank vault in 5 minutes. He was an expert at opening safes but had never done anything like a bank vault. Simply by feeling the action in his fingertips, on the first try of the vault, any bank vault for that matter, opened the lock by "feeling" the combination and did it in 5 minutes.

So, the best option for now? Good insurance. But soon insurance won't help because you won't be able to replace lost guns so get the safe.

Relockers are pretty common. I think you would have a hard time finding a name-brand safe without a relocker but the glass relocker is more high-end. It's also more fragile. If it trigger in an earthquake or attempted breakin you will have to cut the safe open. For most gun owners, the value of the guns is higher than the value of the safe - make sure yours has a relocker. You can weigh your own values and risks to see if you need a glass relocker but you do need a relocker.

 

[Gimp]

It depends on who you are trying to keep out.

If your trying to keep thieves or would be thieves out including family that will have long period of time to work on the safe. you will want to go with reenforced walls , back, top and floors. No point buying a safe with a expensive heavy front door if the walls and top and back are only protected by sheet metal and hollow cavity. donlt forget the deep set oversize bolting to preferably concrete floor.

If you insist on having a locking mechinism that is electronic, make sure there is a way to manually lock and unlock in case of power failure or shorting. example the feared EM pulse from the sun that NASA been warning us about or nuclear EM pulse. And god forbid if they came up with a non nuclear based EM pulse.

 

[Gimp]

Quote: "Hmm. Then how do I disguise it's a gun safe?"



Dad embedded his in the concrete floor under a false floor panel in a closet. with the door opening up. He did this to make it look as if ne did not have a safe anf to deal with the weak walls of the safe by having concrete floor against it.