23cf Bighorn gun safe at Costco

[Scout8787]

has anyone had any experience buying gun safes used? would like to save some dough

 

[Scout8787]

does anyone have a recommendation on the cheapest most solid safe?

 

[Alexx1401]

does anyone have a recommendation on the cheapest most solid safe?

This is impossible to really answer. What is the budget you want to spend? Every time this comes up there is always a lot of people telling anyone that nothing is worth having if some bank would not use it. Great for those who have that kind of cash. For the rest of the real world its like guns. ANY safe beats no safe. To compare look at the fire rating and the Gage of steel will give you a benchmark to compare. Then of course is it delivered or are you going to truck it home. Next is placement. Bolting down is VERY good. Even better is can you put it in a closet and bolt it down. The whole idea is make your stuff a little harder to get than the next guys. Along with a safe alarms are super cheap now days. Another is legal liability. ANY safe that someone has to break into makes it FAR better for you if guns are stolen then used in a crime.
As for used? Sure why the hell not. If you find one with the rating you like and price is much lower? Why not. Again any safe beats no safe.

 

[Mikej]

This is impossible to really answer. What is the budget you want to spend? Every time this comes up there is always a lot of people telling anyone that nothing is worth having if some bank would not use it. Great for those who have that kind of cash. For the rest of the real world its like guns. ANY safe beats no safe. To compare look at the fire rating and the Gage of steel will give you a benchmark to compare. Then of course is it delivered or are you going to truck it home. Next is placement. Bolting down is VERY good. Even better is can you put it in a closet and bolt it down. The whole idea is make your stuff a little harder to get than the next guys. Along with a safe alarms are super cheap now days. Another is legal liability. ANY safe that someone has to break into makes it FAR better for you if guns are stolen then used in a crime.
As for used? Sure why the hell not. If you find one with the rating you like and price is much lower? Why not. Again any safe beats no safe.

What he says ^^^^^^.

I might add, that if looking at used, with a battery powered lock, check the pad for heavy usage. And maybe do a little research to see if parts are available in case of issues after you get it in your home.

 

[Martini_Up]

does anyone have a recommendation on the cheapest most solid safe?

A used Cannon. Whatever the seller is asking, go 20-25% below… unless it's free and the wife just wants it out of the garage. Don't forget to ask for the combo

 

[Koda]

does anyone have a recommendation on the cheapest most solid safe?

Liberty Centurion 16gun is a solid affordable safe. Not too big one cant move themselves with a hand truck. You can find or order one at Sportsmans Warehouse.

In the same price range Browning makes a similar safe and should be a solid design.

If you want to go "cheapest" know the difference between a locking gun cabinet and a safe, do not get a cabinet. The cheapest safe I know of is the Vital Impact 16gun at Sportsmans for $500. No experience with this brand just that its about as low as you will probably find a safe at that might be worth looking at.

When it comes to selecting a safe, do not pick the cheapest one get the absolute most expensive one you can afford. There are no industry standards on what "secure" or "fireproof" means and so we are at the trust of the manufacturers claims.

 

[Koda]

Just want to make it clear that I'm not arguing against redundancy here - having a mechanical backup in case you're in that 1-2%

Just not seeing any good data that electric lock fail rates are worse than mechanical ones (provided you choose good locks, of course ). This one is a SecuRam if I'm not mistaken, which is one of the brands mentioned as reliable.

Back to this subject for a minute, fail rates aside, does anyone know if electronic locks easier to pick/defeat than mechanical ones?

 

[JRuby]

I bought a liberty centurion back around 2005 with a mechanical lock, I think it's a 32 gun safe. Think it cost 1400$. Liked it so well picked up another liberty safe back in 2023 and it was 2800$. I had them set the combo the same on both safes. I have a lot of faith in the mechanical combo locks. I like the liberty safes.

 

[Paolung]

does anyone have a recommendation on the cheapest most solid safe?

Bimart usually has some cheap ones. No idea how good they are, may want to look into it. They aren't very big, I do know that.

 

[Provincial]

I bought a used Browning safe with an electronic lock years ago. Sometimes it took several tries to get it to open. I finally bought a "commercial grade" S&G lock, and it has been trouble-free ever since.

It was quite easy to upgrade, and I think, well worth it. I bought the new lock off Ebay, from a commercial locksmith.

 

[Mikej]

It was quite easy to upgrade, and I think, well worth it. I bought the new lock off Ebay, from a commercial locksmith.

That would be something to research some before dropping a grand, or close to that, on a safe before buying. New, OR used.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I've had a Colonial 50 by Liberty safe w/electronic lock for over 5 years and only had to change one battery. Although they state that you must use Duracell 9 V batteries only. I tried using others but they just would not work for some reason.
I loathe Duraleak batteries.

 

[P7M13]

Why? What's wrong with a digital lock?

Imagine when the cheap electronics (and they are CHEAP electronics) fail, but you want (need?) to get into your safe.

Yup. Had one fail - it was the solenoid.
Replaced it with a dial lock years ago and have been trouble free since. It's not hard or too expensive.

with failure rates estimated to be low, often less than 1-2% over several years, based on industry discussions and user reports.

1-2% in any safety related industry is a massive red flag.

has anyone had any experience buying gun safes used? would like to save some dough

Except for my very first one, all my safes are used. Be patient and know the value of a safe. if a safe is open but they don't know the combo any more, that's easy to fix. Some safe companies will give you the code of a safe lock after you submit all the proper docs. My cheapest one was a "24 gun" safe for $50 because it was locked and the guy didn't know the code. It cost $75 to work with the manufacturer to get a master unlock code that was based on the safe serial number.

I loathe Duraleak batteries.

Absolutely!

 

[Paolung]

1-2% in any safety related industry is a massive red flag

Then don't get a safe, because the fail rate is the same for mechanical or electronic. Neither is more reliable than the other.

 

[P7M13]

Then don't get a safe, because the fail rate is the same for mechanical or electronic. Neither is more reliable than the other.

I'm on my 5th one. Yes, had two failures.

 

[ShooterMcQ]

I'm always eyeing those deals on safes at Costco, and yah I'm in the manual lock camp. I mean, how much trust would you put in a gun with an electronic trigger ?

 

[Pete F]

I have had my Liberty Centurion for decades with a S&G electronic lock. Although they are not considered "safes," but are considered "residential security containers" (RSC). I think that mine is at least 12 gauge with a thicker door. I would prefer an 10 gauge or better and a true safe. Unfortunately they start around $3000 and the one that I looked at several years ago was over $4000 at a local distributor (Bulldog Tuff).

My wife has a Bighorn safe (RSC) from Costco that isn't as good as mine, but isn't bad either. We keep financial documents, jewelry, coins, gold and silver, etc. It has a good fireproof rating and the important documents are in another small safe inside - key lock.

If you ever get to the St Helens/Warren area, stop in at Bulldog Tuff Safes. They sell real safes that no-one would even try to get into without heavy duty cutting torches or electronic safe cracking equipment. My next safe will be from there.

 

[Mikej]

There was a safe brand at the ARPC gun show that I'd never seen before. I'll damned if I can remember the brand name though. It was a huge white safe. It was only $1,900.00. The guy said about $500.00 to deliver/set-up to potland from Woodburn. Made me wish I had room for another safe. I think I could of swung it with some frugality hint's from @arakboss ?

 

[Bacchus]

Many (many!) decades ago I saw a plan to build a kid level lock box of some sort that involved a battery and probably a nail with a coil of wire around it. Little League stuff. But, the '+' and '-' inside battery connections were also connected to a couple of innocent-looking screws on the outside of the lock box. If the battery died, you could simply connect an external battery to the two outside screws and thus have power long enough to get into the box.

 

[titsonritz]

Just want to make it clear that I'm not arguing against redundancy here - having a mechanical backup in case you're in that 1-2%

Just not seeing any good data that electric lock fail rates are worse than mechanical ones (provided you choose good locks, of course ). This one is a SecuRam if I'm not mistaken, which is one of the brands mentioned as reliable.

I've seen it happen twice, once with my stuff behind door. I'll never trust or own one without a manual lock. Proof enough for me.