Gun Safe?

[pdxjohann]

Would this work as a Gun Safe? Maybe it's a good deal. Any opinions?

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[MarkSBG]

I believe that this is the same safe that mountain view safe sells for a little bit less than Costco's discounted price. If the costco price includes delievery, then you could save some money with the one from costco. I believe that MVS sells theirs for $850. (That was the price last year anyway.) I have one and like it quite a bit considering what I paid for it. It will keep out any crackhead that breaks into your home, but a determined thief will be able to get in. (But that would be true of almost any safe that I can afford.)

Mountain View Safes Big heavy and cheap 503-706 7347

Here is some more discussion on these safes:
http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18169

Here is a comparison of the MVS and BH that I pm'ed someone when they asked about it:

My review of the big horn has was pretty casual. I looked at the information available on the web for the big horn.

<broken link removed>

I compared the BH 30 gun model and the mountain view 39 gun model. Those two safes appear to have the same weight, height, length, depth, number of doorbolts, diameter of doorbolts, interior color, lock type, lock manufacturer, fire rating, and exterior hinges. The only differences I could find between the two safes is that the BH has a 5 prong opening lever, the BH says "Big Horn" on the front, and BH calls theirs a "30 gun safe" while MV calls theirs a "39 position safe". (30 gun safe is a more helpful name, but 39 position is technically correct.)

Charlie says that he gets his safes from the same factory as BH, but he is much cheaper. Based on what I have seen, I agree with him on both points.

I ended up buying the 39 position safe from Charlie and having him deliver it for about $100.

Keep in mind that they are NOT joking when they say it weighs 830 pounds. One of the nice things about the external hinge setup is that you can remove the door with to move the thing...
I needed 3 friends to move it.

 

[motoman98]

These are mass-market, often made in China safes.
Troublesome is the thin skin sidewalls and door: often 12 ga, but even 10ga isn't much better.
Probably only 1 sheetrock type x layer of "fire" protection but no matter how many layers in even much more expensive safes, wallboard is not rated for heat insulation; it's only ok if the fire dept. gets there very, very quickly with a minimum fire. In a burn-down most sheetrock lined safes are TOAST.
It WILL keep out the grab and snatch thieves and kids, but prepared burglers could defeat it in a couple of minutes with fireman's axe and a long prybar.
For the money, you probably can't get better, but how secure is good enough for your weapons?
You might consider that a good safe can be a heirloom.

Found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M

Myself, I am looking at www.sturdysafe.com: REAL fire protection, much better security, and made in USA.

 

[MarkSBG]

My safe (which is the same one he is looking at) appears to have 3 or 4 layers of gypsum. You can see the layers in the back opening they give you to run power through. While not the ideal fireproofing material, it does provide a fire resistant barrier with good thermal mass.

I have seen that video also. They do make it look pretty easy to get into, but I wonder how easy it would be for a safe that is anchored to the floor. That seems like a pretty significant advantage they give in their thieves. It would be a lot harder if the safe was vertical.

While I concede a motivated thief will be able to get in, that is the case for most any safe (that I can afford). I would guess that an oxy acetylene torch would make short work of most all safes.

 

[Cougfan2]

It's the same safe that I have from Mountain View Safes. Like MarkSBG says, it will deter the average meth head, but probably not a serious pro burgler. Certainly better than the cheap Stack ON's and Sentry's you see at Bi-Mart and else where. I had Charlie deliver mine and it came to right about $1K delivered.

 

[motoman98]

The problem with sheetrock is not only it is a poor insulator but, it becomes a heat sink.
-Firerock is made to be a short term flame shield to protect structural framing materials in a building: not as an insulator.
The safe mfgr tests always take their safes out of the Test Oven @ 30,45,60,90 min. and check the interiors and rate them at that point. In REAL life, the Fire Dept. will not let you near the firesite for quite some time, maybe a day or more.
Think how the contents will hold up, when multiple layers hold that absorbed heat in, like an oven. Simple: they don't.
(See how Sturdy Safe does it)
As far as additional security with a thin wall safe: Lg. screws into the floor or studs are better, but those prybars love to PRY. They defeat them easily.
The Safe needs to be bolted into framing, or lagged into concrete. So basically the closet isn't that good, and the bad guys know where to look.
I understand that a torch can defeat most safes; but even the pro's rarely use them. They make alot of smoke. They don't like that. Try this: Put a smoke detector or two above in the area of your safe: Great deterrent.
To go to the max, when you are custom ordering a safe, you can have sheet stainless installed inside. It is resistant to a torch entry.
Costs: Again what is it worth. If you have just a few guns, maybe the sentry or box store safe is all you can spend. You know, 10-20&#37; of the value of your guns. What if you have 20-40 guns or more? Seems that it might be worth alot more to protect your investment.
Just learn what works to defend against what the bad guys actually do, the characteristics of real life fires, and what is marketing "hype"-Those glossy brochures are sure pretty, but don't tell ya much!
It also seems the sales people leave out alot of facts, or don't know them at all.

 

[artifactr]

I got my safe at Costco on one of their sales, mine's a Cannon safe. The Costco price includes delivery which adds up to a huge savings. The delivery guy who brought my safe helped me move it into the house to position it with his appliance dolly. I tipped him $20 since that thing is HEAVY. Plus you can't beat the Costco return policy.

If you anchor the safe into cement and install a good alarm system in your home with motion sensors covering the safe (what I have).. It's a good secure solution. The bad guys aren't going to stand there trying to get into it for too long if they have a 130 decibel siren going off in their face with the outdoor lights flashing and the knowledge that the cops are on their way.
Don't just look at the safe, look at the security of your whole home as a system with the safe being the most secure part of that system. The more difficult you make it for the bad guys, the less likely they are going to bother with it, they will move to an easier target.

 

[Bazooka Joe]

I got my safe at Costco on one of their sales, mine's a Cannon safe. The Costco price includes delivery which adds up to a huge savings. The delivery guy who brought my safe helped me move it into the house to position it with his appliance dolly. I tipped him $20 since that thing is HEAVY. Plus you can't beat the Costco return policy.

You got the good Costco delivery guy. I got the bad. He refused to drive up the road to our house and only dumped the safe in my pickup bed down at the intersection. So I had no lift or appliance to get it out of my pickup or into the house. Luckily a neighbor came by just as I was disassembling the safe to get it off the truck, and he helped me get it inside.

 

[MarkSBG]

Try this: Put a smoke detector or two above in the area of your safe: Great deterrent.

What would stop them from just removing the battery or ripping it from the ceiling?