Need advice for my first safe purchase.

[Blitzkrieg]

Costco has great deals on safes that are around 500lbs (moveable), but if you want a one and done safe, I'd get a Liberty Fatboy Jr for the money you're looking to spend. You'll want to put in a goldenrod, lights and maybe a door panel. But factor in the cost of delivery/installation to get it bolted down. Worth the money.

+1 for the goldenrod

 

[mjbskwim]

Grunwald,you have to remember that most guys aren't going to carry a battle axe with them for home invasion.Maybe if the homeowner has one laying around
But the trick is getting the safe out of the house and then getting into it.Safes are just steel and before I'll bring a battle axe,I'll have me a little Oxygen/acetylene kit on my back.Much quieter too. So any safe is accessible with the right equipment.
I would put the fire safety my main priority,then anchoring the thing to the floor,wall,anything solid next.
Besides,how hard can a crack/meth head swing a fire axe? And how long would it take for an average person to get through a safe wall with an axe? I would guess most would give up on it fairly fast.

Good quality safe with great quality fire liner in an inaccessible (to most) part of the house.Anchored to every thing you can.Preferably a concrete floor and some wall studs

 

[Burt Gummer]

About an axe and sledgehammer - that guy must be like a Terminator lol.

No safe is break-in proof. With any device like this you are just trying to buy time, to make things more difficult for a thief. 99% of home burglars are not going to show up with a blowtorch or metal saw. They want to ransack your home and be out in five minutes UNLESS they are assured that no one will be coming home, ie, don't tell people when you are going on vacation, etc. Some people, like me, have very random hours and that is bad news for a burglar. Sometimes the best prevention is nosy neighbors. I have two and they cluck over my place all day long.

 

[bangbangschwang]

I have a question about the Liberty Fatboy Jr. The rifle rack looks like it puts the guns in rows. Is this going to make it a huge pain to get rifles that aren't on the front row?

 

[High Centered]

I've not had much trouble getting to the guns in the back row. Be sure you bolt it to the floor, whatever you get. It is much more secure that way. And I agree....the seem to shrink inside quickly, so get the biggest one you can!

 

[Old Hick]

bangbangschwang,

I don't have trouble getting to mine either, and I have the Fatboy Jr.

Best thing to do is go look at one in person. If you go to the guy in Hubbard, he will work with you on a deal... It is like a candy store there...

Yes, Bolt it down. It comes with a few bolts, but I bought some Bigger bolts to use.

Have him or who ever you buy from deliver it. I did mine myself, never again.

Here is a link that better shows the inside of the safe. I wouldn't buy from this link, only using for photo's.

http://www.gunsafes.com/Liberty-Fatboyjr-Gun-Safe-48-Gun-Fire-Safe.html



Stay Safe.

 

[Grunwald]

Grunwald,you have to remember that most guys aren't going to carry a battle axe with them for home invasion.Maybe if the homeowner has one laying around
But the trick is getting the safe out of the house and then getting into it.Safes are just steel and before I'll bring a battle axe,I'll have me a little Oxygen/acetylene kit on my back.Much quieter too. So any safe is accessible with the right equipment.
I would put the fire safety my main priority,then anchoring the thing to the floor,wall,anything solid next.
Besides,how hard can a crack/meth head swing a fire axe? And how long would it take for an average person to get through a safe wall with an axe? I would guess most would give up on it fairly fast.

Good quality safe with great quality fire liner in an inaccessible (to most) part of the house.Anchored to every thing you can.Preferably a concrete floor and some wall studs

Sometimes a video is worth a thousand words.
Security on Sale Gun safe Prying video - YouTube

 

[motoman98]

Learn more: Gun Safes : Fire Safe Manufacturer : Sturdy Gun Safe
No sheetrock and thicker materials: Made in USA

 

[RedneckRampage]

My cousin made a good point to me about "fire" safes. During a fire, the inside temperature is going to get super high, I'm guessing like 5-600 degrees. Even if your guns don't burn up, do you want your $1500 rifle heated up to 600 degrees? He bought 4 of the Stack-on gun lockers and filled the closet of his spare bedroom. He put a good closet door on, with a good lock, and a good bedroom door, and bars on the inside of the window. With the money he saved, he insures the crap out of his guns, and will get new ones when the stocks burn off of them.

 

[evltwn]

Check out the Rogue Safe website and watch the video of two guys popping a "big box" store safe in no time at all. You will pay more for a Rogue safe, but it will protect your valuables better and be an heirloom for your kids. They are not light (mine weighs 2000 pounds), nor cheap, but you truly get what you pay for. Just my opinion.

 

[supergenius]

WIll be welding 3/8-1/2" Plate on the outside of whatever I buy. Take an axe to that, also... In a small closet falsed into a wall... Hopefully theyll never find it, no way getting the lags into the concrete foundatiuon out

 

[bangbangschwang]

@RedneckRampage,
My ultimate plan is to build a "safe" room/ man cave. I'm renting right now and have 4 kids at home so that will be a few years down the road. For the price of a high quality safe you could build a pretty secure room though.

 

[bruzer]

Look at used safes. Mine is a Data Safe, could not afford new what this will do used. Has a real fire rating under 150 degree inside temp and it will take a forklift to move. It is not all fancy inside like a new gun safe but that is not a priority for me. My Wife and I will be in there during Armageddon.
Mike

 

[Grunwald]

Look at used safes. Mine is a Data Safe, could not afford new what this will do used. Has a real fire rating under 150 degree inside temp and it will take a forklift to move. It is not all fancy inside like a new gun safe but that is not a priority for me. My Wife and I will be in there during Armageddon.
Mike

I did see those things on craigslist, but I think they are actually classified as burglary resistant cabinets and not safes. My big concern was that with dual doors and no frame in between them, they would be easier to get into than a good safe. Of course when you compare it to a common safe sold by the big box stores they are likely at least as good or better and you get a heck of a lot of storage space.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Like has been said before in many threads similar to this one as well as this one "buy bigger than you think you need".

^this.
Safes fill up FAST!
Firearms, mags, ammo, powder, jewelry, gold, silver, bonds, important papers.. Etc
Buy much bigger than you think you'll need.
Unless you want to shell out $3-5,000 for solid steel.. most safes in the 700-1200 range are mostly the same.
There's more info discussing the pricey safes versus your average joe safe.
For most of us average joes, the run of the mill $700-1200 will get the job done.
Fire ratings help.. But theres a dirty little secret to that as well, Its not as fireproof as they make it out to be.

 

[bangbangschwang]

Since this got resurrected I'll go ahead and post an update. I ended up getting a Centurion safe. It's a "22 gun" safe and is 18.5 cubic feet. It was on sale for $547 at Lowes(Item #: 291281 | Model #: CN20-BK). Not a bad price. I'll upgrade to a better one later but for now I'm happy with the safe price/value of guns ratio I have going on. These things absolutely fill up fast. Mine is just about completely filled up. At first I had a place for a small fire safe for some documents and BB guns and other random stuff in there. Then I met some new guns and the unnecessary stuff came right back out.

 

[CLT65]

Very good! A $500 gun safe that you can afford is better than a $5000 one that you can't.

That said, if I had a valuable gun collection, I would buy a more expensive safe. The middle-of-the-road one that I have won't stop a knowledgeable and determined professional thief, but it will seriously slow down delinquent teenagers or smash-and-grab methheads. No serious thief would ever be interested in risking his neck to take what meager possessions I have.

Added: a gun safe is really gun control at it's finest and most effective. Criminals commonly get their guns through theft from legal owners. Controlling your own guns by locking them up not only reduces your potential loss through theft, but helps keep guns off "the street".

 

[HarryHaller]

<broken link removed>

When I was looking for a safe I heard good things about these from Mountain View Safe Company out if Boring OR. Seemed like a lot of safe for the money. I ended up going with Costco, delivery to my house was too good to pass up. Moving it up two flights of stairs wasn't much fun but got it done with a couple friends and minimal damage to my house.

 

[jbett98]

Check out Craigslist.
There's one in Ocean Shores that's listed in an estate sale @ $900.00 and it's also full of guns that are also up for sale.

 

[BAMCIS]

delete. Didn't realize this was such an old thread......