Safe shopping in Washington... any guidance?

12sti · Mar 16, 2014

Looking to pick up a safe. I had the Winchester 26? gun safe from Costco before with the electric keypad. If memory serves it was around $550-$600.

My need's are housing 6-10 long rifles, and 10ish handguns. Lots of ammo.
Not a huge collection by any means, I just want something that's decent quality.
300-650 lb weight range.

With that said, is there anything better then a Costco safe again? I've looked loosely at Lowes, Walmart, Cabelas online. Even tried finding used ones with no luck thus far.

What are you using?

ripcity · Mar 16, 2014

Just an idea, I wouldn't keep ammo in the same safe as my firearms. I wouldn't want something than may explode in with my guns, money, or anything else that may be of value. If you have a second safe then that would be perfect for ammo and reloading supplies. I could be over thinking, but it makes sense to me. Costco prices are hard to beat. Good luck on your safe purchase.

usagi · Mar 17, 2014

what are your firearms worth?

most costco and cabelas safes will get you a locker made of sheet metal with drywall liner that can be broken into in a few seconds with basic tools.

30sec with sawzall

few minutes with a sledgehammer

Brutus57 · Mar 17, 2014

Moral of the story....any safe can be broken into depending on time/tools available. I believe in a layered approach. locks, cameras, hidden or disguised storage. That said any safe is better than a broom closet.

Brutus Out

circlepranch · Mar 17, 2014

12sti said:
Looking to pick up a safe. I had the Winchester 26? gun safe from Costco before with the electric keypad. If memory serves it was around $550-$600.

My need's are housing 6-10 long rifles, and 10ish handguns. Lots of ammo.
Not a huge collection by any means, I just want something that's decent quality.
300-650 lb weight range.

With that said, is there anything better then a Costco safe again? I've looked loosely at Lowes, Walmart, Cabelas online. Even tried finding used ones with no luck thus far.

What are you using?

In Vancouver there is Tracker safes, Great people to deal with ,

12sti · Mar 17, 2014

Thanks for the feedback. Safe will be a layer scenario as suggested. I still want to invest wisely though; one time and call it good you know?

Nickb · Mar 17, 2014

I will start by saying if it's a one time deal get one 2-3 times bigger than you think you will need.

Not sure what you have for dealers down there but Ranch and Home in Kennewick has a huge selection of safes.

Scott F · Mar 17, 2014

Google how to open a safe with the electronic locks. You will be shocked how easy it can be and never again buy an electronic lock.

Certaindeaf · Mar 17, 2014

usagi said:
what are your firearms worth?

most costco and cabelas safes will get you a locker made of sheet metal with drywall liner that can be broken into in a few seconds with basic tools.

30sec with sawzall

few minutes with a sledgehammer

Yea and any safe can be cut in half in one second with a laser. lol

roknHS · Mar 17, 2014

I bought a 54 gun Costco safe last fall for around $700 bucks.
My thoughts were similiar to the above. Any safe is better than no safe.

There are all kinds of burglars (slimey thieves) with varying skills and tools. I believe, and I think statistics will back me up, most home robberies are mid-day when people are at work. The slime ball(s) want in and out quickly. Most of what I've read says the average is less than 15 minutes. They don't bring many tools with them cause they want to travel lite and should they be caught they don't want to be caught with burglar tools. In most cases, the extra time it will take to saw or hammer a safe apart is time they won't sacrifice. They are after the easy stuff they can find in the shortest amount of time possible. Unless you store your shop tools next to your gun safe, chances are the safe will present a time expenditure most thieves aren't willing to gamble on.
Yes, there have been the exceptions. Given the motivation, time and availability of tools, thieves can and will eventually gain entry to just about any gun safe. Layers of security are always good deterrents. Signs alerting would be robbers of a security system watching them is always the first line of defense.
Unless the robber is specifically targeting the safe (knows its there ahead of time), chances are the house will get tossed, the old ladys jewelry box on the dresser will be empty. Your spare change and the few bucks left on the counter will be gone. The gun safe may get a few dings and dents but, the contents will be intact.

If your gun safe is smaller and weighs less than 1000 lbs with guns........I'd damn sure bolt it down to the floor. I'd bet a thief would rather try to haul the whole thing off than take the time and make the noise trying to open it up on premises.

Life is a crap shoot........anything is possible. Buy the best safe you can afford and add as many layers of security as you can.

In addition, I agree the advertised holding capacity of a gun safe is "pie in the sky" bull crap.
They will actually hold about half of what advertised capacity is. The manufacturer must fill them up with bare single shot .22 caliber rifles or single shot break action .410 shot guns.
If you have full size long guns with scopes and slings and such, you'll be lucky to get half the advertised holding capacity. Buy way bigger than you think you will ever need and you'll be good.

chemist · Mar 18, 2014

Great response, RoknHS.

Bolt that sucka down.
Get your neighbors on board to call in suspicious characters.
Anything is better than nothin'.

A burglary safe is a completely different animal than a gun safe. Unless you have a hundred thousand dollars to lock up, all you need is a 12 gauge box with a fireproof liner, bolted to a concrete floor. But like everybody says, get a bigger one. No matter how big a one you plan to buy, get a bigger one. It can only help in the long run.