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Posted: 11/2/2011 9:30:15 PM EDT
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I'm long overdue for getting a gun safe to store my rifles in. We've had one attempted break-in not too long ago and we may also be bringing some children into the house soon. Here's my problem ... the house we live in does not really have a good spot for a safe inside. That leaves me considering whether or not to put it in the garage and lug it into the concrete floor. Something just doesn't seem right about putting my safe out in the garage. I'm also concerned because the garage is not climate controlled, so wondering how cold/hot temps and the humidity would affect my guns in a safe. I live in a fairly humid southern (NC) climate, but it can get into the single digits or teens at night during the winter also. I might be able to find a place to put a very small safe in the house (maybe a 12 gun size). The smaller safes I've seen also seem to be of lower quality and fire protection rating. I'd rather get a larger safe with better rating. I was looking at Winchester brand b/c they seem to have best value for the price which was backed up by a review site I found as well. My budget is around $900 or less. Your wisdom / experience is welcome.
PS. does anyone make something electric that could be put in the safe to control humidity? |
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I won't try to steer you in any particular brand direction, but consider this: many safe manufacturers, including domestic, are now or plan to build with CHINESE steel...just something about that doesn't sit right with me, so when I purchased a safe (July) I went with a "fully domestic" brand...even if it meant paying a little more.
As for a bed side safe with children in the house, you can get a single long gun case and/or a pistol case with a finger pad lock. Yes, you can get dehumidifiers for the safe; I live in a dry climate and use some industrial sized desiccant packs in my safes so can't comment on the electronic ones. |
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This or similar would be helpful,
http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/ Just a tiny heater that keeps the temp just above the dew point so water doesn't condense on your guns. Dessicent packs work also, but have the negative of needing to be replaced or recharged. Some you can bake for a few hours to dry them out and reuse. A couple companies also have ones that you plug the entire unit in to dry out then put back in your safe. Not plugged in while in use, just to dry out the crystals. |
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I am cheap skate. This is what I use. It is on sale too for $349.
http://www.harborfreight.com/executive-safe-95824.html I keep the big safe in the basement and a small safe under the dresser with some pistols. I say that because if you have a $900 budget you can take some of that to buy a smaller safe for the bed room. I would really try to ovoid using the garage at all costs. |
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@wildearp, the bed gun safe's would be ideal, unfortunately they are $2200 for the cheapest model ($2600 to make that model fit a queen bed), and a Queen model was $3700 on their site, so 3x - 4x my budget.
I hate to use the garage, but there's just no spot downstairs in our house and even if I can get a 510lb safe (Winchester R19 I'm looking at), there's not much room up there either except maybe in the closet of the room we were going to use as a kid's room. Our bedroom is very tight. I guess this is why I've put this off as long as I have ... no easy solution. My dad's answer was building secret caches in various walls of our house, but I was wanting the fire protection and child protection as well (kid's find secret caches, or at least we did). |
| If you want a decent safe with good fire protection you will need to drop some coin, there's just no way around it. I have been very happy with Liberty Franklin safe, IMO it's a good compromise between price and features. As for the room issue I can't solve that, but if it were me I would certainly prefer it to be indoors. For humidity I use a goldenrod like the one linked by another poster above, along with a few large silica gel packs. One last suggestion is if you are going to spend the money for a nice safe, get one size larger than you think you need, trust me it will fill up if not with guns, with other valuables and keepsakes. Its much cheaper to go one size larger now than to buy another safe when you run out of space. Good luck. |
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Consider a modular safe such as a Zanotti. Not the cheapest, but since they come apart, they're much easier to move and can often fit inside closets in which other safes can't fit.
Before you drop any amount of money on any safe, go on Youtube and search for 'breaking into a safe'. Bolting the safe to the floor or wall to prevent it from being tipped over is important. However, typical "safes" can be penetrated in a relatively short amount of time using common hand tools. Most will deter a smash and grab, but if you're away on vacation or at work and the thieves have a little bit of time, they can get in. Regarding fires, if the safe ends up submerged in water, the contents may be destroyed. Depends on the location of the safe, the type of safe, the contents, etc. So before you drop $87 billion on a safe, decide who you are trying to keep out and if some of that money is better spent on insurance premiums. I have a Zanotti. It'll deter a smash and grab, and will keep the guns away from kids. Most "RSC"-class safes will do the same. |
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