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Posted: 10/8/2012 12:58:59 PM EDT
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Hey guys, I'm getting ready to purchase my first gunsafe. I live in an apartment so I'm limited by space. I have 7 Long guns (most scoped and a few handguns)...decided that 500 lbs was about as heavy as I can go. My budget is $1200. I have narrowed it down to two choices but can't make up my mind on which one so I'd like to pic your brains to help me decide (One is fire rated for 50 minutes the other is NOT fire-lined)...thanks in advance!
Option 1: Rhino 56 Series Gun Safe: 20 Gun Safe Made in the USA 10 Guage steel 50-minute fire test exposed to maximum temperatures of 1200° Exterior: 56"H x 27"W x 18"D Interior: 51.75"H x 23.5"W x 15"D Rifle Capacity: 20 Weight: 540 lbs. Cubic Feet: 16 $1200 Option 2: Sturdy Gunsafe Model 2419 Made in the USA 7 Guage steel Non-fire lined Exterior: 24"W x 19"D x 60"H Cubic Feet: 15.5 Weight: 520 lbs. $1240 |
| I would go with the fire lined, unless you only need if for security. IMO most safes can be compromised with enough time, or the right tools. Some will be compromised faster than others, but unless they came for the safe my thought would be most thieves are not going to screw with the safe and leave it. If they are the typical smash and get out type. The one time my old house was burglarized they were the smash and grab type, in for as little time as possible went after easy to carry electronics and left the rest. The safes were all untouched. Agreed always buy larger than you need, they rate the safes with 22LRs with nothing added and tube magazines. My 28 gun I am lucky if I can squeeze 20 long guns inside. So a 20 guns is more like 12-15. |
| Thanks for the input so far. My dilemma stems from the opinion of some manufacturers of higher-end safes who claim that the fire board used in most safes is close to useless...dunno how much I agree with that, but if there is some truth to that would you get better bang for your buck buying a heavier gauge safe over one with "fire" rating but thinner gauge steel. I agree with getting bigger than you need but I don't have a lot of room in my place...just trying to get the most for my money. The building I live in is concrete and steel with sprinklers in every suite so I guess at this point I'm more concerned with theft. Anyone have any experience with either of these two safes? Again thanks in advance. |
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Thanks for the input so far. My dilemma stems from the opinion of some manufacturers of higher-end safes who claim that the fire board used in most safes is close to useless...dunno how much I agree with that, but if there is some truth to that would you get better bang for your buck buying a heavier gauge safe over one with "fire" rating but thinner gauge steel. I agree with getting bigger than you need but I don't have a lot of room in my place...just trying to get the most for my money. The building I live in is concrete and steel with sprinklers in every suite so I guess at this point I'm more concerned with theft. Anyone have any experience with either of these two safes? Again thanks in advance. I don't have any experience with the two safes you mentioned. I own a Liberty Colonial 50. You could also take a look at a Liberty Safe in your price range. The Revere is similar in size to what you listed and it has internal hinges. |
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Quoted:
Thanks for the input so far. My dilemma stems from the opinion of some manufacturers of higher-end safes who claim that the fire board used in most safes is close to useless...dunno how much I agree with that, but if there is some truth to that would you get better bang for your buck buying a heavier gauge safe over one with "fire" rating but thinner gauge steel. I agree with getting bigger than you need but I don't have a lot of room in my place...just trying to get the most for my money. The building I live in is concrete and steel with sprinklers in every suite so I guess at this point I'm more concerned with theft. Anyone have any experience with either of these two safes? Again thanks in advance. Since fire isn't a great concern I would most definitely get the Sturdy. There is a big difference on the thickness of the metal between your two choice. Also, like I said in my earlier post, you can fire proof it yourself later. Its quite simple and doesn't require any special tools. ETA: Call Sturdy to place your order. They always go way down on the price from the one listed on their website. They might work something out for fire lining for you. They also sometimes have scratch/dent ones for way cheap too. |
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My house burned in one of the central Oklahoma brush fires in August. I bought a Liberty safe. I was initially worried about the fire rating.In my personal experience, the fire rating ended up being worthless. The fire was hot enough to melt the lock AND the back wall of the safe.Needless to say, the interior completely burned. That fire obviously lasted longer than the safe fire rating...
We had 15 Minutes to gather valuables and bug out. I recommend an electronic lock. MUCH faster than fumbling with a combination lock in this situation. Liberty's warranty is excellent. I was on the ball enough to register my safe when I bought it. Liberty gave me full credit towards a new safe. The burned safe was over 9 yrs old. To me, THAT says something. My new safe is also liberty. 
Just my .02. Good luck with your purchase! Dave |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks for the input so far. My dilemma stems from the opinion of some manufacturers of higher-end safes who claim that the fire board used in most safes is close to useless...dunno how much I agree with that, but if there is some truth to that would you get better bang for your buck buying a heavier gauge safe over one with "fire" rating but thinner gauge steel. I agree with getting bigger than you need but I don't have a lot of room in my place...just trying to get the most for my money. The building I live in is concrete and steel with sprinklers in every suite so I guess at this point I'm more concerned with theft. Anyone have any experience with either of these two safes? Again thanks in advance. Since fire isn't a great concern I would most definitely get the Sturdy. There is a big difference on the thickness of the metal between your two choice. Also, like I said in my earlier post, you can fire proof it yourself later. Its quite simple and doesn't require any special tools. ETA: Call Sturdy to place your order. They always go way down on the price from the one listed on their website. They might work something out for fire lining for you. They also sometimes have scratch/dent ones for way cheap too. Thanks for the advice, I'm actually gonna give them a call later today and see what happens! |
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Quoted:
My house burned in one of the central Oklahoma brush fires in August. I bought a Liberty safe. I was initially worried about the fire rating.In my personal experience, the fire rating ended up being worthless. The fire was hot enough to melt the lock AND the back wall of the safe.Needless to say, the interior completely burned. That fire obviously lasted longer than the safe fire rating... We had 15 Minutes to gather valuables and bug out. I recommend an electronic lock. MUCH faster than fumbling with a combination lock in this situation. Liberty's warranty is excellent. I was on the ball enough to register my safe when I bought it. Liberty gave me full credit towards a new safe. The burned safe was over 9 yrs old. To me, THAT says something. My new safe is also liberty.
Just my .02. Good luck with your purchase! Dave I'm really sorry to hear about your misfortune...nonetheless still great to hear that reputable companies will still honor their guarantees/warranty. I was doing more research on the subject last night and what I gathered is that fire-lining in most so-called "gunsafes" is little more than a marketing scheme designed to broaden the appeal as places to store your firearms and other valuables. There are so many factors to be accounted for as well as some that can't be in a fire that unless you are going to spend big $$$ on a commercial type safe, fire ratings don't mean too much...but warranties and insurance sure do! |
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Thanks for the input so far. My dilemma stems from the opinion of some manufacturers of higher-end safes who claim that the fire board used in most safes is close to useless...dunno how much I agree with that, but if there is some truth to that would you get better bang for your buck buying a heavier gauge safe over one with "fire" rating but thinner gauge steel. I agree with getting bigger than you need but I don't have a lot of room in my place...just trying to get the most for my money. The building I live in is concrete and steel with sprinklers in every suite so I guess at this point I'm more concerned with theft. Anyone have any experience with either of these two safes? Again thanks in advance. Since fire isn't a great concern I would most definitely get the Sturdy. There is a big difference on the thickness of the metal between your two choice. Also, like I said in my earlier post, you can fire proof it yourself later. Its quite simple and doesn't require any special tools. ETA: Call Sturdy to place your order. They always go way down on the price from the one listed on their website. They might work something out for fire lining for you. They also sometimes have scratch/dent ones for way cheap too. Thanks for the advice, I'm actually gonna give them a call later today and see what happens! Ask them about their fire lining compared to others. |
FYI 2 layers of 5/8 rated drywall is a 1 hour fire barrier. You could line it yourself but I think most of the rating comes from the seal at the door and any seams in the safe. Hopefully you live on the first floor I carried a sofabed up to the 3 floor before, it seemed like it weighed 500lbs but I'm sure it didn't
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| Buy one that is BIGGER then you think you need. I somehow have (5) ar15's now....4 shotguns, (5) 22lr rifles.....hanguns...forget Bout it. I bought the safe for the 1 shotgun/1 22 rifle/ and one handfun....then magically all this other shit showed up. I gotta buy another safe! Its hard enough to hide new guns from the wife....but I cant hide a new safe...... |
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