Posted: 10/18/2007 5:53:00 AM EDT
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Just renewed our homeowners ins and had the agent at the house. I gave him a list of guns to add to the policy, his eyes open wide, and he asks me if I have a gun safe. Next was "Who knows about these?" Kinda supprised me but if you add them all up its quite a bit of $$$$. Its time to get a gun safe. I have seen a thread or 2 on what to look for in a safe but a search has turned up nothing. Anybody got a link to the gun safe threads??? Its for the children. |
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Take a look at the Liberty brand safes. I did alot of research about 10-12 years ago and bought a Sportsman Steel safe. Decent safe with a good S&G dial combo lock. Wish I had bought a Liberty. The fit and finish on the Liberty was better at the time. A few hundred more but well worth it. This is a purchase you will have to live with the rest of your life because most safes last forever so research them and do it right the first time. Mine is just big enough to move with two big guys and an appliance dolly. Any bigger and you will have to hire a crew with a special dolly. By the time it is full of guns, stuff, and some weights in the bottom, it ain't going nowhere. No need to bolt it down cause you can't move it when it is full. |
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First off, If you and a buddy can move it, so can a burglar and his buddy. Secondly, plan on bolting it to the floor/slab fron the inside. Third, figure the size you need, then the larger size you want, then forget all that and get the biggest and strongest you can find. Have it installed by people who know about these things! Make sure you earmark plenty of space inside for the wife's silver and stuff. |
, when he sees your gun list
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www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html Excellent guide and what to look for in a safe. I was where you were at about 3 months ago - added up all my guns value, ammo, optics, mags, not to mention 4 NFA weapons and thought, "Gee - that's a LOT of money, not to mention the anal exam from the ATF if my NFA goodies got stolen." So, I budgeted about $2000 and did a bunch of research. I went with the BF6030 AMSEC for many reasons, got it PROFESSIONALLY installed (cost $250 and was well worth it), got the mechanical lock with lockout feature (key on the dial). The thing that sold the AMSEC for me more than anything was the warranty. Do your research, do NOT buy anything with over 10 gauge steel, and make sure it is big enough for future needs. Yes, it WILL suck to spend that money when you could get tons of nice toys for the same amount . . . BUT the first time you go on vacation, you will have this HUGE weight lifted off you because you won't be worrying about your guns. www.amsecusa.com/gun-safes.htm |
No. Use that to coax her into letting you get a walk in vault. "See honey. Now we have enough room for both of us. There isn't an "ugly safe" in the room, either." That's what I did. 
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Ft. Knox is what I'm getting. I was just more impressed with them over liberty (both manufacturers are within 20 minutes of my house, so I've checked them both out). If I was in a house, I'd get a Brown Commercial Safe. www.brownsafe.com/categories/home/home.htm |
Why nothing over 10ga?? Isnt thicker better???? |
She offered to buy this one for Xmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good thing she isnt into that crap. She asked for a "little pistol, something her size"!!!!!!! Ya I got a keeper. |
To my understanding, the higher the gauge #, the thinner the item (wire, shot, etc)....I could easily be wrong though. |
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I just had a Champion Triumph series safe installed. Very well built safe that's made in the U.S.A (I refused to buy a Chinese made safe). Depending on the capacity that you need it may be a little outside your budget, but they have slightly cheaper models. www.championsafe.com/products.html As others have said, spring for professional installation. It's well worth it. |
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Since this is for insurance purposes you need to find out for sure what kind of safe you need to have for your policy to be valid. Most of the safes listed in here are not true safes according to UL standards. Most of them are considered RSC's (Residential Security Containers), at best, by UL. Some insurance policies state that you need to have a minimum of TL-15 rated safe. The first thing you should do is find out what kind of safe the policy specifies, if any. And I will also say that if you have a very valuable collection you should probably step up to a real safe anyway, because many of the RSC's listed here are not the greatest protection against theft or fire. |
+1 AMSEC are very nice safes. I coudn't be happier with mine. |
By "over" I meant anything with a higher number than 10ga (like 12, 14, etc.) ETA - once you have narrowed it down to one or two manufacturers, look over their warranties carefully. This is a LONG term investment and you want to make sure they will stand behind their products and pay for professional locksmiths or safe repair people to service your safe if there is ever a problem or attempted break-in on your safe. Also, don't forget to get a Goldenrod or two and get it installed BEFORE they do the final shoving and bolting. |