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Good information TexasGal
Thank you

I bought a Big Daddy safe from http://www.acsafes.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They run ads on craigslist all the time.

I think there are 3 general types of storage.

1. Locking gun cabinets. Great for keeping kids out and dumb smash and grab crooks. A tool box size crow bar and I bet you could get inside in less than 30 seconds. Good where you can't have a better storage solution, apartments, etc. I'll bet most crooks in middle class areas wouldn't have the tools to do this, but it is easy if they do. Or come back. I may be wrong. I started with me of these, still have it. Was about $100.

2. Gun "safes" like you see at Cabelas, Academy, etc. Also keeps your kids out. Plus most crooks. If bolted in place, in my opinion they are not likely to be broken into in most middle class neighborhoods. $400-$1500 is pretty common pricing. Usually 10, 12, 14 gauge steel, 12 is most common. More money buys more capacity, better fire protection and/or somewhat better theft protection. You can see videos on YouTube of these being broken into in about 3 minutes, but the safe is tipped over and they use a 6 foot pry bar. 2 person effort. Properly bolted to the floor with the opening edge of the door against a wall (safe in a corner) is pretty good protection. UL calls these Residential Security Containers (RSC) and not safes. Often use passive (non moving) bolts on the hinge side of the door. May or may not have top and bottom bolts. I have a Browning, 12 ga, dial lock, realistically holds 22-24 long guns (11-12 per side). I have one side set up for long guns and one side shelves. Ran about $1200 nine years ago. Dial lock. I am very happy with it. Looks good in the man cave!

3. Real safes. I have little knowledge of these as they are out of my price range. These are sometimes 1/4" thick or thicker, heavier bolts and bolt assemblies active on all 4 sides. Multiple relockers, etc. Many $$$$$.

Whatever you do, buy bigger than you think you need. Mine is half full of papers (birth cert, marriage license, ss cards, receipts for major purchases, family heirlooms, ammo, gun parts, etc.) Half is not an exaggeration!!! It is literally half full of not guns!!!

One strategy is to buy multiple safes instead of one much larger one. It divides up your valuables. Thieves usually have limited time to try to move or break into one much less multiples.

TexasGal wrote:One strategy is to buy multiple safes instead of one much larger one. It divides up your valuables. Thieves usually have limited time to try to move or break into one much less multiples.

I like this! The problem is if I save up enough for a safe, it might go for one or two guns instead!!

That is the reason you will soon need that second safe

Multiple safes are great as long as a they are at least minimal quality. You need to evaluate how much money you have invested in what will be in the safe and decide what is worth spending to protect it.

I just pulled the trigger on a safe over $2K. It has a double sealed door so you can't get a pry bar between the door and wall. It also has better steel thickness, more locking bolts, and better fire rating than my old safe. More locking lugs on the top, bottom, and both sides of the door will help make it harder to break into also. I think the video of the guys using the big pry bar was on a pretty inexpensive safe. That said, no safe is full proof.

The only safe I saw recently that appeared full proof was a $10,000 safe that had 1" minimum steel thickness on all sides and really tight/close clearances around the door. It was nice.

gljjt wrote:

TexasGal wrote:One strategy is to buy multiple safes instead of one much larger one. It divides up your valuables. Thieves usually have limited time to try to move or break into one much less multiples.

I like this! The problem is if I save up enough for a safe, it might go for one or two guns instead!!

Can you imagine the look on some thief's face when he finally breaks open one safe only to find one gun in it? Then if he finds the other safe and finally gets it open only to find one more gun? And then finds the police waiting for him outside after setting of the silent alarm on the first safe?

Carter's Country has this Winchester for $1299 with the upgraded digital keypad. It's 1200 degrees for 45 minutes and very very large.

http://winchestersafes.com/traditionseries.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks for the heads up
I need to get back on my research so I can make a move.
Been side tracked with some other house projects.

you should really look into liberty safes. them and fort knox if you really want no chance of break in and just hate your money! I loved everything about the fort knox safes they are without a doubt the best safes on the market, the down side is you're looking at almost 4k plus options for a decent size. I also found liberty safes which aren't quite fort knox, but they are built way better than any big box store safe and have a REAL warranty which you'll more than likely never need. if there is a fire or theft attempt if your insurance company won't pay to replace it then liberty will uninstall the old one, get your things out, deliver and install a new safe for FREE. i'm looking at a liberty fatboy jr right now for 1800 out the door (tax and delivery/full installation included). they have some really nice safes as well that go up to 7k or so but most of us will never need that kind of security!

tomtexan wrote:

FL450 wrote:I want to thank everyone or the feedback.
I have a few rifles/shotguns but need the room for pistols and ammo as well.
My space is somwhat limited so I will have to make some compromises.
Now that I am armed with great feedback and suggestions from your responses I have some homework to do.
What other things do I need to look at when considering a safe??

Just a FYI, there are a lot of youtube videos on the various brands of gun safes. Some of them show how easy it is to break into them.

Unfortunately, most of those videos are designed more to sell their particular safe than as a realistic depiction of how vulnerable a particular safe is. The one with the 10 foot long pry bar for instance....it depends on the leverage provided by the pry bar and the fact the safe is on the ground. With an upright safe bolted to the floor in a typical home, it's MUCH more difficult to pry open a safe like they do in the video. And it should be impossible if there are locking bolts on all four sides of the safe. Now, if they show up with a metal saw, it may be a different story.

Thanks this thread been very informative.

After all the great feedback from this group I was armed with all the information to d further research on what features I needed to look for to make an informed decision. (Gauge, bolts, welds, locking mechanism etc.) I was set on saving the money to buy once only and then it happened. The Academy circular arrived this afternoon and had a special buy on the Liberty Safe, Centurion Deluxe 30 long gun. 59x36x25, 12 gauge, 11 bolt 75 min fire rating for 699. This couldn't have come at a better time as I just spent 700 dollars on my 2 senior HS girls for 3 dual credit courses and books. Even though this is a made in China model and not the quality I was originally set on the great buy allowed me to purchase now rather than later so I can secure my guns and ammo out of reach from the grand kids since we have them during the week since one of my daughters started teaching her first year of school this year.
Thanks to all for the feedback. Anyone want to volunteer to help unload from the truck and set up? I am not sure I will have any friends left after this.

FL450 wrote:After all the great feedback from this group I was armed with all the information to d further research on what features I needed to look for to make an informed decision. (Gauge, bolts, welds, locking mechanism etc.) I was set on saving the money to buy once only and then it happened. The Academy circular arrived this afternoon and had a special buy on the Liberty Safe, Centurion Deluxe 30 long gun. 59x36x25, 12 gauge, 11 bolt 75 min fire rating for 699. This couldn't have come at a better time as I just spent 700 dollars on my 2 senior HS girls dual credit courses and books. Even though this is a made in China model and not the quality I was originally set on the great buy allowed me to purchase now rather than later so I can secure my guns and ammo out of reach from the grand kids since we have them during the week since one of my daughters started teaching her first year of school this year.
Thanks to all for the feedback. Anyone want to volunteer to help unload from the truck and set up? I am not sure I will have any friends left after this.

If you were closer I'd give you a hand. When I bought my safe I purchased a hand truck with multiple configurations that would handle twice the weight of the safe. It made it so that I could unload and move the safe with only the help of my wife.