Gun Nuts...Need a gun safe

[NetWareHead]

One thing I want you all to keep in mind though. Firefighters fucking hate safes on anything but a concrete floor. For all the obvious reasons.

Please elaborate. Not sure I understand the picture you are painting.

 

[spidey07]

Please elaborate. Not sure I understand the picture you are painting.

If wood is burning it will get really weak and the safe will fall through the floor potentially killing men.

 

[FallenHero]

If wood is burning it will get really weak and the safe will fall through the floor potentially killing men.

hence why mine will be in my basement. Not to mention the fact that it will help it survive a fire longer down there anyway.

Looked at that wired article, those are strong boxes. I don't think the safes I'm looking at can be picked with a paperclip, mainly because they will be secured with this http://www.sargentandgreenleaf.com/MC-6730.php and the dial itself key locked.

 

[NetWareHead]

If wood is burning it will get really weak and the safe will fall through the floor potentially killing men.

Well shit, I have 2 turn of the century cast iron bath tubs that weigh hundreds of pounds each and possibly present the same problems. Sometimes its easier to demolish those with a sledgehammer than try to move them. One is on the first and other is on second floor. Another friend of mine has a turn of the century wood/coal burning parlor stove that is 5-6 feet tall and also weighs several hundred pounds. Needed 5 guys just to move it into his house. What do firefighters do about stuff like this?

 

[skyking]

Cringe and hope for the best. It is a dangerous job for sure. My sister's husband was paralyzed on the job when parts of a stone facade fell on him.

 

[velillen]

Nice video, thanks!

I didn't really get the difference between the safe he showed with the buttons as an alternative to a digital lock safe in a self-defense situation when one gets the jitters and racing heart and whatnot. Seems like you'd be able to hit the digital buttons just as well (or badly, haha) as the "analog" button safe.

Anyway, very informative vid.

Digital Lock safes will lock you out after 3 tries in a very short period of time. Ask me how i know haha (i did mine accidently). So he is saying if you screw up three times you are 100% out of luck. With the push button style (which isnt digital but mechanical) you can screw up as many times as you want and just have to "reset"' it by turning the lock a little.




Honestly when looking for a safe your best bet is to go to a safe store. Talk to the guys there and they can get you what you need. I had been thinking I'd get a Liberty but went with a Superior Safe Co model instead. Feature wise it was the same as the Liberty model but was 300 bucks cheaper. Biggest difference was external hinges on the Superior vs internal on the liberty. But otheriwse same number of bolts, weight was the same more or less, same gauge steel, same bolt lengths, ect. American Made as well.

And go for a normal dial lock if you plan to have it for a long time. Most of the electronics only have a <5 year warrenty and after that your out of luck. All my rarely viewed documents and guns will be going in the Superior safe. I have a winchester cheap safe with electronic lock that stores commonly accessed items like my carry gun, bedside gun, cash, spare keys, ect. Im in and out of that safe once a day on average so the electronic lock is nice. And if it breaks itll be fun to prybar it apart

 

[TallBill]

I agree, get a dial lock.

 

[rommelrommel]

Getting a "real" safe is about double your high end. Anything in that class is honestly pretty easy for someone with moderate knowledge and/or any tools with them to defeat. You can often cheat by lagging it somewhere where they can't get a good swing off with an axe or pry too much but if they know how to defeat it, it won't last long. Get something solid/good price and don't sweat it too much about steel gauge and such.

PS: I'm not a safe snob, I have a "safe" that I'm sure you could defeat pretty quick if you're there for the purpose of defeating a safe. Real safes are simply out of the budget for most people.

 

[FirNaTine]

Well shit, I have 2 turn of the century cast iron bath tubs that weigh hundreds of pounds each and possibly present the same problems. Sometimes its easier to demolish those with a sledgehammer than try to move them. One is on the first and other is on second floor. Another friend of mine has a turn of the century wood/coal burning parlor stove that is 5-6 feet tall and also weighs several hundred pounds. Needed 5 guys just to move it into his house. What do firefighters do about stuff like this?

One consideration with the older tubs, was that they were usually in older homes. Those homes usually are built with decently heavy dimensional lumber. That lumber burns away much slower than newer light weight construction. The bathroom floors were also likely built to support those tubs for decades.

You are talking about adding a safe into a system that may not have been designed with sufficient load bearing capability. There are standard per area loading design requirements in floor supports, and depending on the weight of the safe versus its size you may exceed the design rating, even wthout fire weaking the support structure.

Newer engineered floor beams can very strong, can suport longer spans, and are cheaper than dimensional lumber. They are what almost all new houses have been built with for at least the last 10 years. The downside is that there is significantly less wood mass to them, allowing them to burn through and lose strength much more quickly.

Just one of the many hazards of the job...

 

[clamum]

Digital Lock safes will lock you out after 3 tries in a very short period of time. Ask me how i know haha (i did mine accidently). So he is saying if you screw up three times you are 100% out of luck. With the push button style (which isnt digital but mechanical) you can screw up as many times as you want and just have to "reset"' it by turning the lock a little.




Honestly when looking for a safe your best bet is to go to a safe store. Talk to the guys there and they can get you what you need. I had been thinking I'd get a Liberty but went with a Superior Safe Co model instead. Feature wise it was the same as the Liberty model but was 300 bucks cheaper. Biggest difference was external hinges on the Superior vs internal on the liberty. But otheriwse same number of bolts, weight was the same more or less, same gauge steel, same bolt lengths, ect. American Made as well.

And go for a normal dial lock if you plan to have it for a long time. Most of the electronics only have a <5 year warrenty and after that your out of luck. All my rarely viewed documents and guns will be going in the Superior safe. I have a winchester cheap safe with electronic lock that stores commonly accessed items like my carry gun, bedside gun, cash, spare keys, ect. Im in and out of that safe once a day on average so the electronic lock is nice. And if it breaks itll be fun to prybar it apart

Oh yeah, gotcha. I did see he explained the reset for the mechanical lock.

I have a cheap safe as well, a pocket prybar would get into the thing, but its main purpose for me right now is to keep guns locked up and out of the way and sight of anyone. I also open it often. But I can see myself getting a several thousand dollar safe in the future with plenty of room in it; something like the guy in the video was demonstrating.

 

[velillen]

Getting a "real" safe is about double your high end. Anything in that class is honestly pretty easy for someone with moderate knowledge and/or any tools with them to defeat. You can often cheat by lagging it somewhere where they can't get a good swing off with an axe or pry too much but if they know how to defeat it, it won't last long. Get something solid/good price and don't sweat it too much about steel gauge and such.

PS: I'm not a safe snob, I have a "safe" that I'm sure you could defeat pretty quick if you're there for the purpose of defeating a safe. Real safes are simply out of the budget for most people.

That is true that the more you spend the better the safe you are going ot get. But there comes a point where you have to just ask "who am i really protecting myself from". For me its the smash and grab types and then the prybar type guys. So a 1500-2000 dollar big safe is plenty for that. Of course the guy who is skilled in safe cracking would make quick work of it but I doubt he would come to my house in the first place haha. That is pretty much what the guy at the safe store i went to brought up as well. Sure they love selling the 5k+ safes but its overkill for 75% of people. Then again a safe is pretty much a once in a life time purchase too.

Oh yeah, gotcha. I did see he explained the reset for the mechanical lock.

I have a cheap safe as well, a pocket prybar would get into the thing, but its main purpose for me right now is to keep guns locked up and out of the way and sight of anyone. I also open it often. But I can see myself getting a several thousand dollar safe in the future with plenty of room in it; something like the guy in the video was demonstrating.

That is pretty much exactly what i did. When i first moved in it was just buying a cheaper safe to mostly just have things locked up if a kid came over. Now that i have money the big safe got bought. Though ill use the small, cheap one daily just to lock up the home defense gun and the carry gun

 

[mizzou]

I have an alarm system on my home and a liberty Provault gun safe. I don't have alot of $$$ Invested in firearms, so i have a small safe but otherwise impenetrable to everyone except burglars focused on safecracking.

You won't be opening the thing with just a crowbar and a hammer, and usually your burglars aren't carrying around firemans axes etc.

 

[dabuddha]

I had a stack on safe fall onto my cat on purpose. You can't trust them!

 

[highland145]

Used safes...real ones. For example...

http://www.southernsafes.com/c-40-used-safes.aspx

Guy I know bought one that you can stand in. Has glass "breaks" in the door so if you try and drill it, pins drop and will keep all but a cutting torch out. Before he loaded it with guns, I stood in it. A bit unnerving because if someones closes you inside, there's not a damn thing you can do to get out. IIRC, $4K.

 

[Scarpozzi]

If you don't have too many guns, you can look into getting a between-the-studs wall safe.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/s...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CJC4wovE-7wCFQ_l7AodIi8A1w

Walmart sells one too that can sometimes be had for less thatn $80. The only catch is it can only hold a couple of rifles. Tactical Walls is a brand that sells a plastic box between the studs with a mirror that neatly fits over the "safe". Just be aware that neither are really safes...their security is really based more on hiding than providing a drill/saw-proof box.

I've only got a few rifles, shotgun, and handguns so a few of those in a remote closet would work for me until I inherit the family gun safe and its contents... The biggest problem with most gun safes are that they take up space and require moisture control. Make sure you invest in silica gel packs or something to dehumidify the closed up space. I've heard some people actually end up with rusted guns after storing them for a few years.

 

[Jimzz]

This thread is over a year old and was bumped by a spammer.

 

[highland145]

This thread is over a year old and was bumped by a spammer.

The other one was 2006....

 

[darkewaffle]

Gun safe? Pfft, no gun is safe. Duh.