Safe recommendation?

[BeeMan]

I'm looking at gun safes and could use some input on what brands or features are worth the dollar$. A nearby Liberty dealer is making the pitch that their fire protection is better. He is also running a sale with free delivery.

BeeMan

[sundog]

BeeMan, check your PMs.

[arkypete]

Beeman
Go to Sportsman Steel Safe Company's web site.
Jim

[scrapcan]

sundog,

Have you got some info that you will share? I too am going down this road. I am finding that safe dealers are as bad as used car dealers. You better have your own info because they will tell you what they need to to get your coin.

[alamogunr]

I got my safe 3 years ago. During my investigation, I found that the biggest point of misinformation by sellers was the fire rating. I could have misunderstood also but trying to compare this rating was almost impossible for me. I believe most safe manufacturers (leaving out the Stack-on, etc. types) make a good product. Some are more secure than others. For my situation, the incremental improvement was not worth the extra $. Since mine was going into my shop, I got the low end paint job too. Make sure the safe you buy will fit through the openings to wherever you plan to install it. Usually, someone advises to get a safe that is larger than what you feel you need. THAT IS GOOD ADVICE. I thought I followed that advice but now need to rearrange the contents to make more room. Something may have to come out. I also use mine to store important documents (wills, etc.).

I bought a Heritage safe. Since I live in Tennessee, I'm sure my dealer had significant freight costs. Depending on your location, you may be able to do better on a brand that incurs less shipping.

This is my take only. Get as much information as you can, both here and from manufacturers, and make your own decision. What is right for me may not be right for you.

[sundog]

What I had for BeeMan was something specific to our local area, not to air in public. In the Tulsa area, several vendors have some nice looking safes at the Wannemacher show in Oct and Apr - might even hit a 'show special' and save a cnote. That might be the best place to view many in a short time in a small area.

Yes, the fire rating is important, but I think the highest maintenance item on a safe for home use might be the lock and locking mechanism. Not too much to go wrong with a steel box. Biggest concern is can I always get in, and will it keep everyone else out.

[fourarmed]

From what I have read and been told, there is not much difference in fire resistance between major brands, in spite of what they claim. What I bought was a Zanotti. They are unique in one respect. They come in 6 pieces, and are put together in place with hardened steel pins. Consequently, they can be moved in much easier than a monolithic safe, and you can put them in a room having a door smaller than the safe.
That is powerful security against crackheads with a movers dolly looking for a quick score. Somebody with a cutting torch, a chainsaw, and plenty of time is going to get into or away with any of them.

[scrapcan]

Sundog,

Thought your reply might be the case. Local info is the best info. Too bad there is little of it in my locale. Thanks for watching out for thos ein your local area.

I hate goign to the show here. The last safe I looked was a local (within 50 miles) seller, I could go to his showroom buy a safe at original, have it shipped to me cheaper than his sale price at the show.

[mtgrs737]

I have sold gun safes for 12 years and the fire rating is the bigest gray area. Some brands of gun safes just flat lie about their ratings. I sold Liberty for 10 years and now am stocking the Champion brand of safes. I never lie to my customers to make a sale, as some will do. I feel that people are smart enough to figure out those who are lieing to them and it is an insult to them. I tell the truth and have a loyal customer base.

My recomendation is to not buy any safe that does not have bolts on all sides of the door, or a safe that has less than two layers of fireboard in the walls. The single fireboard safes are good for 20 minutes in a fire tops no matter what the manufacturerer claims. In a Liberty safe I would buy a Lincoln or above model. in A champion safe a Crown or a Triumph model. I also recomend Fort Knox safes but they are a much smaller company and cost about 25% more for the same level of protection but a good safe. I would stay away from the big box store brands, and farm store safes as they are built to a price and skimp on features that most don't even know they should be getting. When pricing, take note of the thickness of the steel, the presence of bolts on all four sides of the door, the door edge thickness, the door frame, the lock brand (S&G only on any safe for me), the number of layers of fire board (two minimum three in the top) light overall weight is a good way to compare similar size safes and a dead giveaway to a cheap safe (however they could lie about that too).

Now my plug for Champion brand safes:

All Champion safes have bolts on all sides of the door.
Champion safes have the best hard plate (anti-drill plate) in the gun safe industry.
Champion safes have extra re-inforcement in the door edge and door frame to keep them from warping in a fire or a pry attempt.
Champion safes have the best warranty which includes shipping costs back to the factory if needed.
Compare prices to other brands of mid to upper level safes and you will buy a Champion.

Go to Championsafe .com to take a look at them.

I always give two pieces of advise to safe buyers:

1. Get the level/model of safe you really want because a safe is a very long term investment (don't skimp on your safe as you will regret it later).

2. Consider the next larger size safe because there are items that you will want to put in your safe that you have not considered at this point.

Good luck!

[buck1]

Dont over look your local welders even better if hes a shooter too. Theres one around here that make as fine of a safe as I have ever seen.

[BD]

I wanted a "real" safe for many years, but it was not until I moved to SC for work that I felt I MUST have one. I spent a couple of months looking and talking to people, and I have some experience installing large safes and safe rooms in high end homes. In the end I bought a Champion "Trophy" for about $1,000. Some of my personal opinions follow:

-gun safes are really just pre-hung doors, buy the best door you can afford.
-get one you can move without having to ask someone you don't know for help
-Get a real lock, the Champion I bought has a Sargent & Greenleaf
-Get a door seal, in a fire a bit of water protection goes a long way
-Fixed bolts on the hinge side buy you nothing. If the only other bolts are on the opposite side of the door, you don't really have a safe.
-Fire ratings are relative and you can easily improve yours, everywhere but the door, on the outside of the safe.

The most important thing is to realise that anyone knowledgable can get through the top or side wall of any gun safe in about 5 minutes. So back the safe into a closet, bolt it down hard to the floor, and line the walls and top with multiple layers of 5/8 sheetrock, (which is pretty inexpensive), glued and screwed. If you really want to make it tough throw in a layer of Dur-rock in the middle. Fire-caulk the seams. Trim it out with some 1x stock screwed in place. If the only easy access is through the safe door 99% of burglars are going to go somewhere else. It is actually much harder to cut through 2" of layered sheetrock than it is to cut through 1/4" mild plate steel. If you have the kind of stuff around that will attract a real pro, you need more than a gun safe in the first place.

I looked at a bunch of safes and I was briefly attracted by a larger safe on sale at the Sportsman's Warehouse for $699. However after looking it over I came to the conclusion that I had the tools in the garage to open the door in just a few minutes. All I needed was a look at the door when open to see where to start cutting. The door design on the champion makes this kind of attack much, much harder.

BD

[BeeMan]

As usual, this board is good for lots of helpful input. I have a bit of research to do. Thanks for the local tip, Sundog.

[RugerFan]

From what I have read and been told, there is not much difference in fire resistance between major brands, in spite of what they claim. What I bought was a Zanotti. They are unique in one respect. They come in 6 pieces, and are put together in place with hardened steel pins. Consequently, they can be moved in much easier than a monolithic safe, and you can put them in a room having a door smaller than the safe.
That is powerful security against crackheads with a movers dolly looking for a quick score. Somebody with a cutting torch, a chainsaw, and plenty of time is going to get into or away with any of them.

Fourarmed,
How much did you pay for your Zanotti (and what model)? I didn't see any prices on their web site.

[fourarmed]

I bought the next-to-largest one. It is 30"x40"x5' I believe. I chose the interior that holds the most long guns. There are slots for 35, and the top shelf will also hold carbine-length rifles. I believe it was about $1600 with sales tax, and delivery to the door. It came with a Golden Rod dehumidifier.

[RugerFan]

I bought the next-to-largest one. It is 30"x40"x5' I believe. I chose the interior that holds the most long guns. There are slots for 35, and the top shelf will also hold carbine-length rifles. I believe it was about $1600 with sales tax, and delivery to the door. It came with a Golden Rod dehumidifier.

Thanks for the info. I tend to move on occasion and a break-down safe would be just the ticket. :coffee:

[BeeMan]

Thanks again for all the input. I read anything I could find and even talked for a good bit with a local safe guy that deals in bank and jewelry security. Then it was time to start compromising the dream list against the budget. That's where I got another blessing.

A dealer here bought the regional distribution rights for a startup safe company and had just clearance priced their inventory. I ended getting all the features I wanted without blowing the budget and got some expansion room to boot. My wonderful wife approved the deal and picked the color, so its a good deal all around.

:-D

BeeMan

Oh yes, for anybody needing a safe in northeast OK, the dealer is Security Centers, Inc. www.safeart.net . I have no connection to the company, just a satisfied customer.

[sundog]

Waytogo, BeeMan. Do you remember the owner's name?

[BeeMan]

Didn't get the owner's name. I just re-read my post and see it was poorly written. The clearance priced safes were mostly (all?) Liberty. There were a few examples of other brands in the show room. I don't have details about what Security Centers is bringing in, other than it is a startup company that is putting emphasis on heavy steel, up to 3/4 inch in the door for top end models. Sounded more in line with commercial safes, but they had no details or contact info.

[klw]

Years ago a friend did an extensive survey and picked Fort Knox. I bought based on his recommendation.

I call them and asked what the difference was between their various models. More profit to them was the rather straight forward explaination. You can get fance paint or whatever but the basic model is more than adequate. Thought that it was odd that they were that straight forward about it.

I bought a digital lock which I would strongly recommend. I also would recommend the door attachment that alloys you to hang handguns from it. And the little internal heater to keep moisture out. And a base to keep the thing off the floor so if you get water in your garage the safe isn't sitting in a pool of water.

But what impressed me most about Fort Knox is that I bought the wrong interior. When I realize that I called them. Just send mine back they said and we will swap it out at no charge. Now that's customer service.

Oh and pay for them to install it. Cost $50 I think and the delivery people will put it anywhere. That's a lot easier than moving it yourself.