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Thread: Pistol Safe Recommendations

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    catmandu's Avatar
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    Pistol Safe Recommendations

    I'm looking for a good pistol safe.
    I've searched the site and found information on full size rifle safes.

    For small safes 1-2 pistols, what do you recommend?

    Thanks,

    Paul in WNY
    Think you can, or think you can't. Either way your right.

  2. #2
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    Well, here's kind of a round about answer for you. If I wanted one I'd look at what Midway USA, Sportsman's Guide, etc. have to offer, read the specs, compare the prices, and make my own decision that best fit my particular individual needs.

    Something to consider is how many guns do you want to secure. Also, and the big reason that I do not personally use them, is that unless you can anchor them down, a burglar can pick them up and carry them away to break open at his leisure. For that reason, I feel that it's best to secure my handguns by other means (which I don't want to discuss!). If you have one of the huge heavyweight gun safes, than that is probably your best option. If you only have one or two handguns, and keep then near the bed to be readily accessed in the event of a nighttime intrusion, then perhaps one of the small safes that open with a push button combination or finger print recognition might be your choice. Most of them can be anchored -- but the question remains "anchored to what?" If to a nightstand, that is also easily carried away in it's entirety.

    One way to look at it is that if you only have one or two handguns, and usually carry one when away from home, it makes about as much sense to have your favorite in your nightstand drawer, under the pillow, under the edge of the bed, wherever, and carry it with you when you leave home for an extended period. Five or fewer you can keep in a case and put it in your car trunk when away from home. But, when you're at home and something goes bump in the dark, you don't have to fumble with a safe and risk lost time by missing the correct button sequence (fat finger syndrome) or having the battery be dead in the fingerprint recognition device. In other words, human error or mechanical failure.

    Just some thoughts. Perhaps none of them match your personal situation. 0

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy glockfan's Avatar
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    Der Gebirgsjager got it right.

    unless you can bolt them on a concrete floor,it's pretty much useless .

    an old pinkerton safe with a dial wheel is a much better option.

    there's plenty of those old , still working vaults of different sizes on the used market .

    me i've got a small 18X20 vault who may contain 20 handguns side by side , bolted by the inside to a concrete floor .

    while the gun who count the most is the G23 hanging in the night stand.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Tatume's Avatar
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    Reminds me of the scene in Breaking Bad in which the crackhead, in his living room, is wailing away at an ATM machine with an axe. He claims to have done this five times previously. His wife, observing from the couch, says "he never got any of those open either."

  5. #5
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    As I recall in my research into what works and what doesn't I can suggest avoiding any that star in YouTube videos of them being opened by dropping on floor or with a paper clip. Which is most $99 night stand pistol safes. There was one with a set of 4 or 5 slides that were either "up" or "down" in a slot. That was solid box and hard to open, except that there were not a huge number of combinations.

    They do make auto lock boxes intended to be bolted down or attached by a cable around a seat mount or trunk frame. The ones I have seen key lock. That might provide you with an option. The metal boxes intended to hold keys mounted to a wall that lock with a key are another option.

    I will say don't buy the small $99 - $120 fire proof safes from office supply or big box stores. They sweat moisture like crazy, they get their fire rating by sweating moisture that has to boil off helping to cool the safe contents. Gets hot it sweats, inside. Tendency to mold and rust stuff inside them. They are also made of metal looking PLASTIC and can be cut in half with a circular saw.

    Mounted gun box, fairly hidden, ideally in a location that makes attacking it with tools difficult is probably your best bet. Above a closet door on the inside, attached to the wall under the bed, in linen closet behind towels. In all those cases attached from inside to a stud. Then pistol is either on you. In night stand or mattress holster while you sleep or locked up out of sight.

    Essentially I'm not a fan of using a secured storage box for a middle of the night intruder defense. I don't have small kids in the house, if I did I might go with night storage on a closet shelf out of easy reach but where I can step out of bed and just grab it. Middle of the night in your bed wakened from a sound sleep by sound of intruder is not the time to be standing there in your tidy whiteys trying to fiddle with latches or combinations.

    Some use more than one box in different locations. One out in living area for easy access storage while they are up and about. A second one concealed for storage when not home.

    Another sort of odd one is thieves will not generally dig through some old guys boxes of shoes on the floor of a closet. Mount box to floor and place shoe boxes over it, maybe with hole cut in bottom to allow shoe box (or two) to drop over the lock box. If a table has sides you might be able to mount to bottom of table and have it not visible. Depends on table thickness for mounting screws and side supports height. Point is a lock box secures a gun it doesn't protect it from theft. So if it can be easily located and is in a lock box type storage it will probably be stolen.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

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  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Just buy an electrical breaker panel box, mount it close to your main breaker panel and run some fake wiring to it to make it look legit, then store your handguns in there. I don't think a burglar would think of looking inside a breaker panel.

  7. #7
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    Thank you for the good advise, I found a good article on safes and learned a lot. Lots of the under $100 quick access units we see at sporting goods stores have online videos showing how to open in minutes. I want something more secure and also able to limit access to when I am busy.

    Thanks again.

    Paul in WNY
    Think you can, or think you can't. Either way your right.

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