Gun Safes .. What is important and quality brands?

[Tree Spud]

As gun safe topic has come up in another thread, and I am looking at purchasing one, would like to get others thoughts on gun safes.

Looking at Liberty safes, whatever high quality brands are there?

What is minimal fire rating/time to look at?

Mechanical versus digital key pad?

Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[35-acre]

I just thought I might broaden the thread a bit too. I'm curious and have been thinking about changing things up as well (buying more, outgrowing my current setup).

So, I guess it comes down to what you are trying to protect them from? Theft, Fire, Flood, Moisture, etc.

Some may consider "safe storage" to mean protecting them from falling into the wrong hands (kids at home, neighbors, break-in, etc.).
If that's the case, maybe starting with a home security system with a zone dedicated to the firearms cabinet (that kills 2 birds; theft and access). Then considering additions like
A secured closet might work from some people but not all. Then you can get into locks, supports, backup access, etc.
Trigger locks and cabled to something structural might be the answer (similar to how a gun store locks up at night).
Additionally, ammo may be locked and stored separately (so kids can't load guns or play with ammo).

Other folks may be more concerned with the environmental, depending on your climate. So storing them:
Not in a location such as a basement that might take on water.
Desiccant packs or rods.
De-humidifier

Still others may look to protect from fire (which seems that you might be leaning towards). Again - just trying to add to the larger discussion. I might pick up a tip or two.

 

[SD51555]

 

[bueller]

While a big heavy expensive safe can be cracked, your average meth head burglar likely will not be able to accomplish this on the spot. As for fire/heat rating, if your home is burning that bad for that long water damage from the fire department will likely ruin the contents anyways. Use the money saved to buy more guns to put inside a moderately priced safe.

Couple tips. Bolt the safe to the floor if it can be moved by a hand truck or a couple strong dudes. Install safe in tight area such as corner of closet where it would be difficult to use long pry bars or sledge hammers. If your place does get hit noise and length of time inside is in your favor.

 

[Native Hunter]

Dial lock rather than electronic lock in case of EMP.....

 

[swat1018]

I like the keypads best for speed, but they aren't as secure as the old fashion dial. Browning is another good brand. Get as big a safe as you can afford. I have all kinds of stuff in my 2. I have one in my barn, and another in my house.

 

[Booner21]

I like the keypads best for speed, but they aren't as secure as the old fashion dial. Browning is another good brand. Get as big a safe as you can afford. I have all kinds of stuff in my 2. I have one in my barn, and another in my house.

I had one with a 5 digit combination safe took 25 minutes it felt like to get into it. I personally hardly ever locked it just because of the shear time it took to get into it. I have a push button keypad lock now much better for my needs.


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[ksJoe]

The first critical step to breaking into a safe is to tip it over, as shown in that video above. If you can't tip it over, it is much harder to break in. I have a fairly cheap safe, but it is bolted to the floor. When I was shopping for a safe I was having a hard time deciding how good of a safe to buy, until I realized if I was the one breaking into the safe in my house, I'd just grab the metal working tools from my garage and then it doesn't matter so much how thick the safe is. Sure, a thick heavy safe is harder to cut through, but with the proper tools it is not that much harder.

By having a cheap safe bolted to the floor, it will take a some time and skill to get into it. IMO, that gets me to the point of diminishing return because anyone with time and skill could use my tools from the garage to get into an expensive safe.

 

[buckdeer1]

I changed my combo lock out to a digital pushbutton,If the safe is anywhere with a heavy fire load such as the basement with 2000 degree fire it will most likely rust the gun or damage the metal, same for paper documents will most likely be ruined unless it's a document safe.No if upstairs on an outside wall or in a concrete shelter it may be ok.I think most of the time it would be theft before fire and the suggestions above make alot of sense.If a meth head tried to get mine out of the basement I imagine I would find them still under the safe half way up stairs

 

[MRBB]

quality costs money, in safes, what I always told folks (I sold them) was add up whats going in them and then decided on what quality safe you should be looking at/for!
weight is a big deal IMO, there are tons of safes on the market thee days that are BIG but they don;t weight very much , or not when you compare to quality safes of like size

Fort Knox's is one of the top safe company's out there, sold a lot of them yrs back and never had a customer complaint on any, and all mine have been flawless as well!
they get my vote here for a brand of safe to look at!
and I agree, look about youtube and you will see tons of videos these days on quality of different brand safes!

when installing a safe , keep in mind location matters a lot ,a s weight of them can get heavy and or over time , it can cause floors to sag or worse, many customers I had ended up having to have supports added before installing them, or after they started sagging HAHA!

 

[Tree Spud]

I agree the weight of the safe relates to the gauge thickness of the steel used to fabricate the safe. Note the more "affordable (cheap box store)" brands are 14-12 gauge. Heavier weight relates to higher quality.

Still trying to understand what other mechanical connections such as lock bolts, hinges, precision of machining/fit, etc. are in terms of rating. Trying to find the weak points.

Note that what we are talking about is not a "safe" but a RSC (Residential security container. The RSC rating means it has undergone UL testing and was tested to protect against hammers, chisels, wrenches, pry bars, punches and screwdrivers for at least 5 minutes.




Liberty has 14 gauge to 7 gauge.



I see that Fort Knox has ranges from 11 gauge on up to 1/2".