Need Advice: Choosing a Safe

Gravelface

Gravelface

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2005
Messages
11,342
I have come to a point where I feel between knives, guns, and general safety....I have decided to get a safe. I never really considered one, thinking they were too expensive, but at a Gun Show yesterday there was a dealer selling 2 models, Champion and Browning.

For $698 I can have a 525lb Champion Sport model delivered.(http://www.championsafe.com/sport.html)

Hell...I have paid more than that for 1 knife as I am sure quite a few of us have....and if you have 3 Busses I am sure you paid that much.

It beats the cardboard box and closet shelf they sit on now. I am out of town quite a bit and while my child knows not to touch anything in my room......she is 3.

So any of you with a safe, PLEASE let me know what you think of this one or any recommendations.
 
Gravelface said:
I have come to a point where I feel between knives, guns, and general safety....I have decided to get a safe. I never really considered one, thinking they were too expensive, but at a Gun Show yesterday there was a dealer selling 2 models, Champion and Browning.

For $698 I can have a 525lb Champion Sport model delivered.(http://www.championsafe.com/sport.html)

Hell...I have paid more than that for 1 knife as I am sure quite a few of us have....and if you have 3 Busses I am sure you paid that much.

It beats the cardboard box and closet shelf they sit on now. I am out of town quite a bit and while my child knows not to touch anything in my room......she is 3.

So any of you with a safe, PLEASE let me know what you think of this one or any recommendations.
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Champion is a very good safe for the money.

This is a good starter safe, in my opinion. When you get where you're going to be for a while (++Years), and your weapons collection mandates, you can always upgrade.

PM me for more info.

Thanks!
 
That sounds like a heck of a good deal and you can't go wrong with Champion. However, if you are like me and like to play with your toys on a regular basis, I would highly recommend a digital keypad lock. It makes it much more convienent to open the safe several times a day. Also, I'm more worried about fire then theft and if the Trophy Series is not too much more money, it offers a LOT more fire protection then the Sport series. Either one though offers far more protection then your current method, so you really can't go wrong.

For what it's worth, I have a Canon safe and have been very pleased with it. I got it many years ago, before they we're #1 in sales, so I suspect their prices have gone up on the strength of their name, but at the time, and maybe even today, they had a very high value in terms of protection, features and quality.

One last thing to be aware of is the difficulty of installing one. Make sure you know exactly what they will and won't do when it comes time to deliver it and find out if they will upcharge you to go up stairs, etc. When I moved into our current house, the safe movers were unable to get the safe up the stairs. They gave me a break on the move because they couldn't finish, but I ended having to rent a Bobcat with forks to get it around the back of my house, I had to disasseble the staircase on the deck and part of the railing and had to devise a way to move it though the sliding glass door without crushing the door's aluminum track. Major PITA factor! All of this to say, take careful measurments of where it will be placed and the path in which it must take to get there. In the end, it was well worth the effort though.
 
Gun Safes are a lot like Tool boxes, tough to ever have to many, even if they just sit in Garage full of old stuff you do not ever use and seldom look at.
 
Both these sites are recommended for user perspectives on different safes.

www.thehighroad.org

www.thefiringline.com

Both are gun boards where you can search past posts for particular brands and get a fair deal of information about most models.
 
I was lucky and found a gun shop going out of bussiness , got this for $650.00 del. 20 cubic ft .with regular combo . Other than Busse best investment i ever made .
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I have a huge (well maybe not huge) gun safe measuring 73 inches high x 42 inches wide x 26 inches deep. My wife forced me to get it years ago. It was tough for me to justify getting it nstead of another gun or knife, but I am glad I did.

Get te biggest you can off the batt or you will regret it later.
 
I would like to get the biggest I can up front, but I am currently in an apartment and that one wouldn't be too much trouble to get from point A to point B....where ever that is.
 
Gravelface said:
I would like to get the biggest I can up front, but I am currently in an apartment and that one wouldn't be too much trouble to get from point A to point B....where ever that is.
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then for now I would go cheap on a small safe. Just get one that you can bolt down to the floor or wall and can place multiple locks on it. No reason to pay a lot for a safe that will too small in the future. Wait till you move to spend the big bucks on a nice safe. That is IMO
 
gimmejr said:
Heres something at Lowes at the affordable range. Something small you can move until you get into something more permanent

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=125842-26605-E5251&lpage=none
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I have one like that. I got it at Home Depot.

I'm in an Apartment and had to get it up a flight of stairs. Even with a powered stair climbing dolly it was a bitch to get it up there.

I didn't bother to bolt it down because it weighs 300 lbs and has a bunch of heavy stuff inside it. It would be a real undertaking to remove it from my apartment and it would certainly get my neighbors attention.

It's not so great for fire protection but I'm in a city, my old downstairs neighbors set their kitchen on fire and the fire trucks got there in time to put it out before it spread. I think the cheap safe is probably good for at least 30 minutes in a normal house fire, plenty of time for my fire department to respond.

I wish it was larger, but then it wouldn't fit in my closet and it would have been even more difficult to install.
 
With a Door to the Gunsafe like that one.

The Inside part of the Gun Safe Must be a Happy place.
 
Gravelface said:
I would like to get the biggest I can up front, but I am currently in an apartment and that one wouldn't be too much trouble to get from point A to point B....where ever that is.
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That is the problem I am facing at the moment.

We are relocating from SoFla to S.C. and I just can't figure out how to take a ~1000# safe with me. Especially since it will be a few weeks or longer till we get a new house.

I did manage to get it from my house to my Dad's house with a pallet jack, but he is only 7 houses away and it went out of my garage into his. It is still on a pallet.

I think the easiest would be to sell this one and buy new once we get our new house. Not the cheapest, but the least hassle.

It is a Sportsman Steel Special Forces that I've had for 13 yrs or so. Had very high marks in Gun Tests back then.

Rob
 
for the price you mention it does not sound as though it is fire rated, or if it is for very long.

often, higher prices mean a higher fire rating for a longer time.

i have a cannon. 5 feet tall, two feet wide, 18" deep. fire rated for 1300 for 30 minutes iirc. i paid about 800.00 a few years ago.

most safes are bought for burglary protection, and the average safe will take a skilled burglar about 10 minutes to defeat.

things to look for:
steel guage,
number of locks,
interior vs exterior size (higher fire rating means thicker walls),
electronic vs dial,
fire rating (temp/time),
warranty.

some higher end companies offer a full replacement warranty in the event of fire or burglary.

also consider:
1. you are buying to protect property, so how much you spend on the safe should not be a consideration, necessarily. consider how much you are trying to protect.

2. decide what size would suit you currently, then double that. otherwise you will outgrow your safe in no time. you will find yourself storing all sorts of stuff: electronics, paperwork, jewelry, etc. i bought one twice the size i thought i would need, and have already outgrown it. and i dont want a garage full of safes, so im saving to buy the largest one that will fit comfortably, about 1400.00.

good luck!
 
This one is 30.5 x 60.5 x 22.5, 1200 for 30 minutes, 8 1" bolts, 23 cubic feet of storage and 525lbs.

I might be able to get it for less than 700 as that is delivered and it is close enough to pick up myself.

It is ready for 12 or 14 rifles and 5 half shelves and 1 full shelf plus any options you choose like Wired45's pistol support system. I have half that many Rifles so I am hoping it would be good for a while.
 
I need to get a better safe for the Collection and other stuff. I ran out of room months ago :p over here the Del Mar Gunshow has a couple guys with a great selection of safes and gun cases. I'll have to check out some of these models you guys are talking about. Need to keep these safe! Especially with another on the way :)
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When I rented, I used a security cabinet I bought at Walmart.

It was about $129 and I bolted it to the wall.

It wouldn't deter a serious thief but it would safeguard little ones in the house and keep the honest people honest.

But if you are okay with moving it in the future, I'd go ahead and buy the Champion.

It sounds like a very good deal.
 
Jason,

If you think you won't have any trouble installing it, that sounds pretty good.

If you are concerned about the fire rating, you can cover the safe with sheetrock or even make a full framed, insulated and sheetrocked wall surrounding the safe.

The difference between a fire rated safe and a safe that isn't fire rated is just a layer of sheetrock inside the safe. Sheetrock outside of the safe should give you similar protection.

For any one that's curious, the $400 Sentry safe has sheet rock. The door is 1/4" thick I think. The hinges are hidden, there are plenty of bolts (I think 8). The body of the safe is pretty thick also. It would take a real safe cracker or a really determined amature to open it.

When you think about the value of the safes content, you should also consider who you are trying to protect it from. Fire is a valid concern, it doesn't discriminate. I don't think a real safe cracker would take the risk to steal my collection, stealing a Mercedes would be easier and much more lucrative. Some crack head might think I'm a good target but I doubt they will be able to do anything beside tip over the safe. I doubt any one stupid enough to target me could get the safe to the top of the stairs without someone seeing them, then they would have to push it down the stairs which would create a real racket.
 
wired45 said:
I was lucky and found a gun shop going out of bussiness , got this for $650.00 del. 20 cubic ft .with regular combo . Other than Busse best investment i ever made .
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DSCN1257.jpg
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I need a set up like that for my door! :eek::D

Cobalt said:
then for now I would go cheap on a small safe. Just get one that you can bolt down to the floor or wall and can place multiple locks on it. No reason to pay a lot for a safe that will too small in the future. Wait till you move to spend the big bucks on a nice safe. That is IMO
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I have to agree with Blue Boy, buy something small and affordable until you get in larger more permanent digs. My Liberty is #900 empty and when I moved, it cost me a good chunk to get it out here. Then the guy wouldn't even try to move it down my stairs to the basement (can't blame him). If the wife and I ever build, I am going to build a vault into the foundation (at least that is what the kid in me thinks would be cool).

Rob, you are right, you probably would be better off with selling your old safe locally and buying something new after you relocate permanent like.
 
Progunner said:
Then the guy wouldn't even try to move it down my stairs to the basement (can't blame him).
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All you need is a reciprocating saw and a sense of where the safe is located upstairs. :D

The key is to keep the ladder always to one side of the cuts and never under the actual hole.* :p :p

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* This tip is NOT brought to you by a licensed moving professional, and any actions taken by the reader will be at his or her own risk.
 
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