Gun safe, what is a good one for the money

[Redneckbuckeye]

For the money, what safe does everyone like? I am waning a combo lock over a digital lock.

 

[NyleRN]

What's your budget? And always buy a safe 3x the size of what you think you'll need right now.

 

[Ddillard]

I have a centurion 24 from liberty safe. At a cost of just $750. There are other safes but I like the warranty of Liberty.

 

[Fixer]

I have a Freedom safe by Liberty. Well worth the money. I bought a Cannon safe and it broke the first day. Returned it and got the Freedom Fast Boy Jr. from Big R. Not a fan of the electronic locks either.

 

[Leadeye]

What's your budget? And always buy a safe 3x the size of what you think you'll need right now.

Solid advice.

 

[PRasko]

If you're looking for a liberty safe, I would recommend you find an older one that's American made, or get one of the higher up models.

The "New" Centurion and Tactical 24 models are NOT continuous welded seems. They are spot welded in the back. Unless this was updated recently.

-edit-

The revolution safes, which aren't on the website anymore for some reason, use the same shell as the tactical 24, and are also spot welded in the back. That was also one of the ones I was looking at at midwest gun exchange, and noticed they were not continuous welded in the back.

 

[Thegeek]

Good and cheap are not synonymous. I narrowed my choices down to Johnson and Ft. Knox. I ended up getting a Johnson.

 

[Arrowsmith]

I have a centurion 24 from liberty safe. At a cost of just $750. There are other safes but I like the warranty of Liberty.

This little Liberty safe makes a lot of sense. It appears to offer pretty good protection and it's light enough to move to a new house or apartment with only a hand truck. When I purchased my second safe, I went with a top-of-the-line pro steal from Browning. I have never been able to fill the darn thing up. In my 69th year, gun collecting doesn't seem so important. The large and extremely robust Browning was always overkill. Moving it require the services of a professional safe expert and a sizable moving fee. I think when I purchased it, I was thinking in all or nothing terms. The little liberty safe that Mr. Dillard purchased sounds like an excellent starter safe for now and it could certainly be used later should he expand his collection to store 22 rifles, Mossberg shotgun's and other reasonably priced guns.

 

[K_W]

+1 for Johnson.

 

[TNLongShot]

What's your budget? And always buy a safe 3x the size of what you think you'll need right now.

This. I wish someone told me when I bought mine. It was great for my needs then, notsomuch now

 

[OutdoorDad]

Use and budget are the big considerations.

Four categories as I see it:
1) Unlocked Gun Cabinets (this would be the walnut and glass display case that might have a lock, but since its glass, well... you know)
2) Locking Light Gun Cabinets (by light, I mean they don't weigh much, two people could easily pick it up and take it out of your basement and into a pickup truck or cut through it in a few minutes using hand tools) Usually the lock is a file cabinet quality keyed lock.
3) Locking Heavy Gun Cabinets (usually have some small number fire rating, are heavy enough for you to ask a neighbor to help you put it in your basement, or three neighbors to help you move it out of your basement) You might be able to find a mechanical tumbler. But probably not.
4) An honest to God safe. The only limitation is how much you would like to spend.

For me and my uses... category 2 and 3 have been and I think will continue to be sufficient. House alarm and very nosy neighbors in a paranoid neighborhood. And I always keep several exterior lights on.

I'm just trying to keep things out of reach of children and casual visitors or opportunistic thieves. But I wouldn't say "no" to a real safe if offered.


My birthday is coming up. Maybe my wife will surprise me and grab a Johnson for me.

 

[IndyDave1776]

My birthday is coming up. Maybe my wife will surprise me and grab a Johnson for me.

Stop right there. If you wife is grabbing your johnson, well, that's too much information!

 

[chezuki]

Stop right there. If you wife is grabbing your johnson, well, that's too much information!

And if she's just grabbing "a Johnson", and not specifically "your Johnson", you need to have a talk with her.

 

[Indy-Mike]

I purchased a Johnson and stopped by there last week to check on it, and was told they would start my safe on Monday, which happens to be my birthday...so my Johnson and my Johnson have the same born on date.....

 

[MCgrease08]

[video=youtube_share;ltK-bDbADa8]http://youtu.be/ltK-bDbADa8[/video]

 

[Principal Skinr]

I very luckily stumbled across a large Ft. Knox safe 5 or 6 years ago on Craigslist. I knew nothing about safes except that Ft. Knox had a good reputation. That video right there made me feel even better about that safe. It is really built well, and bolted to the floor, I can't imagine how anyone could get it out or get it open. If they do, they've probably earned it.

I've been thinking about a second safe because my mother-in-law took a couple shelves with some of her valuables. I've been thinking my Mother-in Law would feel really good about getting a Johnson, especially at her age. (I'm really sorry, but I couldn't resist that. Believe me, I tried.)

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I have Johnson Safes. Great product from Boone County.

Delivery should be a snap for you in Sheridan.

 

[KG1]

Use and budget are the big considerations.

Four categories as I see it:
1) Unlocked Gun Cabinets (this would be the walnut and glass display case that might have a lock, but since its glass, well... you know)
2) Locking Light Gun Cabinets (by light, I mean they don't weigh much, two people could easily pick it up and take it out of your basement and into a pickup truck or cut through it in a few minutes using hand tools) Usually the lock is a file cabinet quality keyed lock.
3) Locking Heavy Gun Cabinets (usually have some small number fire rating, are heavy enough for you to ask a neighbor to help you put it in your basement, or three neighbors to help you move it out of your basement) You might be able to find a mechanical tumbler. But probably not.
4) An honest to God safe. The only limitation is how much you would like to spend.

For me and my uses... category 2 and 3 have been and I think will continue to be sufficient. House alarm and very nosy neighbors in a paranoid neighborhood. And I always keep several exterior lights on.

I'm just trying to keep things out of reach of children and casual visitors or opportunistic thieves. But I wouldn't say "no" to a real safe if offered.


My birthday is coming up. Maybe my wife will surprise me and grab a Johnson for me.

I think this is a pretty good summation. A good layered security strategy is the best approach IMO. Buy the best safe that you can that fits your particular needs for your environment and budget and augment it with other security measures like mentioned in the post above.

Depending on the area one resides in and the threat level of criminal activity you may not necessarily need the biggest and heaviest safe you can find to reasonably secure your firearms from "children, casual visitors or opportunistic thieves" It's up to each person individually to assess their own security risk factors and prepare accordingly.

 

[Markus]

I have a big black Johnson...

It always gets compliments and it is the envy of my buddies...

 

[chezuki]

I have a big black Johnson...

I hear you'll never go back.