Name a good safe

[stephen87]

Anyone have a recommendation for a safe for me? I need at minimum 12 long gun safe, with room for a few handguns. Maximum of $450 before taxes. Prefer to look at it in person around Indy. No cabinets.

 

[cook5oh]

Every year Menards has a great sale on a big fire proof safe during black friday. Think it was 399.99. It is a Cannon, i think 24 gun. I bought one about 2 years ago. I was going to use it as a second safe but I ended up giving it to my best friend who needed one bad. It works great and has lots of space. It does have the digital keypad (and a key override), but so far no issues at all with that.

 

[Thegeek]

Good and cheap are really hard to put in the same sentence when talking about safes. I've been on a 2 year hunt for a safe. My initial thought was $1000 will get me a good safe. My new budget is about $2700. When you start getting into the gritty details, the differences really come out. Fort Knox has a good video about the differences. Types of steel, fire protection methods, bolt diameters, etc. All of it factors in.

With a budget of $500, you're not going to get what I would call a "good" safe. "Good" safes start at about $2000.

 

[stephen87]

You can absolutely get a "good" safe for $450. It doesn't have to be i don't want it to be the best safe. I don't need it to be a great safe. I need it to protect my child from getting to my guns. I need it to be sturdy. I need it to slow down would burglers. I need it to slow fire damage. I live in an town home so it WON'T stop fire damage. Because we have a town home, and our bed room is on the second floor, I don't need a big one. I need a small one for now, I already have one picked out for when we buy a house. So how about you give me some suggestions and not tell me how I need to increase my price range by 5x to get the beat of the best of the best for something that will be replaced at some point.

 

[cook5oh]

You dont need to spend 2700 dollars to get a decent safe. Thats like saying you gotta spend 10k on a Beretta over and under shotgun just to go bird hunting. I've got the stack-on elite safe that I paid about 800 bucks for and it does everything i need. I've never had any issues with it. Keeps my weapons safe from children and prevents the would-be burglar from getting in. It's way to heavy to move around easily and the average thug aint gonna break into it. And it's fire proof.

 

[Chaplain45]

There is a good thread "Black Friday Ads" https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/general-firearms-discussion/364509-black-friday-ads.html that may have some sales on exactly what you need...or at least some fun things to look at I admit to having a lot of fun looking at the range of options.

 

[Brandon]

We have been out at the local big box places looking for a larger safe but have stumbled on to something that may be what you are looking for. Check out (I know we hate to say it on INGO) Dicks and Gander. They had decent will slow people down safes for 4-500 bucks. I think they may be just what you are looking for.

 

[firefighterjohn]

You dont need to spend 2700 dollars to get a decent safe. Thats like saying you gotta spend 10k on a Beretta over and under shotgun just to go bird hunting. I've got the stack-on elite safe that I paid about 800 bucks for and it does everything i need. I've never had any issues with it. Keeps my weapons safe from children and prevents the would-be burglar from getting in. It's way to heavy to move around easily and the average thug aint gonna break into it. And it's fire proof.

I've also been happy with my Stack-ON; Field - n - Stream, that I bought on sale. Mine is fireproof but also water proof for period of time. I haven't seen many advertised that also claim they are water proof. If yours would be in the basement as mine is, the majority of times there is more smoke and WATER damage from a house fire than actual fire damage. Just something else you might consider when shopping...

 

[Hop]

They aren't exactly close to Indy but I've been impressed by the Cabela's by Liberty safes. The 12 gun is in your price range:
ProVault Safes by Liberty : Cabela's

The fire ratings on these "cheap" safes are a joke though. A 30 minute 1200* rating is nothing when there's a fire.

 

[looney2ns]

Best time of year to purchase a safe. Gander has good sales on Liberty safes around black Friday. Tractor supply, rural king, walmart, lowes, home depot all have good black Friday sales on safes.

 

[zippy23]

Johnson. Jeff Johnson is here on INGO. He makes safes, in zionsville. Buying a safe might be one of the most important purchases. What will you store in it? How much do you have to store? Here are some thoughts

1) Think of everything you want to store in your safe, then buy a safe that fits double what you will store. You will fill it up so fast you will be amazed. I listened to this advice and my goodness was it genius.

2) Pay attention to the thickness of the steel used. When you see department store safes, they look like they have huge thick doors, not true, its mostly filler to make you think the door is big and heavy. The thicker the steel the more expensive the safe will be, yet the thicker the steel, the better fire protection and intruder protection it will have. especially the sides. Everyone thinks of the door being the point of entry, thats hilarious if the steel on the sides and top are thin, check out youtube videos on how easy these department store safes are to get into. The thicker the steel, the heavier the safe, the harder it is to carry off.

3) The seams. Are they spot welded? Fully welded? If your safe is in a basement and it floods, you get water in the safe if its not fully welded at the seams. Check door bolts as well. Most bolts cost $3-$5, so if the manufacturer leaves out 1 bolt on the inside of the door that you will never see......they save a lot of money, alot. Most department store safes are not fully welded.

4) The lock. I strongly suggest a manual lock, maybe one with a key feature for quick access. Digital locks seem great and fun, yet a lot of people dont like the deal with batteries. Some people are worried about EMP's too.

5) Interior. Get your interior the way you like it and with good strong materials, not particle board and cheap outdoor carpeting like some department store safes. chances are you will store very heavy things in there, i dunno, maybe a bunch of ammo? Dont be sold on the gimmicks of interior lighting and dehumidifiers. Some dehumidifiers you have to plug in, they are fine, but there has to be a wire running out of the safe. There are many solid state de humidifiers that you plug in an outlet once a month to release the moisture and then put it back in the safe and you are good($20). you can buy cheap push button sticky lights($3) and put then wherever you want in the safe.

In summary, focus on whats important and that is your safe. A huge box of metal that is hard to get into. Not a fancy lighting system and a door hang system to hang your handguns in cuz it looks cool, eventhough it does look pretty cool, its a way to sell a thin safe, since the steel is where the cost is coming from. If the small safes are going to work for what you have then awesome. If you have some seriously important stuff to store, then might wanna really look into what you are buying.

 

[hANNAbONE]

Liberty Timber Ridge or FatBoy

 

[jss1956]

I went thru this decision a couple of years ago. While I would love to drop the bucks for a high end safe, I had to ask myself if it was really worth while. My conclusion was unless you've got a gun collection worth 5-6 figures, you are probably fine with something for less than $1000. As I did research, the Cannon 48 gun safe from Tractor Supply came out on top for me. With an internal plug in, a different lock system and nice construction, it definitely came out on top.

Here is what you get with a Stack-On, Sentury or many other similar made safes. THis is not security: Safe Cracking; How to open a Sentry Gun Safe in under 1 minute - YouTube

Being able to open these safes in under a minute was more than enough to steer me clear of these brands. If you think the thieves of the world don't see this video think again. The Cannon does not use this style of reset and is much harder to open. I love the construction and quality and feel it is a best buy in this price range. You can get these on sale at Tractor Supply on Black Friday for 30-40% off.

Think about what you really need: The average thief is the "Smash & Grab" druggie that is in your house for an average of 8-minutes. They take what they can carry. Provided you bolt the safe to the floor and mount the safe in a corner with the door opening next to the wall you will go a long way in protecting your goods. Find a way to hide the safe, keep the location secret and you really increase the safety factor. The bad guys can't steal what they can't find or don't see. This should protect your goods 95% of the time. The other 5% is the pro who knows what he is stealing and can open any safe. He will get what he's after.

Finally, talk to your insurance guy. Understand your fire and storm odds. Chances of your home burning down or getting sucked up in a tornado and dropped in Kansas are far lower than you think.

 

[medcoxo]

"you bolt the safe to the floor and mount the safe in a corner with the door opening next to the wall",, that is the key to security. Think I need to find a good safe for fires!! Not only for the guns, but need something for ammo storage.

 

[wtburnette]

I've been happy with the Safari by Cannon I bought from my buddy. He picked it up at Walmart for about $500 around Black Friday and sold it to me after he found an awesome deal on a larger safe. It's not a high end safe, but if that's all you can afford, it's better than nothing.

 

[Morgan88]

Good fortune for me we have a TSC, and a Dunhams within a mile of me. Pretty sure I can fit it in my busy schedule to compare prices. Is it true for others we are looking for at least our 2nd safe. The first one you buy is never big enough? By the way as a practical matter who delivers these safes? I assume Lowes does but what about the others. Do you want them delivered?

 

[Morgan88]

Good fortune for me we have a TSC, and a Dunhams within a mile of me. Pretty sure I can fit it in my busy schedule to compare prices. Is it true for others we are looking for at least our 2nd safe. The first one you buy is never big enough? By the way as a practical matter who delivers these safes? I assume Lowes does but what about the others. Do you want them delivered?

 

[Chaplain45]

Our Tractor Supply gave me the na me and number of a guy who does delivery. Charges $75 if going in the garage,& $125 in the house. Make sure it will fit through the door.

 

[BE Mike]

Our Tractor Supply gave me the na me and number of a guy who does delivery. Charges $75 if going in the garage,& $125 in the house. Make sure it will fit through the door.

Delivery charges are a big deal. When my father recently bought a safe, one of the big factors was that the seller delivered it and set it up inside the house for $50.00.

 

[Thegeek]

You can absolutely get a "good" safe for $450. It doesn't have to be i don't want it to be the best safe. I don't need it to be a great safe. I need it to protect my child from getting to my guns. I need it to be sturdy. I need it to slow down would burglers. I need it to slow fire damage. I live in an town home so it WON'T stop fire damage. Because we have a town home, and our bed room is on the second floor, I don't need a big one. I need a small one for now, I already have one picked out for when we buy a house. So how about you give me some suggestions and not tell me how I need to increase my price range by 5x to get the beat of the best of the best for something that will be replaced at some point.

Sounds like you already know, so why are you asking us? You asked for an opinion on a "good" safe. My opinion is that you can't get a "good" safe for less than 2k.