questions before buying a gun safe

[ett]

Absolutely agree all a safe really does is provide a deterrent and is best used as part of a layered approach. Absolutely true. Along with a safe, you should have security type storm doors on your house to help guard against kick-ins, a monitored alarm system, a way to hide/obscure your safe (can't attack what you can't find), and so forth.

But I think a good safe is better than a shitty safe, esp. when the value of what is in the safe that is NOT a gun exceeds the value of what is in the safe that IS a gun (;

Also - first rule of having a safe is never to tell anyone you know that you have a safe.
Second rule of having a safe is to never let anyone who comes into your house see your safe.
Zeroth rule of having a safe is to bolt that fucker to the floor.

By the way, do a google image search for gun safe. The look at all the pictures that have it in the middle of a big room, like a family room, just sitting there out in the open for all the world to see whenever someone comes into your house. You see that? That is NOT a good idea.

FWIW, I have a Liberty Presidential 25. I like it. I like it a lot. It is kept in a secure room behind a commercial steel entry door. It's not out in the middle of the house somewhere like a piece of furniture.

In related news:
http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/article...-protection/1/

Unless THAT safe in your living room is either a decoy or only contains some of your items.

Make sure you know what your purpose in buying a safe is. Mine will keep kids out and provide a delay if someone wants my stuff. I realized that when I bought it and i am fine with that. If you want more then be prepared to spend a lot more money.

A pricey and impractical idea is to buy 5 safes and use 4 as decoys. Heck put notes on them saying " 1 safe has real stuff in it. The other 4 are booby trapped never to be opened again without consequences, have fun figuring out which is which".

Same as with everything in life. Do not put all your eggs in one basket.

[DaveM55]

Look around and you can find movers who will transport and install the safe for you complete with bolts and up on hockey pucks.

Their trick to moving them is sliding the safe on pieces of thick Teflon.

[free]

Unless THAT safe in your living room is either a decoy or only contains some of your items.

You're still advertising that you're someone who has spend money on a safe, and has stuff to put in a safe. Besides which, these don't look like decoys to me:

https://www.google.com/search?q=gun+...TzDv0Q_AUIBigB

Some of those safes are pretty damned pricey.

If walk into my house, or view it from the outside, you'd have no idea I have anything really interesting in my house, let alone where it is. You could take a tour of my house and still never see it.

My "decoy" safe is just a lock box bolted to my desk. A lot cheaper and less space than buying a nice gun safe for the same purpose (:

This guy has the right idea:
5CC23029-A6E8-456C-BEFE-2F03DB19C148-548-0000009582D07384.jpg
Too bad his safe sucks.

[free]

Look around and you can find movers who will transport and install the safe for you complete with bolts and up on hockey pucks.

Their trick to moving them is sliding the safe on pieces of thick Teflon.

It's not hard to move a safe if you're creative about it. I moved my 1000 pound safe from a garage in Monroeville to a basement in Pittsburgh fairly easily. 3 people loaded it onto trailer, I drove it to the new location and we dumped it into garage fairly easily. Later when I was ready and had the time, 2 men moved from garage, loaded it back on trailer, drove it around front, unloaded it, and jimmied it into yard to put on a Lowe's yard cart.

Then I used winch on my Jeep to lower down sloped yard to get into position for next step. Then I moved Jeep and rigged up winch line to pull the cart up 3 step steps onto back porch. From there, it was just a matter of rolling it into basement on the yard cart. Once in the basement, we had to stand it back up and we did so by pushing it off the cart. It sort of landed on a "corner". The hardest part of the whole thing was getting it from there to an upright position, but it wasn't that hard. Then we just jimmied it over to the corner and I bolted it down (:

[rodspade]

I'd expect any decent safe to have a UL "Residential Security Container" rating. That just means that one guy without real tools would need more than 5 minutes to get into it. Anything without a RSC rating is just a fancy cabinet, even if the lock itself is "UL" certified.

[free]

I'd expect any decent safe to have a UL "Residential Security Container" rating. That just means that one guy without real tools would need more than 5 minutes to get into it. Anything without a RSC rating is just a fancy cabinet, even if the lock itself is "UL" certified.

I disagree. Plenty of older safes around without an RSC rating that are way better than a cheap safe that has it.

Here are some great potential safes for OP, if he lives in the area. If not, his own CL probably has some:

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/atq/5925429628.html (At $350, this is a steal. If I needed a safe, I would go buy it right now)

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/jwd/5930094679.html (I love this TL-30 safe! Even for the price)

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/for/5889803144.html

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/fuo/5880054094.html

Here are some in another area:

http://winchester.craigslist.org/atd/5917169191.html

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...931595247.html

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...894319538.html

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/spo/5895097720.html

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/for/5935348343.html

[God's Country]

This thread makes me feel safe.

coloring books, kittens, or both?

[chmcnm]

Free has the right idea. I have/had several safes. My favorite is an older, made in USA Liberty with a dial combo. The new stuff is junk unless you spend $$$. Look on Craigslist. My safes are to keep kids out and dissuade smash and grabs. Fire and pro thieves are a whole different ball game.

[bortle]

What ever you do, buy one bigger than you need. Guns have a way of multiplying.

[normanvin]

Be warned that gun safes do not fit as many guns as advertised. Empty they look huge. But when you toss a few rifles in you soon learn they are not.

It sucks taking out six or ten rifles out of the safe to get to that one that is way in the back.