Looking for a gun safe... narrowed down to two I think.

[JrFreak]

Looking for my first gun safe. I narrowed it down to two I think...

The Winchester Ranger Deluxe

http://winchestersafes.com/rangerdel...nitegloss.aspx

And...

Stack-on Total Defense

https://www.stack-on.com/categories/...s/products/320

Added a 3rd to the list... maybe not... just saw the price...

http://www.libertysafe.com/buy-a-saf...lor-pg-37.html

My wants/needs:

At least 1 hour fire protection
~30 gun capacity
Waterproof nice but not a must
Good warranty / Reputation

I'm leaning toward the Winchester, but that extra 200 lbs would make it tougher to get it to the final location. I'm not too worried about somone stealing the safe, so the extra weight in that sense didn't help.

Any thought? Any other recommendations? I want to stay around $1000.

[Snert]

Just a few pointers from my standpoint.

1- make sure you can get the safe to where you want it to be. Would really suck to not be able to get it through a doorway or around a hallway corner.

2- A gun safe is NEVER truly rated by capacity. if it says 20 long guns, figure truly 15 might fit. I think they rate them using lever guns with no optics . I can truly say the AR platform will use the space of 2 lever guns. Plus the fact that the butt stocks will be kicked out to lean the rifle into a holding place. Due to that alone, always plan for a bigger safe than you think you will need.

3- My honest opinion and mine only...If I knock on the door of the safe or the sides and it is NOT a solid steel sheet. It is easy entry with few tools. Down fall to this is MOST of us have the tools in our garage/shop to make forced entry easy. Basically thin metal is just a big soup can, A 3-5 lb hand mallet with a chisel or screwdriver will penetrate the metal. A good crow/demolition bar will pry the door open.

4- Bolt it to the foundation....and do a good job at it. Don't take the oh its close enough approach. If the olts are loose it can be rocked and carried away.

5- Look at penetration preventative measures by the manufacturer. Mine has hardened ball bearings sandwiched between the 1/4 inch thick steel door and the lock/tumbler system. This makes for drilling a problem, drill bit hits ball bearings and goes off center jams/snaps tip. The handle if struck with a hammer, it has a shear pin, snaps off and the handle is useless. Hinges are internal on mine. If the safe is knocked over it disables the lock system.

Look for thicker steel used in the entire outer structure. Thicker the better, plus the added weight helps hinder the carry away. But if the body is thinner than the door, that is a problem to me. it makes for easy pry bar entry. the door becomes the solid foundation, and the body is moved away from the locking bolts.
In my opinion NO safe is truly fireproof. It all depends on where the fire starts. If you have a power outlet inside for lights, dehumidifier etc. Think what happens when the wire outside starts to burn. The wire can act as a fuse and bring the fire into the safe, thus BBQ firearms.

My safe is a 20 year old Heritage safe co. I need a second one as it is overstuffed now.
You will find it will get used for EVEYTHING from firearms to important documents to jewelry and things with sentimental value.

Snert..

PS- But something is better than nothing...

[RockIsland]

I'm no safe expert but from what I've seen the Liberty safes are very well made and fairly reasonable. I would never trust an electronic lock but I've always preferred mechanical designs over circuit boards for longtime reliability. Plus if there's an EMP you're screwed.

[Qtrborecrazy]

Read the thread on the Winchester safe in the lounge. I have a Liberty and its a good safe, Get a regular dial.

[middlefinger]

.

I have a liberty with a mechanical lock


what sold me ;

We back up every UL rated safe we sell!

If your Liberty Safe is unfortunate enough to experience a fire or a damaged safe from an attempted break-in, Liberty will provide you with a new Liberty safe delivered right to your home - all for FREE!* No delivery charges, no hidden expenses, and a new safe to show for it. That's our guarantee. That's Liberty.
You can now register your warranty on line. It's quick and easy. After you buy, go to the home page and click on the REGISTER YOUR WARRANTY HERE button to begin. You will need your serial number to register your warranty.

*Delivery and in home service for replacement safe is included in the Lifetime Warranty on all safes built after January 1, 2006. If your safe was built before 1/1/2006, please refer to your safe warranty coverage for complete details.

http://www.libertysafe.com/

where i bought mine there were a half dozen or so safes that were damaged by attempted break-ins and they replaced them all

.

[God's Country]

Meh, go with whatever floats your boat.
Just be sure if you go electronic there is an alternate method of opening the safe.

Personally to me a gun safe is basic protection. Your homeowners policy will cover fire and water damage that may occur as a result. My policy has 10K in firearms theft, which is pretty decent.

[mosseater]

Just a few pointers from my standpoint.

1- make sure you can get the safe to where you want it to be. Would really suck to not be able to get it through a doorway or around a hallway corner.

2- A gun safe is NEVER truly rated by capacity. if it says 20 long guns, figure truly 15 might fit. I think they rate them using lever guns with no optics . I can truly say the AR platform will use the space of 2 lever guns. Plus the fact that the butt stocks will be kicked out to lean the rifle into a holding place. Due to that alone, always plan for a bigger safe than you think you will need.

3- My honest opinion and mine only...If I knock on the door of the safe or the sides and it is NOT a solid steel sheet. It is easy entry with few tools. Down fall to this is MOST of us have the tools in our garage/shop to make forced entry easy. Basically thin metal is just a big soup can, A 3-5 lb hand mallet with a chisel or screwdriver will penetrate the metal. A good crow/demolition bar will pry the door open.

4- Bolt it to the foundation....and do a good job at it. Don't take the oh its close enough approach. If the olts are loose it can be rocked and carried away.

5- Look at penetration preventative measures by the manufacturer. Mine has hardened ball bearings sandwiched between the 1/4 inch thick steel door and the lock/tumbler system. This makes for drilling a problem, drill bit hits ball bearings and goes off center jams/snaps tip. The handle if struck with a hammer, it has a shear pin, snaps off and the handle is useless. Hinges are internal on mine. If the safe is knocked over it disables the lock system.

Look for thicker steel used in the entire outer structure. Thicker the better, plus the added weight helps hinder the carry away. But if the body is thinner than the door, that is a problem to me. it makes for easy pry bar entry. the door becomes the solid foundation, and the body is moved away from the locking bolts.
In my opinion NO safe is truly fireproof. It all depends on where the fire starts. If you have a power outlet inside for lights, dehumidifier etc. Think what happens when the wire outside starts to burn. The wire can act as a fuse and bring the fire into the safe, thus BBQ firearms.

My safe is a 20 year old Heritage safe co. I need a second one as it is overstuffed now.
You will find it will get used for EVEYTHING from firearms to important documents to jewelry and things with sentimental value.

Snert..

PS- But something is better than nothing...

Had my Fort Knox since 97 and been pretty happy with it. I have a love-hate relationship with the S&G mechanical lock. Most of the features listed above are on mine (at least they're supposed to be, I never tore it apart to see if there's truth in advertising). The ball bearings around the lock are a good deal. No one is drilling that! On hinges, a guy tried to sell me on external hinges from another company because they can open fully and provide access to the inards more completely, which is true,but the safe must me located in a spot that allows the door to open 180 degrees before that's a valid selling point, so I went with the concealed which rotate on giant ball bearings. They swing freely, are 100% accurate, and don't make a sound. My door is solid 1/4" plate and the sides are 10 guage (I think) about 3/16", and fire rated for an hour, but the rating methods are suspect, so not sure who to believe.

Biggest disappoingment so far has been I hardly own anything worth wanting that badly, cause you're going to have to want it badly to get in.

[tollster]

I was looking at the Fort knox safes down at the Harrisburg show, looked impressive compared side by side.. not sure about the pricing though...

I did notice the locking bolts where more and much larger in diameter..

http://www.ftknox.com/vaults/

I agree with bolting them down, most crackers use their weight as leverage to get into them once the lay them on their back... ohhh, wax the floor too...

[JoshIronshaft]

I love my Liberty Fat Boy. I got no interest financing on it with a Gander Mountain credit card (and then cut that shit up because it's 26% interest rate!).

My friend had a Fort Knox safe and one of their vault doors. Quality is the same as Liberty, so I would buy one if I needed it.

Be advised, I look at a gun safe storage capacity as a little more than half what it's rated because of optics, belt fed guns that are huge, etc. I just started using those rifle rods instead of the wood dividers that come with the same. They seem to help a lot actually.

[BionicMan]

At $1,000 or less, I don't think Winchester can be beat. That said, I strongly urge you to read my thread here:

http://forum.pafoa.org/general-2/277...ster-safe.html

If you can wait and save up a bit more, I would step up to a Liberty Safe, it's simply a better product with a MUCH better warranty. As far as capacity, I'm not sure about other brands, but I can promise you that 24-gun in Winchester talk really means 12, seriously. If you buy the 30-gun model and use half of the space for shelving, you're honestly looking at storage for 8 long guns, tops. And the 24-gun model is a legitimate brute to move around . . . the 30-gun model is bulkier and 35% heavier yet. So unless you have a bunch of weightlifter friends, you may want to consider professional installation.