# Gun Safe Recommendation



## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

I have previously stored mine in a closet, but with kids now entering the picture I want to make sure I lock up appropriately. I only have shotguns now, but want some space for handguns if I add in the future. What is out there/what do you recommend?


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

How deep down the rabbit hole do you wish to go?


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

@dfw_pilot not far. Just looking for something to hold a few shotguns in between hunting trips.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

IMO, there is a lot to unpack here.

It's easy to overspend unnecessarily and it's also very easy to under spend, too. 

How far away are the police?
How often are you gone from your home (like on vacation or work)?
How good is your alarm system?
How expensive is the investment you are trying to protect?
If you don't have a large investment in guns, the police are close by, and you just want to keep your kids safe, then a cheap Sentinel might be fine. Hide it somewhere smash and grab burglars won't check and you might come out unscathed.

Where do burglars check first? The master bedroom and master closet. Got a safe there? They'll be on it in seconds. Put a cheaper locked metal box in a kid's closet or somewhere not so obvious as the master suite.

If you want to spend a bit more, I'd make sure the safes you look at have a solid plate front door, *and* solid walls. So many "nice" safes are just junk. Liberty, and brands you buy at Farm, Box, and Outdoor stores have solid doors but have flimsy sidewalls. Don't spend $800 to $3,000 on a safe that a simple axe could open via the sidewalls. Those safes look nice, but don't offer much more protection than simple out of sight metal boxes.

Another way to get all around protection, and not just a solid door with crappy sidewalls, is to look at safes built for tool resistance on all sides. Just search for "Safe TL rating". I have is a TL30x6 which means the door is as solid as all six sides, and is rated against thieves with tools for up to 30 minutes. Mind you, it weighs 3,500 pounds and has six inch walls. You may not need that type of vault.

 

But, before you dismiss it, remember that you can spend 2/3rds as much and get a really crappy safe, so be _very_ careful.

I think another great option is for those constructing a new home or have a basement. You can buy a vault door that is solid as a rock, then have a combo storm room/vault all in one, with cinder block walls built into the corner of your basement/garage/etc. These can be built very large and thus end the eternal problem of owning a safe: they shrink!

So I'd have a think about how much you need to protect. Then I'd have a real long think about not buying a "fancy" safe that really just lightens your wallet but doesn't offer much protection beyond its door. Finally, think outside the box, literally, like vault doors, or hidden metal cabinets in out of the way places burglars won't look.

These two vids are old; I watched them years ago, but they helped me form some of my thoughts on what to buy. Go cheap or go really secure, but in the squishy middle is where it's easy to get burned. My two cents.

[media]https://youtu.be/GHAyRO566sU[/media]

And

[media]https://youtu.be/-RlwGkO0hxE[/media]


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## dpainter68 (Apr 26, 2017)

I'll second dfw_pilot. There are so many safes out there that don't provide a lot of protection and still cost a lot of money. Be weary of "composite doors" - look into how they're built. Some are good, some are not. Some are no more than 2 layers of 11 or 12ga sheet metal with a couple pieces of sheetrock for a fire block but they'll call it a " 1" thick composite door". A few years ago I had a Superior Safe Co Master series safe. It wasn't a whole lot more than the Liberty safes you can buy at the big box stores but was a much better safe. And now that I've typed all of that out I see that the first video posted by dfw_pilot goes over all of that... It's a good video. Definitely worth watching.


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## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

@dfw_pilot @dpainter68 - thank you for your feedback! Looks like I have some homework to do.


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## crussell (Mar 12, 2018)

Dang... I was super happy with the Liberty safe I bought a few years ago (Franklin Model), but now I wish I would have done more homework.

I found this article online which basically confirmed that I was an uninformed consumer who thought quantity and size of locking bolts = better safe.

https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/

Oh well, now I know for next time.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

crussell said:


> https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/
> 
> Oh well, now I know for next time.


That's a great link. It helped me years ago and I should have shared it. It spells out a lot of good info.

Sadly, the "safe" industry has lots of pitfalls that can befall consumers. Often times just spending 10-30% more can drastically increase the quality, especially when buying less known names (because they aren't marketed to the masses at Bass Pro or Costco).

We can always use another safe  and now you'll be informed as to what to get, and know what to spend on and what to skip as far as features. :thumbup:


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## wiread (Aug 27, 2019)

I am also in the market for one. Never used one before, but with kids in the house some will go in and the ammo. I guess none of them are irreplaceable. I do not need fort knox but do need to keep kids out. I'll be checking out that link as I was pretty set on a Liberty from our local dealer. I guess I should do more homework.


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