General All-Purpose Safe

[CCWBeliever]

Hello all,

I'm looking for a decent all-purpose safe for my home where I can store my gun along with other general documents, etc. I have a "fire resistant" lockbox that stores important papers, etc., but it's not really secure by any means. It's easy to break into and can be carried off.

I want to take it up a notch and get a safe that's difficult to carry off, is fire-resistant to protect what's inside in case of a fire, the kids cannot get into, and I can quickly open it if I need to get to my weapon.

The reviews of home safes you can get at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. are mixed. Many have videos on YouTube that demonstrate how easy it is to pick the key locks or defeat the electronic lock by simply banging on the safe from the top.

Has anyone out there found a good option that works? Even a lock box that takes a padlock would be fine with me, because I can easily hide a small key in my bedroom somewhere.

Thoughts?

CCWBeliever

[TailGator]

There are many lock boxes and small safes that can be bolted down for security. Be sure and hit concrete, studs, or joists.

I have little expertise in this field, but I have been told by folks who give every appearance of knowing whereof they speak that the fire resistant safes you get at home improvement stores are fire resistant because of a water-containing gel matrix in the walls, to the detriment of guns.

[g.willikers]

Drywall is used in many brands of safes for fire protection.
Adding some or more can probably help increase fire resistance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drywall#Fire_resistance

[FAS1]

It's not real feasible to buy one product to do everything you are looking for in my opinion. A good safe with fire protection will not necessarily give you quick access. I would look for a full size decent quality RSC for general firearms and put your fire-resistant box inside it. Something like that is usually mounted in a closet or a discrete corner and bolted down.

That won't give you quick access as it probably won't be next to you when sleeping. In addition, a padlock or something with a key fails on the quick access. How will you open it in the dark if needed?

I like mechanical locks on both types. None of the quick access handgun safes (push-button) offer any fire protection and most don't have room for your document safe.

I think two separate products would serve your needs better in the long run.

[CCWBeliever]

Thank you guys. This is excellent feedback and i appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I hadn't thought of the "two safe" idea - putting a fire proof box inside another safe. That's one of those "why didn't I think of that" things. I've looked for something large enough to hold several handguns, but also put my important documents into it.

I've found a few things I can look at. Thanks!

STeve

[Tony Z]

Location of any safe is as important as the safe itself. Put it on the second floor, and in a fire, it will probably not survive. Put it in the basement, along a windowless, exterior block wall, with wooden beams above and chances are far better for it to remain intact, although depending upon manufacturer, water-soaked.

[CCWBeliever]

I need it on the 2nd floor where I can get to it quickly in an emergency at night. The one's I'm looking at it have a 15 foot drop guarantee. Not sure what that really means in a real situation... but I guess it's something.

This safe is more to keep the children out, not criminals so much. For them it's more of a deterrent.

I think I found one that will work, but it's a fire safe, so it has some kind of chemical substance in it to keep stuff from burning. Point taken from TailGator in an earlier post on this thread ... that's probably not good for things made of metal.

[45Gunner]

If you are a gun owner, you need a safe. A wise man once told me, "When it comes to computers and safes, buy the biggest and best you can afford."

I heeded that advice and have had my safe with me for nearly 20 years and brought it when I moved from my previous house to my new house. Had the safe company move it as it weighs in at about 1500 pounds empty. Although it has a great fire rating, some of what I keep in it is irreplaceable and therefore I keep those items in a high fire rated lock box which I placed on the bottom shelf of the safe. (Heat rises.) I am not concerned about anyone breaking into the safe nor am I concerned about anyone trying to take the safe as it is anchored very deep into concrete.

The safe door is also wired into my alarm system and I have motion and infrared sensors "looking" at the safe as well as a motion activated security camera. My entire house also has every door and window hardwired into the alarm system which communicates with the alarm company via radio signal so it does not have to depend upon the telephone line. Also motion, infrared sensors, and video monitoring are throughout the house. And if that were not enough, I have a four legged early warning system. And no, I do not live in a high crime area and with all this equipment, intend on keeping it that way.

[CCWBeliever]

I totally agree... get the most safe you can afford.

I don't have a great place for a safe in this house that meets my criteria:

• Quick Access At Night
• Attached to Home to Thwart Thieves
• Small enough for proposed location
• Fire Proofing
• Quick Access
• Etc.

So I'm going for a compromise of sorts. Looks like I'll be purchasing a multi-purpose safe and practicing quick entry. I'll also have to handle moisture concerns as well. There's not easy answer, because I just don't have the money or the facility to do what I'd truly like to do. So, we'll have to compromise if we're going to store guns in the house.

[leadcounsel]

www.sturdysafe.com

I'm a proud owner of a Sturdy safe.

I'm of the opinion you should do it right the first time within a reasonable budget. You need thick steel to defeat common attacks and a good fire liner for standard burn downs. You can get a decent sized safe for a lot of items for the $1500 range.

This topic is heavily discussed, so just search it for a long dialogue... and watch some online videos to see how easy it is to break into cheap safes.

[9x18_Walther]

I'm a proud owner of a Sturdy safe.

I'm of the opinion you should do it right the first time within a reasonable budget. You need thick steel to defeat common attacks and a good fire liner for standard burn downs. You can get a decent sized safe for a lot of items for the $1500 range.

This topic is heavily discussed, so just search it for a long dialogue... and watch some online videos to see how easy it is to break into cheap safes.

leadcounsel brings up a good point.

This site is really good in presenting all of the information that has been compiled about safes on these types of forums.

http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/

A lot of cheaper safes have large gaps between the door and the frame of the safe. It doesn't matter how thick the door is or how many bolts there is, if burglars can get a pry bar into the gap, they can open it in minutes.

Sturdy seems to have one of the smallest door to frame gaps on their safes. Mount it to the floor and you should be set against the average and slightly experienced thief.

Another option is to buy an actual UL/TL listed safe. If you search craigslist and the sorts you can find legitimate jeweler's safes which can stop experienced thieves. Sometimes you can buy these safes second hand for the price of residential gun safes.

[kilimanjaro]

Not to beat you up, but you don't need access to your gun collection at night, you need access to one gun. You can solve that issue with a lockbox near your bedside and still have the valuable stuff in the big safe in the basement.

Most folks who put a gun safe in the bedroom self-require themselves to get a smaller, less sturdy safe, due to the size of the room or the closets. The wife will not be happy with a big steel lump in the corner or no closet space, trust me on that, and thieves will love your compromise with a smaller, less sturdy safe they can remove and walk away with.

Let me amend your criteria at bit, given the need to have a defense weapon available, a gun collection to safeguard, and kids in the house you want to keep out of the gun boxes. These are three different requirements and need not be met by a single safe, nor should they be.

1.) Need for access to a gun at night in the bedroom. Lockbox will answer this need.
2.) Attached to structure to thwart/delay removal. You can do that, not a requirement to have a single safe.
3.) Large enough for storage of collection and other valuables, with room for expansion as the years of discretionary spending continue. A large safe will answer this need.
4.) Fire 'proofing'. Available in larger safes, not in small steel boxes. Write off your bedside gun in the event of a fire, the same as you write off the flatscreen, like a pilot writes off his plane in the event of an emergency landing. Your concern is getting out/saving people, not objects.
5.) Quick access. You solved that with your bedside lockbox. The rest of the collection needs security, not instant access.

Plan on spending around $2000 or a bit less for a good, large, safe and a good bedside lockbox, and the goodies at the hardware store to secure it all to your structure. You're going to have to save up a bit longer. Not easy to do with families and all the other stuff to pay for, but think long-term. You can get the bedside pistol box or wall-insert shotgun box right now, and pull the bolts on everything else if you need to keep the kids from playing with stuff.

My $1500 safe contains $75,000 worth of stuff, it started out containing about $2,000 worth of stuff. Didn't bother me a bit spending the money on a safe then, I've only had to spend it once, not twice, like most folks who buy the lockers end up doing.

[leadcounsel]

Yep, I agree the the above post.

Big, heavy, thick steel fire lined safe for the entire collection, minus the handgun and long gun you want immediate accessible.