What gun safe would you recommend and why?

[Uzi4u2]

I am looking for a gun safe. I was thinking of buying a two door drop safe. It is 1/2 plate in front and 1/4 inch plate on the sides. What company or what store would you recommend me to go to buy a safe and why? I need a safe that isn't too big but heavy enough and thick plated enough that a burglar wouldn't walk away with it. One more question. Which companies or stores ship it for free if I buy it or at least charge a reasonable fee?

[Rembrandt]

A few questions......

How many guns you'll store?.....any concerns regarding fire ratings?......since most safes can be hauled out with a refrigerator cart, give us a weight range.

[robthebuilder]

I bought a Liberty Presidential series. It's great. fire rating for 2.5 hours, 3/16 inch metal, 18 -1 1/2 inch bolts in the door. It's a 25 gun safe and weighs 1,000 pounds empty. It also has a good ol' combination lock. I don't trust a digital lock, no way. Of course, this is about a $4,000 safe too. There are better ones, for more money. But there are an alarming amount of lesser safes that are JUNK!

Look on youtube- there are a lot of videos about safes. A good one was called "security on sale" I think. The big name stores anymore hardly ever stock a decent safe. It's all about profit for them- buy some junk, thin metal safe from china and dress it up as a good safe.

Take your time shopping around, and you'll be better off.

[John76248]

You get what you pay for.


I would weigh the value of my guns to the safe. In other words if I got $3K in guns I am not gonna buy a $20K safe. At the same time I am not gonna buy a $400.00 safe for that $4K worth of guns. The safes at the big box stores are way over priced for what you get Cabela's Bass Pro. Buy used if you can. Shop around and do your homework. I have 800 bucks in a Granite safe and it is holding about 2K worth of guns. Its not the best safe but hey, like I said you get what you pay for. Between the safe, a house alarm, a good neighborhood, lots of lighting at night, a worthless watch dog (but I love to death anyways) and my noisy neighbors I feel a-ok with my purchase.

[John76248]

And a side note also, bolt it down. Put it in the corner of the room if you can with the hinges out away from the wall. There are story's of ultra big heavy safes growing legs.

[Uzi4u2]

I plan on storing only handguns in it. I guess that is why I am drawn to the two door drop safe. I was thinking of securing it to the floor with long bolts.

[ttheel]

I have been mulling over the subject of gun safes myself lately. I am thinking about investing in a good gun safe. I am looking for a good universal safe which I can use for long guns and handguns. I am having a difficult time deciding myself. I have considered Browning, Fort Knox, Liberty and Sportsman Steel. From what I understand if you want TRUE security then you should go with 10 gauge steel or better. That aint cheap though. I do realize that I am going to have to spend at a minimum over 2 grand to get what I want. Any opinions?

[5.56RifleGuy]

I got mine from Liberty Safes of Virgina. I paid about 4,000 for the biggest presidential model, and had it shipped to florida. It was the best price for the best safe I could find. Have fun trying to move it though.

PS. It did cost me about 500 to have it shipped, but considering the distance, that isnt bad.

[for2nato]

i have a liberty centurion. its fire rated and has a s&g dial lock on it with day lock option. its holds 16 long guns and as many pistols as you can stack on a full length shelf. i have about $800 into it and i store about 6k worth of guns in it. it weighs 500lbs dry and much more with all the stuff thats in it. but with it bolted down its secure. remember that no matter how big your safe is or how heavy it is somebody carried it in. and somebody can just as easily carry it out.

[a1abdj]

I was thinking of buying a two door drop safe. It is 1/2 plate in front and 1/4 inch plate on the sides.

Just curious as to why you would want to use a drop safe for guns?

What company or what store would you recommend me to go to buy a safe and why?

I'm a little biased here.

I need a safe that isn't too big but heavy enough and thick plated enough that a burglar wouldn't walk away with it.

The safe you're looking at is the lightest end of the commercial options. You can get much heavier plate that will add more weight.

In the end, you will still want to bolt it down. That is really the only thing you can do that will slow down somebody who's wanting to walk off with it. I have seen safes weighing several thousand pounds grow legs.

Which companies or stores ship it for free if I buy it or at least charge a reasonable fee?

I will ship all of my safes for free once I can convince the freight companies to stop charging me for their services.

Until then, shipping a safe cost money. Some companies charge actual rates, some companies sell safes "cheap" then gouge you on shipping to make up for the low price, and some companies figure the shipping into the cost and just say it's free.

Your best bet is to look and buy locally. If that is not possible, then deal with a reputable safe company (just just some online place that sells safes) so you can figure out what you really need.

You will get what you pay for as far as safes go. If it's cheap, it's cheap for a reason. Bad welding, bad design, bad locks. If it's expensive, there's usually a reason for that too.