Safes

[maxlib]

I've really been toying with the idea of getting a safe. So far, it appears to me a rider to my homeowners' insurance (what I have now) plus the contents coverage of the homeowner's policy remains cheaper than a "real" safe. By "real" safe, I mean a 4-500 pound 14 (?) gun safe with a certified fire rating.

I pay $152/year for full coverage on my guns. Granted, I only have 10 long guns and a half dozen handguns but there are no "Saturday Nite Specials" in the group. We have no little ones to concern ourselves with.

Where is a "real" safe that is cheaper than the insurance rider over a half dozen years or so? Just askin'...

I guess a "real safe" varies depending on who you ask, but a bought a 24 gun safe with 3 way locking action (moving bolts on one side, top, bottom and stationary bolts on the hinge side. Empty I think it was just under 500 lbs. It has a 30 min fire rating at 1400 degrees. Electronic lock with the 3 armed wheel. It was labeled with the Winchester brand name. Got it at Costco for $550.00.

Thanks. There are no Costco's in the Pineywoods and Sam's Club doesn't carry 'em. My trip to the Lufkin Academy was counter productive to say the least.

I'll look some more...

OG, Try Billy Lee's Locksmith Service at 500 E Frank Ave, Lufkin, TX 75901 (936) 632-1889

I'm pretty sure that my dad got our safe there. I'll check tomorrow and if this is not where he got it I'll post with the info.

[sookandy]

I enjoyed reading all the comments. Thanks for all the imput. I have a few that couldn't really be replaced for sentimental reasons but my biggest fear is that someone steals them and uses them against someome in another crime. I may not have a ton of money to spend but if I can deter that one moron with a hefty looking chunk of steel then it works.

[rm9792]

I have the Fort knox 6637 in my garage with a Golden Rod and it has been fine for 3 years now. Bolted to the slab and has another 200 lbs of ammo in the bottom so it aint going anywhere. IMO they are a great investment. I have mine in a detached garage so there isnt enough burnable material to overcome the safe. However, houses can burn for a long time so fire resistance is an important factor in most cases. I think it was $1895 delivered and installed and is somewhere around 1000 lbs dry.

[jackolive]

From my own point of view i think that buying a concealed safe is much safer than buying a durable one. Maybe i'm wrong, but if i had any money to put in it, that's what i would have done :)

[PhillRoath]

Looks like a nice safe. My guess is that it costs about a dollar a pound?

Missed this when it was posted - sorry about that.

Yes it is pricey, with electronic lock and rails on the door to hold handguns, and installation, ran $2,875 total. But I also keep all my paperwork like birth and marriage certificates, papers showing my mortgage is paid, and all my previous 1040's. Plus other valuables. After my son and his wife's apartment was broken into while they were gone and everything taken (all his firearms, flat screen TV, etc) I just became more and more worried and finally decided to make the move. Glad I did.

Now if I could just get my 50" TV and the computers in there...

Phill

edit: Changed cost to actual.

[heeler]

I purchased what I considered a quality gun safe in Oct. of 2009 after some lengthy research which included some talks with a couple of safe and vault techs before I spent my money.
I bought an American Security BF 66X36 and paid $2299.00 for it before tax and installation in my home.
Pricey but pretty secure and with it's double steel wall construction and half inch thick plate steel door it's not likely a pry attack will be a sucessful way of entering it.
But like any safe if they know you have it(keep quite about it) and bring the right kinds of power tools they will get in but even then not as easily as some might think.
In the humid climate here in Houston and the way concrete sweats here there is no way I would ever even consider placing a quality safe in the garage but everyone has their own thinking here.
Mine was bolted down with four 4" long 1/2' in diameter Red Head concrete anchors and is sitting in a corner of a spare bed room on a pad of specially chosen and very hard porcelin tile.
I did this because the empty weight of the safe alone is 1250 pounds and I did not want it sitting on my new laminate floor.
If you are going to place valuable paper work in your safe I strongly advise you buy an UL rated fire box such as a Sentry chest or filing box to place these types of valuables in because in all honesty most gun safes dont do well at all in a major fire.
And I actually know a guy that has a Fort Knox gun safe that has placed a small 90 pound fire safe inside his safe and it is bolted down through the Knox,adding even more grief for the would be thief that breeches his safe,that is even if they do.
Folks when it comes to a safe do plenty of research before spending your money so when it's all said and done you get to buy once and cry once.