Gun Safes and Their Installation

[Abraham]

Which one do you own? I'm looking at getting one in the 60" X 30" X 22" size range. My arsenal is relatively meager.

If you had to do it all over again, would you buy the same model/brand/size or ...?

Many folks bolt down their safes to their concrete slab. Sure, such a precaution may be THE way to go, but I wonder how often thieves make off with these mega-heavy items when not bolted down - once in a blue moon or yep, all the time, better bolt it on down there pardner...

Given slabs in this part of Texas i.e., Houston/Galveston have a nasty tendency to crack, I wonder how much added stress this bolting down might create toward slab cracking in the future that might not otherwise have occurred? Or, is such a consideration not credible from an engineering perspective?

[xb12s]

I have one that is just about that same size. It fits inside a small coat closet that is probably 36" by 36" with a 32" door on it. There is just enough room to slide some things past the door frame and the outer edges of the safe.

It depends on the slab. If you have a modernish house (built in the 80s or later?) you probably have a post-tensioned slab. You'd be fine bolting to this slab and cracking will not be a problem. If you are in a house built in the 50s or 60s (like me), you might be lucky enough to have some rebar in that slab. Our neighborhood was built with rebar in most areas of the slab but none in the garage, driveways, patios, front walks, etc. I have some pretty phenominal cracks in my floor. The most pronounced is in the garage where there is a good 1/2" gap. Maybe there's a civil engineer who would throw out an opinion.

Oh yeah, and you should use a hammer-drill with a carbide tipped bit. It's important to find a good one. I think the one i used one time was just painted to look like carbide or something. It took forever (but that was on tile, so you'll have more luck with concrete - it's brittle and chips a lot easier).

My safe also had holes to attach to studs and I did that instead.

ETA: I would buy a bigger safe next time around. Or maybe another two safes that size. I've got several other small closets that need a little something extra.

[troglodyte]

I too started out with a meager collection....I wish I could/would have bought a bigger one. There is no more room at the inn.

I have an American Security safe I bought at a scratch and dent sale. It's a discontinued model but their SF series is similar.

The next one will have the eletronic "dial". As my eyes get worse struggling with the dial is an effort.

Bolt it to something. A couple of determined theives can tip a safe over and roll it out. Given time they don't have to haul it out. Just out into the room where they can get at it with a toothpick, axe, or cut-off saw. Bolting it down may not save it from these little can-openers but it makes it harder to work on. Tucking into a closet also limits working room.

Bottom line, Get the biggest one you can, bolt it down, and watch it fill up.

[JALLEN]

When I bought my safe, the best advice I got from the LGS manager was "buy a bigger one." I wish I had listened to him.

[WinoVeritas]

Yep, bigger is better. I have a Cannon your prospective size - didn't take a year til I wished I'd bought bigger.

[nightmare69]

I have this safe....



Its a Winchester 24 gun safe got it for $699 on sale. Best bang for the buck I could find and it has a 1hr fire rating.

[johncanfield]

^^ That's the exact safe I have, bought it from Tractor Supply ^^

Like everybody else discovered, it's now too small and I don't have even a modest collection. The entire top shelf is filled with ammo boxes (had to make a 2x4 strut to prop the shelf up) and the other shelves are also full of ammo.

My safe is bolted down and it would be quite a project for thieves to haul it off or break into (but never underestimate them!)

[flechero]

Many folks bolt down their safes to their concrete slab. Sure, such a precaution may be THE way to go, but I wonder how often thieves make off with these mega-heavy items when not bolted down

Bolting it down keeps it upright, which is the larger concern- not theft of the actual box. A thief can get into a good safe in a relatively short time if they can get it on the floor on it's back. There have been several videos posted of this in the past.

Edited to add: Like most, I bought a "big enough" safe at the time but it's way too small now... thinking it had room for my guns plus a few more was short sided thinking on my part... you'll end up wanting to put more guns plus more than just guns in it. If I could do it again, I would buy MUCH larger. As it stands, a 2nd safe will be in order soon.

[SF18C]

At first I got a safe that was just right, then out grew it. I ended up getting a larger safe for the guns and putting the smaller one in the garage...it is now my "ammo bunker".

[psijac]

I bought a winchester bandit 9. It will comfortably hold 6 guns and some ammo. I know its too small. But it perfectly fits an 18" cubby hole in my apt. I will probably spent over 1000 when I upgrade. If you have the space and the money why would you spend less on a safe than you would your rifle?

[rwg3]

I bought my garage safe earlier this year and spent some time researching the issues. The size issue really matters if you use the safe to store ammo as well as firearms and or other personal property. Bolting the safe down prevents it being tipped over as stated earlier. If you are installing it in the garage against the wall check to see if there is baseboard on the wall where you plan to install the safe. If there is, either remove it behind the safe or shim out the area with filler to prevent a cable being slipped over the safe and behind it to keep some one from winching or towing the thing over. The easiest method is use plywood the same thickness as the baseboard (usually 5/8" for modern baseboards).
In speaking with people at the safe store, most of the safes now are cut open through the sides or top. Turns out that the heavy duty steel is used in the door and frame and thinner metal is used in the sides, top and back. Most safes are made in Mexico or China. The American made ones usually come from Utah. They tend to be the best quality and are priced accordingly.
The safe store people often have scratch and dent units that they are willing to deal on. I found I was able to negotiate best just prior to an upcoming gun show on a safe that they were going to load up and try to sell at the show. They saved themselves a fair amount of work not hauling it there and that was a factor in the calculations.
Final note, if you are not planning to transport and install the safe yourself, plan on spending anywhere between $125 and $250 depending on size and distance for the delivery and installation.

[Abraham]

Thanks all for the help and insight into something I know absolutely nothing about, ah, until now that is.

Rather than buying a safe, a friend of mine built a secret room to store his firearms.

I was amazed when he showed me. The entrance was so skillfully built as to be almost invisible.

His talent with finish carpentry was phenomenal.

I wish he was still with us...