Jump to content
SASS Wire Forum

Safes


Col Del Rio

Recommended Posts

I need to get a new/another gun safe. What are the preferred brands?  Anyone buy a safe from Costco?  Remember, I like in Hawaii so pickens is slim.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Liberty, and stay with a mechanical dial.

OLG 

 

I agree 100% with what OLG posted.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Liberty, and stay with a mechanical dial.

OLG 

 

Locksmiths like the new digital combinations.  More than pays the electrical bill every month.  Any close by lightning strike or surge and your locale locksmith will be making a call. Lightning hit a tree 25 yards from a tree where my son had a safe stored in all metal horse trailer.  He tried for a week with one of those James Bond gadgets to open it.  Ended up taking almost two days to drill through the plates and ball bearings to open the safe...   Think big  $$$

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the electronic lock quits.....turn the safe around, get your hand-held grinder, put a cutting disc on it and open the safe like a sardine can.  The metal in back is, most often, simply thin sheet metal.   And, fire protection?  A real fire will defeat a safe, because the temperature inside cannot be controlled for very long, charring wood and causing gun metal to deform (warp) and lose its heat treatment.  The guns will be destroyed and any ammo inside the safe will cook off.
The safe is for limited theft protection.

Listen to OLG.  Get a reasonably priced safe with a NON-electronic lock.

 

Cat Brules

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had both Liberty and Fort Knox safes over the last 40 years.  When I moved two years ago I purchased a Snap Safe and upgraded the digital lock to one that has dual function, electronic and manual.  The snap safe shipped in flat box.  The heaviest part was 100 lbs and was quite easy to set up.  IMG_0002.thumb.jpg.d59e89b4946aaeb1ffe5bba477a343f4.jpgIMG_6724.thumb.jpg.2c285444d993b67dc73aefdc066a42f3.jpgIMG_6728.thumb.JPG.187dcbcbcfd6c95dda601d67710beaa0.JPGIMG_0001.thumb.jpg.5d0c8cab0c115ceb67f6e3a2c9df2ad5.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a Hollan for my 2nd safe. And went with mechanical dial. Yes the digital locks are a little quicker. 5 seconds vs 15. 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've had one of the big electronic safes from Bass Pro shop for 15 years.  Never had a problem with the electronic lock unless the 9 volt battery dies.  The electronic lock can be removed from the outside and a long key inserted to open the door if necessary.  The electronic locks are so much faster and easier to use than the dials.  I've never needed to use the key and I keep it stored away from the safe.  It's better than leaving the guns stacked up in the closet or hanging on the wall.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What ever you get, make sure that it has at least 1/4" wall thickness all around, including top and back  Then bolt it to the floor with 5/16 bolts in concrete anchors.

I have a Sportsman's Steel Safe, not sure that they are available in Hawaii.

 

Duffield

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I keep the key inside the safe, so’s I don’t forget where it is......

 

 

 

 

:huh:  

:rolleyes:

:P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Cat Brules said:

I keep the key inside the safe, so’s I don’t forget where it is......

 

 

 

 

:huh:  

:rolleyes:

:P

 

You laugh, but . . . .

 

Several years ago I bought a small Century fire safe from Lowe's just to keep documents in.  It also has an electronic keypad.  Guess where I stored the instructions on how to unlock it if the batteries wore out?  You guessed it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Stone Deaf, SASS #64740 said:

I have two from COSTCO. One is a First Alert and the other one is a Big Horn.  Both about the same. Electronic locks. Had to add hangers in the door for pistols, but plenty of room inside for rifles.  Not always avail tho. You have to ck every now and then.

 

What do you use as a dehumidifier? 

OLG 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Marshal Hangtree said:

 

You laugh, but . . . .

 

Several years ago I bought a small Century fire safe from Lowe's just to keep documents in.  It also has an electronic keypad.  Guess where I stored the instructions on how to unlock it if the batteries wore out?  You guessed it.


Ohhh, NOOO!!

:o

 

CB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve got a pair from Drake Safe in Roxboro, North Carolina. Great safes that are MADE in America. Hardly available in Hawaii but there’s absolutely nothing measured by the word ‘gauge’ anywhere in my safes. You want solid steel plate not sheet steel, as much fire proofing as available and a manual lock, no electronics. And bigger than you think you need, they shrink. And they both weigh in excess of 1200 lb. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few things I look for:
Interior hinges look better, exterior hinges invite more attacks, even though most doors have bolts on the hinge side to keep the door locked even if the hinges are cut off.
The fire rating is generally consistent with the type and thickness of gypsum insulation used.
I prefer S&G dial combo locks. You never go to open the safe and can't. Electronic lock is faster.
LED lights are made for combo dials and for inside safes. These are useful.
Gun socks are useful in the safe to inhibit damage, but make identification of guns difficult.
aftermarket pistol racks that hold several pistols ready in a vertical orientation.
Do not store pistols in cardboard or foam plastic boxes.
 magazines and documents in door pockets.
Bolt your safe to the floor or wall. Many break ins end up with safes tipped over.
I put a bolt in the threaded lifting point on the tops of many safes.
Weight is a good indicator of the safe build quality. Mid level safes weigh 600 - 800 lbs
Large safes of good build quality start at 1000 lbs and could go up to 2000 lbs.
it is difficult to move a safe weighing more than 800 lbs without special tools.
Lay down plywood when moving a safe. The weight can damage wood or tile floors.
If the safe is mounted on floor trusses, it is a good idea to stiffen the trusses with extra wood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also

National door system in it with holsters and pockets made out of heavy nylon fabric. Get the door accessory as it greatly improves pistol and document storage and does not give up much usable space inside the safe.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A  Sturdy Safe, from California is excellent.  Not the prettiest, but very well made, and can be customized to your liking.  https://www.sturdysafe.com/products/model-3627-6

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

I've had one of the big electronic safes from Bass Pro shop for 15 years.  Never had a problem with the electronic lock unless the 9 volt battery dies.  The electronic lock can be removed from the outside and a long key inserted to open the door if necessary.  The electronic locks are so much faster and easier to use than the dials.  I've never needed to use the key and I keep it stored away from the safe.  It's better than leaving the guns stacked up in the closet or hanging on the wall.  

X2- SCJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Advise from my 49 year friend who was a locksmith & owner until he retired.  The preferred location for a fire safe is in a single story building with concrete floor.  Should there be a fire only the building wood above it will fall down around the safe.  If multi story building there will be significantly more burning wood to heat the contents.  Single story with crawl space is 2nd best.  In 2000 I bought a Liberty safe to store my registered CA assault weapon*, Colt Sporter A1 HBAR.   I installed it in the attached garage of my single story house.  For addition fire protection & hide it from passersby when the garage door was open I built a closet around it.  The interior, exterior & door was covered with 1/2" drywall.

*Couldn't replace it unless I moved out of the PRK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm inclined to believe electronic locks fail more often than mechanical locks, but I've never heard first hand of an electronic lock failing. It's always been somebody I don't personally know, such as on a Web board like this, or somebody's next door neighbor's uncle's brother-in-law's former landlord's ex-wife's son who knew someone whose boss once had one fail. :D

My oldest digital lock is probably 25 years old, and never a problem. My oldest dial lock safe is well over 100 years old, and never a problem - not a gun safe, per se, but a heavy floor safe salvaged from a defunct hotel. 

I've heard enough second, third, tenth hand stories about digital locks failing that I might replace my digitals with mechanical locks one of these days - it's only $80 for the S&G lock OLG referenced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a 6' tall safe, and the extra foot is where I have a full-width shelf with my pistols on plate racks from a kitchen store. A lot cheaper than actual pistol racks.

The extra foot will always find a use. I still stack stuff on top of the safe, but the good stuff is locked up.

My safe is a Lone Star Gun Safe, so I don't know if you can get it over yonder.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/1/2020 at 9:45 PM, Col Del Rio said:

I need to get a new/another gun safe. What are the preferred brands?  Anyone buy a safe from Costco?  Remember, I like in Hawaii so pickens is slim.

Fedex...Just have them ship it overnight.....

 

Texas Lizard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just bought a 40” x 72” x 27” safe from Grizzly tool. Price was pretty fair 

 Appears to be a great safe.   Was quite heavy 970 pounds.    UPS delivered it but didn’t want to drive in the snow-dirt driveway.  I used a large fork truck to get it is side the overhead door and an appliance dolly-cart to move it around inside 

the door comes off to reduce weight. 

 

Good Luck

 

3GC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/2/2020 at 2:08 PM, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

I've had one of the big electronic safes from Bass Pro shop for 15 years.  Never had a problem with the electronic lock unless the 9 volt battery dies.  The electronic lock can be removed from the outside and a long key inserted to open the door if necessary.  The electronic locks are so much faster and easier to use than the dials.  I've never needed to use the key and I keep it stored away from the safe.  It's better than leaving the guns stacked up in the closet or hanging on the wall.  

 

Key?  Would access be quicker just to leave the electronic lock off and use the long key?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No matter which safe you own you should prepare for failure. Open the door and remove the panel. Look at the switch that actuates to allow the door to be opened. Take measurements from the side and top of the door frame so if it fails you can drill one hole to open it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.