Looking for a gun safe for my hunting rifle!

[felicia beauty]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are expecting a baby soon, and we're making some changes around the house to prepare. We want to make sure our home is as safe as possible, so I'm looking to surprise my husband with a new Winchester safe from Home Selection. I found one that can hold over 30 guns and protect itself from fire - the Winchester Ranger 44. I'd love any advice or recommendations you have since I'm new to all of this. My husband works a lot, so I want to handle this on my own and surprise him with the perfect safe for our growing family. I am very to all of this and my husband loves to hunt. Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[diverdon]

Budget? Preferred astheics?

I find the Liberty Presidental nice good looking and decent quality.

The biggest mistake first time buyers make is going too small. Bigger is better unless you need to move.

The lock is the hardest choice for many. Electronic is fast and easy. Combination locks are slow, take time to learn but are many times more reliable than Electronic.

Are you going to get it and move it around your house your self? Or hire professional movers?

If both you and your husband are going to use it you should both look at it.

JMHO

 

[Hecouldgoalltheway]

Hmmmm. Smells fishy

 

[FWoo45]

Hide the guns under the crib mattress? Kid would never look there.

 

[Grubber]

Liberty Safes of Oregon, in Hubbard. They have a full range of safes and will deliver and install in your home.

The owner of the company was telling me that some of the lower priced safes sold in stores are OK, whereas others are a joke; more like a gym locker that looks like a safe.

 

[felicia beauty]

Hmmmm. Smells fishy

What?

 

[felicia beauty]

Budget? Preferred astheics?

I find the Liberty Presidental nice good looking and decent quality.

The biggest mistake first time buyers make is going too small. Bigger is better unless you need to move.

The lock is the hardest choice for many. Electronic is fast and easy. Combination locks are slow, take time to learn but are many times more reliable than Electronic.

Are you going to get it and move it around your house your self? Or hire professional movers?

If both you and your husband are going to use it you should both look at it.

JMHO

I would say 1-3 thousand would be great. My husband prefers all black. Also I heard a lot of good things about liberty safes can you provide a link to one? I am looking for some really good deals too as, since we are currently having trouble with money.

For the lock I think Electronic works best, I will be getting my brothers to move the safe for me. So you guys think it's really important to involve him in this decision? If so ok I will involve him too

 

[diverdon]

Liberty Safe - America's #1 Gun Safes, Fire Safes and Home Safes

Liberty Safe proudly builds the most trusted gun safes in America! Liberty's focus on rugged durability, next-generation safe technology, and American-made dependability gives your firearms and valuables the highest security and fire protection. With a Liberty gun safe, you're Always Protected.

www.libertysafe.com

It may be a bit over your price point. While it's a great idea to keep guns where small children cannot play with them, this can easily be done without a gun safe for two or three years. Also your local dealer may offer some discounts.

If getting the electronic lock only buy from a dealer who has at least one staff who can help you the day it does not open.

 

[Downtown]

The electronic lock will eventually have issues. That's almost guaranteed. I've seen 120 year old safes with perfectly functioning mechanical locks. My safes, 20 and 30 years old, with mechanical S&G dial locks, have never given any problem or ever needed a battery.

 

[psharon78]

I love my Liberty Safe and I'm glad I went with an electronic lock. Easy to change combo right before ex wife tried to clean out my home

 

[Angus Sloth]

Budget? Preferred astheics?

I find the Liberty Presidental nice good looking and decent quality.

The biggest mistake first time buyers make is going too small. Bigger is better unless you need to move.

The lock is the hardest choice for many. Electronic is fast and easy. Combination locks are slow, take time to learn but are many times more reliable than Electronic.

Are you going to get it and move it around your house your self? Or hire professional movers?

If both you and your husband are going to use it you should both look at it.

JMHO

Having worked with both mechanical and electronic locks on safes for a very long time.... I bought mechanical.

 

[LuvDog]

Mechanical S&G Lock is the way to go. Cheap e-locks will fail eventually.

My best advice - find a local company that sells and services gun safes. Moving these things around and installing them is not trivial.

It may cost money up front, but it's worth it.

 

[doubloon]

I found one that can hold over 30 guns and protect itself from fire ... I think Electronic works best

Mechanical S&G Lock

Most safes designed to hold "30 guns" don't hold 30 guns unless a number of those guns are pistols or all the guns are basically stacked on top of each other like cordwood. Try to find some pictures of safes filled with guns and you usually won't see 30 rifles/shotguns in a "30 gun safe". Just something to be aware of. Also, like @diverdon said, most people always make the mistake of buying too small because they rely on the manufacturers capacity estimate.

Fireproof safes are mostly "proof" against fire for a specific duration below a specific temperature and it's a lot shorter and lower than you might expect so don't forego insurance on the content. Also for this reason, separate safe for ammo.

Burglary ratings are also mostly overrated as well. If you're not home and somebody wants it they might put the whole safe on a dolly and wheel it away in the middle of the night or go at it with a metal grinder or saw on one of the side panels which is always thinner than the door. Most safes are good enough to keep guns out of the hands of curious teens or the average smash and grab burglar.

All just opinions of course but meant to be helpful.

Only you can judge if you should involve the hubby or not but it's always worth asking about the return/exchange policy even if you do.

 

[diverdon]

Mechanical S&G Lock is the way to go. Cheap e-locks will fail eventually.

My best advice - find a local company that sells and services gun safes. Moving these things around and installing them is not trivial.

It may cost money up front, but it's worth it.

The lady's plan is to have her brothers do it. Gun safes can be transported on most pickups. You need a plan around the equipment you have to get it from the bed of the truck to inside the front door.

Once inside the house just roll it on wood dowels or PVC pipe.

Money vs time. A lot of us would rather keep strangers out of the house and save a few bucks doing it our selves.

 

[carbonbased]

This guy seems to know what he’s talking about:

Gun Safe Buyer's Guide - Gun Safe Reviews Guy

Got 4 minutes? The gun safe buyer's guide will tell you what you need to know so you don't waste your money. Learn about options you may not know about.

gunsafereviewsguy.com

 

[felicia beauty]

Mechanical S&G Lock

Most safes designed to hold "30 guns" don't hold 30 guns unless a number of those guns are pistols or all the guns are basically stacked on top of each other like cordwood. Try to find some pictures of safes filled with guns and you usually won't see 30 rifles/shotguns in a "30 gun safe". Just something to be aware of. Also, like @diverdon said, most people always make the mistake of buying too small because they rely on the manufacturers capacity estimate.

Fireproof safes are mostly "proof" against fire for a specific duration below a specific temperature and it's a lot shorter and lower than you might expect so don't forego insurance on the content. Also for this reason, separate safe for ammo.

Burglary ratings are also mostly overrated as well. If you're not home and somebody wants it they might put the whole safe on a dolly and wheel it away in the middle of the night or go at it with a metal grinder or saw on one of the side panels which is always thinner than the door. Most safes are good enough to keep guns out of the hands of curious teens or the average smash and grab burglar.

All just opinions of course but meant to be helpful.

Only you can judge if you should involve the hubby or not but it's always worth asking about the return/exchange policy even if you do.

So do you think it's smart for going for something as big as the western series winchester safe? I have also heard from other forums of people saying that the American security bf series is the way to go. What's the difference? Sadly I work till late at night as a cna, and its hard to get back to you guys as fast as possible. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated!

 

[felicia beauty]

This guy seems to know what he’s talking about:

Gun Safe Buyer's Guide - Gun Safe Reviews Guy

Got 4 minutes? The gun safe buyer's guide will tell you what you need to know so you don't waste your money. Learn about options you may not know about.

gunsafereviewsguy.com

I will look into it

 

[pmclaine]

I'd give him a gift certificate from the safe sales place and let him choose.

 

[Downtown]

I've been very satisfied with this company. Small family owned company very responsive to questions. Shipping by freight worked well. The safe (big safe!) was unloaded, pallet jacked to my garage door, then a bunch of healthy friends with levers, ramps, and pipe rollers got it where it needed to go. The process, which was somewhat dreaded, turned out quite painless. A lot of safe for the money.

American Gun Safes & Vault Doors! Affordably Higher Security

Sturdy Gun Safe manufactures gun safes, pistol safes and vault doors sold direct at discounted pricing. Thicker steel, real fireproofing and custom options, for less!

www.sturdysafe.com

 

[doubloon]

So do you think it's smart for going for something as big as the western series winchester safe?

I tend to think most people make the mistake of buying too small which means buy bigger than what you need. Whether or not any particular safe is is too small or too big for you I have no way of knowing unless I know how many and what type of guns you have but I also have no interest in knowing what you have. If mostly what you're going to put in it is rifles and shotguns then my rule of thumb is look at what the manufacturer says it will hold and divide in half.

AmSec is considered to be one of the best in the business. AmSec makes more than just gun safes. One of the biggest differences between AmSec and the others is door and wall thickness. The sides and back of AmSec safes are usually thicker than the doors on most companies that manufacture only gun safes or gun "vaults". Sturdy safe is one of the few companies that has wall/door thicknesses comparable to AmSec.

Whether or not you or anyone NEEDS that extra thickness is debatable. The "TL" rating of a safe is supposed to represent how long it will take someone with tools to breach a safe and most of the bigger, heavier safes only buy you an extra 15 minutes, maybe 30. Lots of videos out there demonstrating how to get into safes in times under the TL ratings.

You can definitely overthink a safe purchase but it's important to remember a cheaper safe that holds all the guns is better than a top of the line safe that holds half of them.

 

[Downtown]

The thing that attracted me to Sturdy Safe was that they had a economy line that did not include any fancy finish or graphic. Since this was placed where no one but me would ever see it (hopefully), that was ideal. I cared more about wall thickness than appearance. Something that is always pointed out in these conversations. What we are discussing aren't really safes. These are RSCs, Residencial Security Containers. Real safes are a whole different conversation.

 

[Herb Stoner]

Take a look at Secureit. Its not a traditional "safe" but a great secure cabinet for guns. If you live somewhere where fire is less of a concern it has a lot of advantages with set up and the ability to configure to you needs. I have one and it works better for me than my old Liberty.

We are in a very low crime area less than 2 miles from a fire station and have sprinklers throughout the house so mainly want secure storage to keep little people out and deter burglars. Pro burglars who want to get into a safe will get in to any gun safe they want.

 

[diverdon]

So do you think it's smart for going for something as big as the western series winchester safe? I have also heard from other forums of people saying that the American security bf series is the way to go. What's the difference? Sadly I work till late at night as a cna, and its hard to get back to you guys as fast as possible. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated!

In my entire life I've never met anyone with too big a safe. Even if you have only a few guns you'll have vehicle titles, birth certificates and other important documents that need a place.