Looking for something for 30-40 guns. Moveable by myself (I know - I should get a 2 ton fortress instead but my wife nor my budget allows). Under $1k
Safe recommendations?
- Thread starter Mindreader1
- Start date
Lotta guns for very little money. What's your rifle/pistol split on that, and how much extra stuff are you looking to squirrel away in it?
Lol sorry shoulda clarified - I don't have that many guns right now but would like to use the rest of the space for other things like IDs and stuff. Would keep some of the electronics in a different, less visible place 
Lol sorry shoulda clarified - I don't have that many guns right now but would like to use the rest of the space for other things like IDs and stuff. Would keep some of the electronics in a different, less visible place
Don't go cheap, and don't go small. Check out Zanotti Armor. Modular and highly transportable. http://www.zanottiarmor.com/ You won't, however, get away for $1K and get anywhere close to that capacity level. Don't forget that scoped rifles cut down your capacity very, very quickly.
I have looked them up before but the price is just too steep for me. Just curious though - do you know how much the individual parts weigh?
The door on this one was apparently 175 lbs.: http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?247644-Zanotti-Armor-Safe-in-Iowa
Figure about 825 lbs. total for that one in the above link.
http://www.zanottiarmor.com/zanotti_final.pdf
Keep in mind that when they talk about gun capacity they are using something like a Winchester 94 as the baseline for rifle measurement. Scoped rifles take up a lot more romm.
Buy bigger than you ever think you'll need. Look at the warranty too. Most use this as a selling point but some don't cover shipping back to get it fixed. Look at the fire rating times too.
Mine weighed 1,100 empty and I'm needing a second one now. It fills up quick with crap other than guns.
Mine weighed 1,100 empty and I'm needing a second one now. It fills up quick with crap other than guns.
I suppose most of the time when a burglar comes in and take the safe my alarm would sound off to the police so the goal is to prevent them from taking it or getting inside and get out in the 10-15 min for police to get there. The rationale for the heavy safes make sense.
You have temperature and humidity control inside a dwelling. In a garage, not so much, plus you have to manage exposure to prying looks every time that door goes up. And one more thing: easy in tends to mean easy out, or at least easier. I recommend modular safes because they can be assembled like a ship in the bottle inside a closet. If you reinforce the structure of the closet you can make it so that they have to rip an exterior wall down to steal a safe. And yes, that's happened; the reality is, you only slow professionals down.
http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/3/
Makes sense. I think the Zanotti is the only option then in order for me to carry these things inside.
92 lb. door? No fuckin' way. You might as well hammer beer cans together and pray. Too little safe to be worth it.
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Yikes - haven't heard many reviews on them. I guess can't really sidestep the inevitable
Hopefully you buy one and Zanotti sends me some commission money.
Pay attention to hinge design and steel thickness. Most thieves can break into the front of a safe with a crowbar, heavier steel door deters that. Browning is supposed to have one of the best hinge systems. Anything you get is only going to be a deterrent; If I were a thief and after $60k in guns, I'd be sure to bring a mini O/A torch, which would open it within 20 min.
You can also look at used one from a good safe seller. These are trade in's so they are usually in really good shape.
Any safe advertised capacity should be expected to hold maybe 25% of what they say it will.
Unless you are spending Graffunder type money limit your "safe" expectations to keeping unauthorized innocent hands from potentially harming themselves with your guns and deterring the drug addled, doesn't know shit, tweaker from trying to get and sell your $10K PSR for $20 so he can buy his next dose of heroin. Id rather have waterproof instead of fireproof. Any serious fire will likely breech your fire rating. A minor fire will expose your guns to potential water damage.
Someone that knows the true value of a $10K PSR will get inside any residential security container given a moderate amount of time. If this should occur the person that does it is going to be someone that knows you and you know them to some extent. Save your money, choose better friends and practice a little personal security.
I wish I had built a walled off room with a vault door.
Unless you are spending Graffunder type money limit your "safe" expectations to keeping unauthorized innocent hands from potentially harming themselves with your guns and deterring the drug addled, doesn't know shit, tweaker from trying to get and sell your $10K PSR for $20 so he can buy his next dose of heroin. Id rather have waterproof instead of fireproof. Any serious fire will likely breech your fire rating. A minor fire will expose your guns to potential water damage.
Someone that knows the true value of a $10K PSR will get inside any residential security container given a moderate amount of time. If this should occur the person that does it is going to be someone that knows you and you know them to some extent. Save your money, choose better friends and practice a little personal security.
I wish I had built a walled off room with a vault door.
I have co workers that searched Craigs list and serious "money security" type bank safes can be found often free to the taker if they will move it.
These tend to be big, heavy secure solid safes. The security will cost you interior space unless they are real big and in that case it will cost you moving it.
You will likely have to build your own interior. Might not be a bad idea to budget some money to service it before you lock anything in it.
These tend to be big, heavy secure solid safes. The security will cost you interior space unless they are real big and in that case it will cost you moving it.
You will likely have to build your own interior. Might not be a bad idea to budget some money to service it before you lock anything in it.
I live in AZ on the Cal/NV boarder so I got my safe from West coast safes. They do have some used ones. There is also DEAN safes. They are both in the L.A. area. If you live in or near a metro area there are bound to have a good retailer that you can check with.
30-40 weapons and under $1000 you say? You have a bunch of $50-$100 weapons I'm guessing? Wouldn't it be easier to replace them then? Maybe even cheaper?
Why bother? I can literally cut through an RSC (Residential Security Container --my ass) in 5 minutes. They open up just like tuna cans and you only need DeWalt battery powered tools, a chisel and a pry bar to make work. Since your rifles aren't worth that much, a thief may not bother. Try hiding them, maybe in a junker car in the back yard or a false wall or floor in a closet. Thieves also don't generally go in the crawl or the attic, so you could just put them up (or down) there.
On the other hand, if your rifles are more expensive like mine are, then a more appropriate safe will cost you more. You don't put a tasco scope on a $3000 rifle and you don't store several $2000-$10,000 rifles, optics, night vision and suppressors and other shit in a residential security container! Come on!
What you NEED to do is call a REAL safe company (out here it's NW Safes, it's like a Costco with nothing but safes for sale). Not a sporting goods store, a safe/vault store. Ask about scratch, dent and floor models, believe me, you can save a fortune this way. Anyway, you wanna shoot for something like an "Original TL30X6 w/dual combination dial and key lock". AMSEC is good too but should cost less than the Original (Original is a higher end make). The largest TL30x6 shipped to your house should run less than $6000 and you will never lose sleep over this shit again. This is the cost of a couple of nice rifles. BTW, these safes are rated for jewelry storage and can be insured for upwards of $1million+ insurance coverage.
The TL30 means it's UL certified to stand up to a 30 minute solid attack by two large men (6', 200 something usually, forget the specs) armed with long handtools and powertools. RSC's get rated to hold up to about 5 minutes against one man armed with SHORT handled handtools ONLY. The X6 means the walls, ceiling and floor are the same spec as the door, so no tuna can peel will work here. 6000lbs. of hardened steel and drill busting impregnated concrete will hold up much better than 400lbs. of sheet metal and drywall. The key and combo is because a combo or electric lock alone is just way too damn easy to defeat --I can defeat combos fairly easily given time and I can zippity doo-dah right through an electric one like you left the door open. Don't make it easy. Don't leave tools that can be used to break into any of them anywhere near the safe.
It's one of the best firearms investments I ever made. My wife wasn't too happy about spending a fortune on a big 3 ton closet but now she's glad we did and wouldn't have it any other way. But I must admit it filled up much fast than I though, despite it being the biggest. They make bigger gunsafes, but I already went over that, drywall and sheetmetal and all.
These can also be found from time to time used, but seldom the largest sizes (those are so rare it's not worth waiting for one to show up). So find a good dealer. Note in WA there is no tax on gun safes --one of the few common sense firearms laws on the books. So if your state taxes on these purchases, see if a neighboring state doesn't.
Good luck, and make sure to tell you wife that ALL of her expensive collectibles can be stored there too, jewelry, coin collections, gold, documents, etc. This is a good investment for a home owner with a garage or other slab flooring (reinforcing your house to hold a 3 ton safe over a crawl space can be a bit of a bitch, but it can be done) and may offset your insurance, especially on the firearms.
Why bother? I can literally cut through an RSC (Residential Security Container --my ass) in 5 minutes. They open up just like tuna cans and you only need DeWalt battery powered tools, a chisel and a pry bar to make work. Since your rifles aren't worth that much, a thief may not bother. Try hiding them, maybe in a junker car in the back yard or a false wall or floor in a closet. Thieves also don't generally go in the crawl or the attic, so you could just put them up (or down) there.
On the other hand, if your rifles are more expensive like mine are, then a more appropriate safe will cost you more. You don't put a tasco scope on a $3000 rifle and you don't store several $2000-$10,000 rifles, optics, night vision and suppressors and other shit in a residential security container! Come on!
What you NEED to do is call a REAL safe company (out here it's NW Safes, it's like a Costco with nothing but safes for sale). Not a sporting goods store, a safe/vault store. Ask about scratch, dent and floor models, believe me, you can save a fortune this way. Anyway, you wanna shoot for something like an "Original TL30X6 w/dual combination dial and key lock". AMSEC is good too but should cost less than the Original (Original is a higher end make). The largest TL30x6 shipped to your house should run less than $6000 and you will never lose sleep over this shit again. This is the cost of a couple of nice rifles. BTW, these safes are rated for jewelry storage and can be insured for upwards of $1million+ insurance coverage.
The TL30 means it's UL certified to stand up to a 30 minute solid attack by two large men (6', 200 something usually, forget the specs) armed with long handtools and powertools. RSC's get rated to hold up to about 5 minutes against one man armed with SHORT handled handtools ONLY. The X6 means the walls, ceiling and floor are the same spec as the door, so no tuna can peel will work here. 6000lbs. of hardened steel and drill busting impregnated concrete will hold up much better than 400lbs. of sheet metal and drywall. The key and combo is because a combo or electric lock alone is just way too damn easy to defeat --I can defeat combos fairly easily given time and I can zippity doo-dah right through an electric one like you left the door open. Don't make it easy. Don't leave tools that can be used to break into any of them anywhere near the safe.
It's one of the best firearms investments I ever made. My wife wasn't too happy about spending a fortune on a big 3 ton closet but now she's glad we did and wouldn't have it any other way. But I must admit it filled up much fast than I though, despite it being the biggest. They make bigger gunsafes, but I already went over that, drywall and sheetmetal and all.
These can also be found from time to time used, but seldom the largest sizes (those are so rare it's not worth waiting for one to show up). So find a good dealer. Note in WA there is no tax on gun safes --one of the few common sense firearms laws on the books. So if your state taxes on these purchases, see if a neighboring state doesn't.
Good luck, and make sure to tell you wife that ALL of her expensive collectibles can be stored there too, jewelry, coin collections, gold, documents, etc. This is a good investment for a home owner with a garage or other slab flooring (reinforcing your house to hold a 3 ton safe over a crawl space can be a bit of a bitch, but it can be done) and may offset your insurance, especially on the firearms.
And they generally are short or deposit type safes where there is a top and bottom divider. They are practically useless to store rifles. I do have one that I use for expensive ammo stores and parts, but I had to buy my nice one from the store. The only one that was big and free was an awesome Diebold bank vault, but it literally required me to demo much of the building to excise it. IF you can score one of those and IF you can get it out and back in, well, that is the way to go, just don't count on that happening, like I said, it's very rare.
Another option is if you are handy and have an unfinished basement, you can always build a nice walk in and then you only have to purchase and install the door. That's THE way to go, but unless you have a house that can accommodate that and you know what you are doing it can go way over budget.
Yep, most often I see those squat fat ones that look like they came from an old western movie, cool as hell but not useful for rifles.
A coworker did get a six foot tall one with a big enough interior for rifles. He had to use a burial vault truck/crane to recover it. Fortunately he knew someone in that business so his free safe only cost him a lot of effort.
A coworker did get a six foot tall one with a big enough interior for rifles. He had to use a burial vault truck/crane to recover it. Fortunately he knew someone in that business so his free safe only cost him a lot of effort.
Let's go back to the OP's original premise, as these threads tend to lose focus the less we actually read what the OP had to say. He wants:
- 30-40 guns
- Easily transportable
- Under $1,000
Zanotti's 2014 pricing:
Model ZA-1 (16 gun - 60"Hx25"Wx20"D - 400 LBS) is listed at $1,353
Model ZA-II (30 gun - 60"Hx31"Wx25"D - 600 LBS) is listed at $1,562
Model ZA-II 6 ft (30 gun - 72"Hx31"Wx25"D - 700 LBS) is listed at $2,019
Model ZA-III (52 gun - 60"Hx40"Wx30"D - 825 LBS) is listed at $2,138
Model ZA-III 6 ft (52 gun - 72"Hx40"Wx30"D - 925 LBS) is listed at $2,654
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/258189-My-new-Zanotti-52-gun-safe-review
I can find you a "gun safe" that meets that criteria for that price, but it's just an RSC like all the others. Even Graffunder safes, which are WAY overpriced IMO/E but do look nice in nice homes, aren't worth it. Cannon makes one that has double doors, thin plated composite doors and of course like all the other gunsafes, it's just made of heavy sheet metal filled with dense drywall. I used to have a top of the line Heritage, best they made, and it had a solid tempered steel door plate, heavy enough to pull the safe over easy if the door was open. Had that safe been bolted down and installed in between three concrete block walls with rebar, then it may have been "okay".
Again, you won't find the jewelry safes I speak of on craigslist --at least I never have. RARELY does Govliquidation.com have some for auction (along with LOTS of other cool shit) and mostly has locking file safes, computer safes capable of cooking the computer in an emergency, but no large safes. Only one I ever saw on CL was that Diebold safe I WISH I could have snagged, but even if I could have gotten it home, it wouldn't even fit upright in the garage.
What usually happens to these kinds of large safes is they get sold back to the dealer. They are expensive and heavy and large ones don't sell as often, so most just get sold back to the safe company, again, why you should call all of the safe dealers and see if they have demos, scratch/dents or even used ones. Look for the largest TL30x6 Original if they have one.
Trust me, nothing helps sleep better knowing my shit it so ridiculously protected it's not even worth crooks bothering with it. A large TL30x6 safe (or vault as they are sometimes called) will end up being more than worth it in the long run. And if you expand and get more, you can always get a lesser safe if need be, or sell your nice one and build a no-shit walk-in. Nice thing about these large high end safes is that they seldom lose any value over time, especially if taken care of.
Again, you won't find the jewelry safes I speak of on craigslist --at least I never have. RARELY does Govliquidation.com have some for auction (along with LOTS of other cool shit) and mostly has locking file safes, computer safes capable of cooking the computer in an emergency, but no large safes. Only one I ever saw on CL was that Diebold safe I WISH I could have snagged, but even if I could have gotten it home, it wouldn't even fit upright in the garage.
What usually happens to these kinds of large safes is they get sold back to the dealer. They are expensive and heavy and large ones don't sell as often, so most just get sold back to the safe company, again, why you should call all of the safe dealers and see if they have demos, scratch/dents or even used ones. Look for the largest TL30x6 Original if they have one.
Trust me, nothing helps sleep better knowing my shit it so ridiculously protected it's not even worth crooks bothering with it. A large TL30x6 safe (or vault as they are sometimes called) will end up being more than worth it in the long run. And if you expand and get more, you can always get a lesser safe if need be, or sell your nice one and build a no-shit walk-in. Nice thing about these large high end safes is that they seldom lose any value over time, especially if taken care of.
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