What's a good gun safe / lock / box / etc?

I always wanted to get one of those huge long-gun safes to put everything inside but those are heavy!

I do not want to have people deliver it to my place of residence. I would rather buy and bring home myself.

Anyone use fingerprint boxes?

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OK............generalizations.
Anything is better than nothing
Bigger is better
Heavier is better
Always secure your safe (to something like a concrete slab)
Safe makers do not always rate their fire protection the same.  X minutes with one manufacturer is probably not the same as X minutes with another.
You get what you pay for


Now good safes..........American Security, Fort Knox, etc. The usual suspects.  I prefer manual locks rather than electric, but electric do/should have provisions should the battery die in the keypad.

Per my friend who works on electronic equipment biometric equipment is pretty easy to spook, but if you intend to store by your bed for quick access it's probably worth it.

Use SS anchoring hardware when you bolt to a concrete pad.  SS doesn't burn like regular carbon steel, you have to melt it.  SS also doesn't cut as easily as regular carbon steel.  Heavier is better as if burglars are able to get your safe off the pad, then it's about bulk and weight.  The bulkier and heavier the harder it will be to move it.  Just because you can't move a safe don't think some cracked up guy can't. Thieves are/can be very clever.

If you want something with a bit of less fire resistance you can look into Zanotti (sp?).  They make sectional safes.  You basically bring in as panels and assemble.

With regards to fabricated safes.  The safes get their fire resistance through the material between the inner and outer shells as well as the shells themselves.  Seals are also important as many are selected to expand due to heat.  With a fabricated safe you'll need to account for that yourself.  Also the locking mechanism is all you.  If you go with a killer shell but secure just with a padlock.........guess what I can use a pair of bolt cutters on your padlock or pry of the hasp/type securing mechanism.

Ok good points - so not padlock but what should be used in that case?

Hi GZire, the idea of fabricating your own is kind of interesting -- You could make other concealable shapes besides a solid rectangular box. 

Good question by passivekinetic...  How would you secure such a safe?  The Fort Knoxx safes would have steel bolts within the steel door and probably not easy to replicate on your own. What would you use to secure a home-made safe?

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watch this video it will give you a whole lot of information about safes...guaranteed!!!

Hi GZire, the idea of fabricating your own is kind of interesting -- You could make other concealable shapes besides a solid rectangular box. 

Good question by passivekinetic...  How would you secure such a safe?  The Fort Knoxx safes would have steel bolts within the steel door and probably not easy to replicate on your own. What would you use to secure a home-made safe?

Different shapes due to custom welding, yup pretty nice thought.  Just keep in mind that you would do the design and if things don't work out it's due to you.  For instance spacing on the door, what would work, what doesn't.  You taking into account the production tolerances?  You figured coating thickness? You spec'd the right material?

I'm not sure what welding shops charge, the best bet is someone like Q's brother.  For us our welders (aerospace union), my best guess make something around $50+ per hour not including equipment and tools.  You don't plan things correctly and it's going to get very expensive in short order.

Still my biggest concern wouldn't be the shells it would the be locking mechanisms.  I'm not sure what locks Q is talking about.  It would be interesting if Q could post links to the locks he's referring to.  I'd like to take a look at them as I'm currently looking around for a larger safe.

I have a stack-on 14-gun safe. I suspect its one of those el-cheapo safes that will fall apart when seriously attacked by a thief with a crow/pry bar who wants in. I've always wondered if there are after-market companies that will sell you steel plates that can be welded to fortify an existing safe. I'm pretty handy with a welder so I don't mind welding up the plates myself. I guess one way to do it is to go hunting for a local steel supplier who can cut the plates to a specified dimension for a fee.  I don't really care that the safe ends up looking like as long as the end product is sturdier and better able to resist the average thief.

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The locks I mention are essentially uber thick, high quality contractor locks that are resistant to bolt cutting. The locking mechanism is way to wide for standard bolt cutters to fit around, and I can tell you that those things could take a beating. I cant seem to find the pics of the model I'm talking about, so I will ask my sister where she gets them. I guess an immediate solution would be a high quality contractors lock with a cut protection guarantee/warranty (if you can find one). Obviously, if you want the highest quality, you probably wont find it at Home Depot, so I'd suspect that you'd have to special order and it would be quite pricy.

As stated, most low level thieves carry the same load out for different tasks, with the main tools being crow bars and bolt cutters. If you can deter the effects or applications of these two particular tools, I say you are in the green. If you encounter someone who is breaking into your house and cutting your locks with a torch Mission Impossible style, I have no idea what to tell you.

Oxy/acetylene torches do not cut SS.  You have to melt SS and that takes a lot to do.  They need a plasma cutter to cut SS and that requires a spark source such as a portable welder.  So pretty much the plasma cutter is out of the question.  Bolt cutters would be the next option, but I need to see the lock to see if the jaws of a bolt cutter would open far enough to take care of that.  There are other hydraulic cutters that could be used, but they are geared towards a bar/wire so the shape of a lock would not lend itself to use of that type of equipment.

This leaves us the simple pry bar.  Extremely effective if they can get the bar inside the lock.

I have a stack-on 14-gun safe. I suspect its one of those el-cheapo safes that will fall apart when seriously attacked by a thief with a crow/pry bar who wants in. I've always wondered if there are after-market companies that will sell you steel plates that can be welded to fortify an existing safe. I'm pretty handy with a welder so I don't mind welding up the plates myself. I guess one way to do it is to go hunting for a local steel supplier who can cut the plates to a specified dimension for a fee.  I don't really care that the safe ends up looking like as long as the end product is sturdier and better able to resist the average thief.

There is only one company in the state that sells bulk sheet and that's Klockner (formally Mac Steel, formerly Ziegler, etc......).  They carry standard A36 steel, but that's really easy to cut with a torch.  There is a company called Reed that makes a really nice SS safe.  Those shells are awesome, but the cost is very high.  Also to consider is how metal transfers heat.  For example an aluminum body will transfer heat extremely quickly compared to something like 304SS, so altough you need to melt both, it would take significantly less heat to melt the aluminum.  This means that in a fire the type of body and the core material will play a huge role in how long your materials in the safe are happy.

If I had the money I'd buy a Reed.  The materials and build are awesome and yes I've seen their models in person.
http://reedcustom.com/

just get a big safe i got a 23 gun browning and I would if have gone bigger if I had the money .... If you don't want any stranger delivering it have a couple of your close friends along with a hand truck just Muscle it in. My safe was so big that it to get it through into my bedroom I had to take off the door. And me and my friend had to pick up body of the safe and move it in then  we carried  the door in. It can't leave my room unless someone is able to open the safe to take off the door.... or it falls through the floor ...... my Downstairs neighbors already hate me. Anyways it never ends up being just a Gun safe you always in the putting your passports important documents Jewelry, I put important electronics in there when I go out of town. If you're married or seen somebody try to put their stuff in there to. Just get a big one and do one time.

Another option if you can't throw a huge one in your place would be to conceal it. I've stashed stuff in false breaker boxes, you could easily make up one to keep your handgun and ammo in. Lots of examples online of people who have concealed gun cabinets. If I had the time and space to make one, I'd love to build a slide-out rack that fits in a wall, like a pocket door. The unit can be hidden behind a full-length mirror if you'd like.

besides Sports Authority and Costco/Sam's, does anyplace sell like a 6 rifle safe?  Space is really tight at my place, so I need something really compact.

Thanks.

Home depot
Lowes
Fisher Hawaii

besides Sports Authority and Costco/Sam's, does anyplace sell like a 6 rifle safe?  Space is really tight at my place, so I need something really compact.

Thanks.

thanks, I will check those out.

thanks, I will check those out.

Great question, that would work for me too