Gun safes...... Which to buy/not buy.

I would like to know what some folk's thoughts and experience. What brands do you like? What brands do you avoid? Why? I'm looking for one that holds 20+ guns but not wanting or needing the model that has light saber proof doors, or sharks with laser beams on their heads or comes with a free subscription to a British spy magazine.

Thank you in advance for your help.

I would strongly consider Fort Knox. I have owned one for about 10 years and my only regret, is that I did not buy a bigger one.

Excellent, well built, basically custom and superior protection.

Yep, buy once cry once! Fort Knox.

Liberty safe with a mechanical lock,not one of those electronic gadgets.
Thank me later.

Thank you for your input gentlemen, but WHY do you recommend these brands?

^ important questions isn't it

Liberty and get the FAT BOY....Mechanical tumbler.....

My Liberty has a great fire rating and with the mechanical combination rather than an electronic key pad I don't have to worry about getting locked out of my safe due to a malfunction unless I have a senior moment and forget my combination.

I have two a Browning Gold Medallion and a Winchester Silverado, both with mechanical lock. Both are very well made but the Browning is quite a bit more expensive. For the price the Winchester Silverado is hard to beat and also fireproof.

Watch YouTube videos of guys prying safes open in less than a minute, then choose a brand. Just because it's big, heavy and looks well built means nothing to meth heads...

Anyone in the market for a safe needs to watch this.

And the answer is....... Yep.

Great video actually

Liberty or Fort Knox. I have a Liberty and have no complaints.

Video bottom line. You get what you pay for.

I have a liberty for 7 years now and no complaints. Like others have said I wish I purchased a bigger one.

Liberty

BUDGET???!!!

My .02;

be prepared to spend AT LEAST $2,000

Get the biggest one you can fit in your house and get a BIGGER one.

Superior Supreme or Amsec BF.

2nd the Amsec (American Security) BF and Fort Knox. Awesome safes if you have the $$$.

You get what you pay for is all I can say about gun safes. I would also check out the Winchester Silverado's as well. No matter what safe, go with the mechanical lock!

I had a custom safe built by Sage Brush Safes in Odessa. One heck of a safe and its big, weighs 900 empty. Had the interior done specific for muzzle down storage.

I have a locksmithing background focused on safes and security. I recommend staying away from Cannon Safes; their locking mechanisms deteriorate poorly to the point of not opening reliably. I spent 20 minutes trying to get into my backup safe on quite a few occasions before I got rid of it. My preference is Liberty Safes, especially for the price. If you get a matte painted Liberty, they are very reasonable. The gloss paint and maybe two more locking bars adds a few hundred dollars. I don't recommend worrying about fire ratings in any of these safes (the plain metal ones like Stack-On are a different story). AmSec makes good safes, too, but they are pricey (I have an AmSec dealer account). If you live within city limits, the fire department will either have the fire under control in enough time to save your safe, or it will be so out of control that the fire rating won't matter (it's just gypsum board, aka, drywall). If you live in the country, expect the latter, anyhow. Everything in locks is a compromise and a plain dial lock is far more secure than a keypad, but the keypad gives you speed of access, if that is one of your needs. For me, the things to spend money on for a safe are the size, gauge of steel used, locking mechanism and related protection from drilling. None of this matters if you don't bolt it down to your foundation, or have a security alarm to take away the time a thief has to work on getting through it. A friend didn't have an alarm and the thieves used his tools from the garage and a few hours to open the side of the safe and steal everything. "Security in layers." Call ADT!

I think it depends entirely on what your getting the safe for.

If you are concerned about fire, then that statistic (fire rating) is all that counts; more than space or price.

If you are buying it to keep from being robbed then you want to look at weight because they are likely equally hard/easy to break into in a given period of time spent by a thief at your home.

If you are looking to keep your kids out of your guns, then buy either, look at space, price and features like usb and power. personally, I decided that I am this type of buyer and would go with the Cannon in most cases.

I like Security Products safes. Mechanical locks, heavy steel, and a mind-boggling selection of models. Best of all, they're made right here in Texas, near Waco. Ricky and the boys will replace any Security Products safe that is defeated, and last I checked they've never had to.

I wouldn't waste one penny on fire proofing. All that sheet rock just takes up interior space and won't save your guns in a fire. Do a little research on this, or ask an experienced fireman. Besides, if you live in the country, your house--and guns--will be toast by the time the local volunteer fire department arrives. And if you live in the city, once your ammo and powder start cooking off, the firemen are gonna get way back....

http://securityproducts1.com/

Liberty period

I put a 2hr. smaller safe inside of a larger 1 1/2 hr. safe. A lot better than leaving in under the bed huh?

Whatever safe you think you're going to get and when you've finally made up your mind, get one bigger! That would be my advice.