[fungus57]

Hey everybody, been lurking on here for a while since I saw a reference on NASIOC, figured I'd say hi and ask a question that has come up.

I just bought my first gun (Well, I had a no-name .22 rifle as a kid), and ended up with a P22. Cheap, I'm a small guy so it fits my hands well, and is just plain fun to shoot. I'm surprised I haven't had any of the ammo issues that seem common with these guns, but I've tried stingers, remington subsonics and bulk federal ammo and not a problem yet. Good stuff.

Anyway, I'm looking to purchase a safe, for my gun and for my decent sized collection of coins and bullion. A trip to a few local chain stores wasn't helpful at all, and I have a feeling there are much better safes available for a fair price. Any in particular that are highly recommended, or brands to look for? Hard to find reviews online, and I don't really trust what the manufacturer has to say. Thanks!

 

[jamz]

Hi fungus53, you fuckin' RAWK!!


There are "safes" and there are "Residential Security Devices" and there are "boxes with locks".

Safes are usually very heavy and expensive, starting at $2000 or so. RSDs are very common, and a lot less expensive, from $400 to $1500 or so. Lock Boxes are $50 and up. Depends on what kind of security you want.

For keeping the young uns out of the gun supply, a lock box is fine until they become old enough to learn how to pick locks, so maybe 10-13 depending on the kid. I'ts good for keeping semi-trustworthy roommates out too.

RSDs are good for keeping teens and casual thieves out, especially if you are able to bolt it to the floor and/or wall. Depending on the thickness, they can often be defeated with home power tools or even a simple heavy sledgehammer. So a thief will need some time to get into it, but if you are away, chances are you have tools in your house that will get into that RSD.

If you can't bolt it into the floor, theives can just pick it up, (even heavy ones) and carry it away to attack it at leisure.

Safes will be fastened somewhere, usually it's part of the installation. It's usually heavy enough so that you need special equipment to move it (like piano moving equipment, not just an appliance dolly) and the flooring has to be reinforced where it sits.

I like, and have a Sentry brand RSD, with a combo lock. It's the 14 long gun model, and I can't fit everything I have in it. But, it is bolted into 5" of concrete in both the floor and wall, flush with both.

I also have a smaller Stack-On lock box to store about half of my ammo, and I have a Gun Vault for quick access and also a Stack-On keypad lock box for my office which I'll bolt to something secure.

Stack on is made of very thin metal, you could get into it easily with a claw hammer I'd say.

 

[Janq]

/thread

- Janq

 

[fungus57]

But Janq, you're usually so verbose! I need more insight!

I believe I'd be looking for a RSD. It will be bolted to the floor and wall. How exactly is this done, anyway? Sentry is obviously one of the more visible brands, but that doesn't always mean it is the best. Makes me think that if everyone has one, then every thief probably knows how to get into one. Most of the ones I looked at were geared more towards fire proofing than security. Still, if you guys don't have any issues, that may be what I'll end up with.

Oh and I had this screen name for about 10 years before fungus53. I should have picked that at random instead, and sold the AIM sn for millions!

 

[jamz]

I like mine, but it won't keep out a determined thief with some time on his hands. It's really to keep the kids out and have a sort of central storage area, and to deter casual smash n grab thieves.

Mine has 2 holes in the floor and 2 holes in the back. I put it in the basement which has concrete floors and walls.

I set the safe into place, made sure it was away from water sources, etc.

Take the floor part out so you can see the holes in the floor. I took a hammer drill and some good bits and drilled through the existing holes into the concrete about 6 inches. Did the same for the two holes in the back of the safe, against the wall.

Then I measured a length of very thick threaded rod, and cut it so that about an inch of rod stuck out of the hole, into the safe. Then I mixed up some cement materiel (I forget exactly what it was but it was specifically for setting things into concrete holes). I filled the drilled holes with the cement, and pushed the rods into there, then cleaned up the cement that oozed out.

I let it dry, then threaded on a big washer and bolt into each rod, tightened them down, and voila, reasonably secure RSD.

 

[Jeremy]

Amsec and Sentry are about the best for the money. They have drill proof fire resistant units for around 500-600$.

Depending on where you want the safe the 250$ most places charge for FULL delivery( they put it where you want it with a limit of 20 stair steps) is well worth it. moving a 500+ lb safe around the house can be a pain.

 

[triten82]

My boss got a 1000 lb safe for his guns, it was so hard to get out of the back of the truck then we had to push it using 3 rollers. Even with the rollers it was still a bit heavy to push.