Recommend a wall safe?

[bdcheung]

Hey all,

Before I can consider buying an AR, I need to determine a way to safely store them. Our family's CFO (read: my wife) has set the following criteria:

Must be secure (lockable and relatively difficult to remove from the house)
Must be discreet (i.e. no box safe in the basement)
Must be child-proof


These are the criteria I have to meet before she feels comfortable enough with me purchasing an AR. Based on this, I feel a stud-mounted wall safe in the master bedroom/closet is my best option, but this is open to challenge should you feel otherwise.

Do y'all have any recommendations on a brand or model of wall safe? What characteristics should I be looking for? How would you go about hiding the safe while still keeping it functional (easy to open)?

Thanks in advance.

[secondstoryguy]

Not exactly what your looking for but here's a couple of ideas:

http://www.sentrysafe.com/HDC

http://www.amsecusa.com/Defense_Vault/

[UNK]

Hey all,

How would you go about hiding the safe while still keeping it functional (easy to open)?


Thanks in advance.
I would put it behind long clothes in the closet or behind a full length wall mount mirror.

[EricM]

This would seem to meet your requirements:
http://www.vlineind.com/store/product.php?productid=16146

I don't have any experience with that particular model, but I do own a pistol lock box by V-Line that I've been happy with.

[EricP]

A couple of notes on wall safes:

Double check that your closet isn't framed with 2x3's. Don't ask how I know this.

If the closet wall shares a wall with another bedroom, it can be very loud when someone accesses the safe. The door bangs against the frame as the buttons are pushed.

[bdcheung]

epete,

Good tips. How can I determine framing material without ripping down the drywall?

I've got attic access to this closet. Would that help? There's also an unfinished bathroom on the ground level. Would they frame that the same as they would an upstairs closet?


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[DanH]

well you can't be exact without ripping down drywall but you can get close.
measure at the doorframe, subtract 1.5 inches for the doorframe trim (3/4 on each side) and another inch for drywall (most use 1.5 inch on each side), what you have left is probably the stud thickness. a 2x3 is usually 2.75 inches by 1.75. If you have less than 3.5 left over they probably didn't use 2x4, but they may have used 5/8 drywall, but it is less common on interior walls.

To be honest though I'm not even sure where you would find 2x3, it's kind of an odd size.

[JeffJ]

2x3 would be pretty unusual

If you want to make sure make a very small hole with a nail and feed some wire into the hole until you hit something, measure the wire and you'll know the stud cavity depth.

When you go to install spend some time with a stud finder and then verify with a nail to make sure that your framing opening works for the safe. Depending on a lot of things it may not lay out exactly 16" OC - so double check before you start cutting.

[EricP]

epete,

Good tips. How can I determine framing material without ripping down the drywall?

I've got attic access to this closet. Would that help? There's also an unfinished bathroom on the ground level. Would they frame that the same as they would an upstairs closet?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The only time I've seen 2x3 framing is in two closets side by side acting as the wall between bedrooms.

Having access to the unfinished wall of your attic will let measure the thickness of the studs and let you see if there are any pipes or wires in the way. It will also give a burglar access to the back of the safe,which is poorly armored since it is expected to be hidden inside a wall. If you use this location, you could put something in the attic to protect or hide it.

If you use some other location, you can check the depth of your wall with a small, long drill bit (~1/8x6"). 4" before you hit the wall on the other side would indicate 2x4+1/2" drywall construction.
Look for outlets or switches near where you want to put. Cut out a small hole that you get a mirror into to look for pipes and wires. Save the cut out in case you need to patch the wall.

If you want to put a light on your rifle in any position other than 12 or 6, you might want to check to see if it will fit in the safe anyway.

[orionz06]

http://tacticalwalls.com/


http://tacticalwalls.com/wp-content/uploads/Untitled.jpg

[rob_s]

http://tacticalwalls.com/


http://tacticalwalls.com/wp-content/uploads/Untitled.jpg

That's not lockable, is it? It looks like its just an open wall insert that anyone with a circular saw could build from wood in about an hour.