Looking for a better gunsafe

[Borderland]

I think it's a cost/risk assessment.

All of my firearms are insured on our home owners policy. I keep a complete list with serial numbers on file. I've made what I consider to be ample precautions to secure my firearms. I don't live in the city and break-ins are rare in my community. Last one was an unoccupied house about 10 years ago. Neighbors keep an eye on who comes and goes and I tell them when I leave for more than a few days. I keep a car in our DW and a few lights on timers so anyone who doesn't live in the community wouldn't know if there isn't anyone home. The private road and DW to our house has security cameras and signs stating they exist. A meth head might be desperate enough to break in but I doubt some pro would look at it as a situation of opportunity. There's always the chance of being shot in the process. Probably not your average situation however.

[UncleGabby]

I bought one of the higher end Liberty Safes, I think it is a Washington series, for well under $2000 on Craigslist. That includes gas to drive to Pittsburg, and $300 for a local moving crew. When I was shopping I found a few really good deals on high end safes, but I needed a tall one to hold my flintlock long rifle, so it took me a while to find the right one. Liberty doesn’t make the Washington anymore, but it’s heavy, 1700lbs empty IIRC.

Of course a competent thief with tools could cut into it pretty quickly. Because of that, I lock my own tools up in a job box when I go out of town, so that competent thief would have to bring his own tools. I think the average meth head would be out of luck.

I like the weight of my safe. I used to move furniture and medical equipment, and the 500 lb. “gun safes” are ridiculously easy to move with a good appliance dolly. You could bolt it down to make carting it off harder, but most people I know never bolt theirs down.

I would be patient, and scour craigslist and facebook marketplace. I wouldn’t worry at all about fire rating.

[TGS]

There's a lot to learn here. While I'd like to buy a Sturdy Safe or a BF AmSec, it's not in the cards. What about something like this American Security https://americansecuritysafes.com/product/nf6036e5/ ?

It's got a 1/4" steel plate door, which is in another league of protection compared to what you will get from most other safes in this price range which have sheet metal doors.

Its body construction is comparable to everything else at this price point. Similar to the Liberty, Big Horn, Cabelas, etc, the fire protection is virtually non-existent.

Be aware of its capabilities and limitations...try to put walls and other anchored stuff against it to minimize side attacks. A good competitor is the Sun Welding Company Renegade, which seems almost identical but is claimed to be made in the US, whereas the AMSEC TF and NF series are made in China. The problem with some of the smaller safe companies is their lack of a dealer network, necessitating delivery and installation by a crew of unknowns that very well may have criminal records. I'd say just as important to the safe itself is a reputable dealer who uses an in-house professional crew, and not the lowest bidder moving company....I went with a family owned locksmith shop. In that aim, AMSEC tends to have a better dealer network (i.e. availability) compared to their competitors, especially like Sturdy.

[Jim Watson]

Because of that, I lock my own tools up in a job box when I go out of town, so that competent thief would have to bring his own tools.

Right. I just bought a regular RSC from the local dealer and trust to that, behind a locked and alarmed shop door.

But a friend got in on a welding school at our agency and they were allowed personal projects with metal out of the scrap pile. He scrounged enough 1/4" and 3/8" plate to assemble a medium size gun case. He has a well equipped shop, so I suggested he lock up his diamond saw blade and cutting torch tip along with his guns and cameras so a thief couldn't use his own tools to break into it.

[UncleGabby]

Right. I just bought a regular RSC from the local dealer and trust to that, behind a locked and alarmed shop door.

But a friend got in on a welding school at our agency and they were allowed personal projects with metal out of the scrap pile. He scrounged enough 1/4" and 3/8" plate to assemble a medium size gun case. He has a well equipped shop, so I suggested he lock up his diamond saw blade and cutting torch tip along with his guns and cameras so a thief couldn't use his own tools to break into it.

My other concern is, the crackhead may not be competent enough to break into the safe, but could do major cosmetic damage. I also acquired both of my job boxes on Craigslist. One holds tools, the other ammo and a few guns.

[DMF13]

This podcast is relevant to this question, and worth a listen:
https://firearmsnation.com/tom-kubin...l-gun-storage/

[Shotgun]

Best gun safe around $2000?

You might check out the Sturdy Safe brand.

Sturdy is excellent, but is double the budget even for the smallest long gun safe: https://www.sturdysafe.com/products/model-2419

[Tensaw]

Sturdy is excellent, but is double the budget even for the smallest long gun safe: https://www.sturdysafe.com/products/model-2419

Yeah, it's been quite a few years since I purchased mine and I honestly could not guess at what I paid for it within $2k. Definitely a "Buy once, Cry once" deal for me. I do recall the transaction being very smooth. I have moved it twice. Once from the point of delivery to the house; then to a second house (where it's gonna stay in perpetuity (at least *my* perpetuity).

This last time I moved it, I made myself some "Slick Sticks". Got the idea from YouTube. 2" or 3" wide strips of HDPE (I think?) screwed to some 1x4's (countersunk screws). Made three sets of two: one 8' pair and two 4' pairs. Just kept sliding it and throwing the slick sticks in front of it. When I got to my new place, I moved it by myself from the cargo trailer to the garage - pretty easy actually. The tough part was getting it from my old house (up on piers) to the cargo trailer. My very good friend used his tractor with pallet forks on the bucket. We ratchet strapped that bitch to the forks and eased over to the trailer. Kind of butt-clenchy but worked fine.

ETA: I tired to source the Slick Sticks commercially but no joy so I had to make them myself. Can't believe these aren't commercially available.

[Cookie Monster]

I sold the gun safe in the move. I downsized on guns as well.

I moved to V-line safes. I got them spread through the house in discrete places.

The important documents and overflow are in a Knaack job box in the garage weighed with ammo cans and workout sandbags.

[Catshooter]

I have a friend who works on safes of all kinds and types.

He tells me that for each dial safe he has to fix he'll work on about ten with keypads.