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Savage Shooter

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It appears that I have managed to gather up a small gun collection over the last few years. I need a gun safe. Nothing too large, but I want it to be fire proof. I know that some are rated for 45 minutes at 1500 degrees and all that. I plan on storing guns, ammo, important papers etc. I dont have a lot of money to spend on one. I'm looking in the 600-800 dollar range and have seen a few that I like. I'm leery of the digital locks. What do yall recommend? Or should I wait and save my money until I hit the 1200-1500 range or even more?
 
There is no independent agency that does the fire rating on gun safes. Therefore all the manufacturers do their own. Unless you spend LOTS of money the fire rating is very misleading. "Fireproof" they are not. Fire resistant is more accurate. Anything that's in one for 45 minutes at 1500 degrees will at least be severely damaged. Synthetic gun stocks will melt and papers will burn or at least char badly.

All that being said, I have an $800 Bighorn safe that has the thickest metal that was on the market for $800 at that time. It has a fire "rating" similar to what you reference but I don't put much faith in it. There are FAR more home burglaries than house fires. I don't look to recover much from a house fire but I believe I can defeat all but the most serious of petty thieves. That's why I opted for the thickest metal for my $$$. My important papers are in a bank safe deposit box. I don't need to see those papers but once every few years and that works best for me. YMMV

One word of advice....buy a safe that will hold twice the # of weapons that you plan to store. They "rate" the gun capacity based on sardine can type of storage.
 
A good video I think everyone should watch before they purchase a gun safe.

http://youtu.be/nBhOjWHbD6M

In fact, most everything you will find made with the name Cannon, Browning, Winchester, Champion Etc. is considered to be called a Residential Security Container. You have to get to the level of a Graffunder or top of the line Fort Knox to be considered an actual gun safe.

I would wait and save money until you can get a minimum of at least a 1,000 lb Cannon, Browning, Winchester, Champion.
 
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mine is American Security,weighs 1025 LBS,,five 2 inch bolts on each side ,three 2 inch bolts top and bottom,with unexposed door hinges and bolted down with ,four 3/4 inch anchor bolts all the way through 6 inches concrete floor with 5/8ths rebar tied in 18 inch squares 10 feet by 10 feet
and it is back against the 12 inch block wall poured full of concrete and is actually under ground from the outside..
 
So what good is a gun safe when the government comes Knocking!!!!!! I just wonder that sometimes. I have a Liberty also and if it wasn't for it my guns would have been stolen that day when my house was burglarized!!!!!
 
Thanks for the info. I'm not sure what size I will need as of yet. I am going to bolt it to the floor. Man those Liberty safes are nice, but a little pricey at the moment. Might have to save a little more money and wait to later in the year to buy.
 
If there's a Tractor Supply in your area check them for decent prices on safes. Check ALL outlets for scratched/dented safes. Sometimes you get a great deal with just a minor flaw.
 
W C said:
There is no independent agency that does the fire rating on gun safes. Therefore all the manufacturers do their own. Unless you spend LOTS of money the fire rating is very misleading. "Fireproof" they are not. Fire resistant is more accurate. Anything that's in one for 45 minutes at 1500 degrees will at least be severely damaged. Synthetic gun stocks will melt and papers will burn or at least char badly.

All that being said, I have an $800 Bighorn safe that has the thickest metal that was on the market for $800 at that time. It has a fire "rating" similar to what you reference but I don't put much faith in it. There are FAR more home burglaries than house fires. I don't look to recover much from a house fire but I believe I can defeat all but the most serious of petty thieves. That's why I opted for the thickest metal for my $$$. My important papers are in a bank safe deposit box. I don't need to see those papers but once every few years and that works best for me. YMMV

One word of advice....buy a safe that will hold twice the # of weapons that you plan to store. They "rate" the gun capacity based on sardine can type of storage.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice imo. I opted for the Yukon Gold 6' version, made by Browning. I liked the extra foot of height, and use it mostly for my papers and such, but is nice for long shotguns to let them fit easier imo.
 
280longshot said:
So what good is a gun safe when the government comes Knocking!!!!!! I just wonder that sometimes. I have a Liberty also and if it wasn't for it my guns would have been stolen that day when my house was burglarized!!!!!
Click to expand...

Did they attempt to break into the safe?
 
I bought mine at Co-Op. It is a Patriot safe made by Cannon. It was the 36 gun model. They had never sold a 36 gun one there. I asked them how much for delivery and she said $100. They went up to $200 after they got mine in the house! :D
 
Hillbilly Hunter said:
I bought mine at Co-Op. It is a Patriot safe made by Cannon. It was the 36 gun model. They had never sold a 36 gun one there. I asked them how much for delivery and she said $100. They went up to $200 after they got mine in the house! :D
Click to expand...

LOL.
 

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