Best Gun Safe to buy?

[Nature Boy]

Can anybody shed any light on what is a quality gun safe to buy. I would like to stay under 2k if possible. I've looked at Cannons and heard some pretty good stuff about them. That said, I do not have first hand knowledge. I do know there have been some horror stories about locks not opening and having to drill them out. Also, what type of locks are best? I only need like a 40-48 gun size.

Thanks

 

[meigsbucks]

A friend has a Fort Knox. I like it so much that without a doubt, it will e my next one.

 

[Mekaniks]

Start with the brand(s) that are available in your area. Special order and shipping costs on those things can be a killer....
I am on my second Browning safe. I out grew the first one... Moral of my story is buy bigger than you think you will need the first time.
My first safe was Brownings FN series with the old style manual locking system. It worked well and took some practice to remember the combo.
My new safe is a larger Browning Yukon Series with the electronic locks. I like the electric lock better just because it’s easier to use and change the combo if needed. I changed the battery in it every two or three years and it it has never given me any trouble.
The other thing to look at is the fire rating of course, but I have heard many of the new safes also have a flood rating. Important if the room fills with flood water of course, but also very important if the house catches on fire and the firemen fill the house with water...
Many firearms in good fire rating safes have been lost to water and smoke damage after the fire is out....
Anyway, I think there are lots of good brands of safes out there. I would stop by a couple of places locally that carry them and see what they have in stock and talk to them about your needs and budget and go from there.

 

[Nature Boy]

A friend has a Fort Knox. I like it so much that without a doubt, it will e my next one.

Thanks, what do you like about it so much?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

There was a lengthy discussion on here in another thread. Depends what you want, fire rating, theft proof, etc. Will you need to move it......ever? I bought a Browning about 10 years ago and have been very happy with it. It's a pain to move, since it weighs about 900 lbs. I bought my safe from a dealer and the safe was shipped direct from the factory in Utah. Best advice for buying a safe is, buy the largest safe you can afford, you can always buy more guns to fill it later.

 

[meigsbucks]

Thanks, what do you like about it so much?

Overall quality. Triangular pins that secure the corners when locked.
Like Mekaniks, I have Brownings that I like but I believe this is a step up.
Mekaniks brings up a good point about shipping costs. It could be a deal breaker. Just do your research.

 

[wesheltonj]

Be advised those are not safes, but residential security containers. If you want a safe, Brown and Gruffunder are quality safes, but those are not 2k and under. Fort Knox generally comes in first place for residential security containers.

 

[Nature Boy]

Start with the brand(s) that are available in your area. Special order and shipping costs on those things can be a killer....
I am on my second Browning safe. I out grew the first one... Moral of my story is buy bigger than you think you will need the first time.
My first safe was Brownings FN series with the old style manual locking system. It worked well and took some practice to remember the combo.
My new safe is a larger Browning Yukon Series with the electronic locks. I like the electric lock better just because it’s easier to use and change the combo if needed. I changed the battery in it every two or three years and it it has never given me any trouble.
The other thing to look at is the fire rating of course, but I have heard many of the new safes also have a flood rating. Important if the room fills with flood water of course, but also very important if the house catches on fire and the firemen fill the house with water...
Many firearms in good fire rating safes have been lost to water and smoke damage after the fire is out....
Anyway, I think there are lots of good brands of safes out there. I would stop by a couple of places locally that carry them and see what they have in stock and talk to them about your needs and budget and go from there.

Thanks, will do. I was told TL 15 or 30 are much more secure but will cost you. I guess most of these safes are a deterrent more than true barriers. I will look at flood/smoke stuff.

 

[Nature Boy]

Be advised those are not safes, but residential security containers. If you want a safe, Brown and Gruffunder are quality safes, but those are not 2k and under. Fort Knox generally comes in first place for residential security containers.

Thanks, that was a large part of what I was looking for, a TL rating. I only plan on getting one of these and so while maybe more money I would rather have something I feel good about.

 

[YancyW]

I have bought a safe and vault door from Sturdy Safes. If you call them, they are super nice and will talk about options to fit your needs. They custom built my vault door and had it had my house in a couple months.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Be advised those are not safes, but residential security containers. If you want a safe, Brown and Gruffunder are quality safes, but those are not 2k and under. Fort Knox generally comes in first place for residential security containers.

Here we go again, this is what I remember from the prior thread on this subject. No right or wrong, just a wide range of opinions: Sort like saying, a Ford or Chevy really aren't trucks, you need a Mack or a Peterbuilt. I am sure Brown and Gruffunder are fantastic safes, they are also super expensive and super heavy.

 

[BeeMaa]

My wife and I bought a Fort Knox Executive 6637 in 2005.
Ten years later we bought another Fort Knox Executive 6637.
So now we have a his (guns/ammo) and hers (paperwork/jewelry).
Why did we buy Fort Knox? Watch the link and decide for yourself.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Here's the link to the prior discussion on the same subject:
https://www.africahunting.com/threads/how-to-choose-a-gun-safe.29837/

 

[Mekaniks]

I just remembered the door storage! I love my door storage on the inside of door on my Safe.
I put my “regularly used” guns on the door and they are easy to access without digging through other guns in the safe. I put my duck shotgun, deer rifle and the kids 22 and shotgun all on the door. The guns that I don’t use very often go in the back of the safe....

 

[Ray B]

Several years ago I got a Fort Knox. It was shipped from Utah and when received it appeared to have been smacked against a wall - the spokes on the opening pivot were bent (as if it was on the pallet and the forklift driver drove it into the back of the truck until it stopped). I contacted the owner and after a few comments about the shippers, sent a full set of replacement knobs. that was the only problem with it and it was great customer service.

 

[Travis2282]

I like the Liberty presidential line!

 

[mdwest]

Ive got a Liberty 48 gun safe that I've been very happy with... Its not the fanciest thing on the market.. and certainly not the most secure.. but its fire rating and security rating is enough to satisfy my needs... and we got it for a serious steal when Gander Mountain was going out of business (paid about 40% less than MSRP)..

Before buying the liberty we also looked at options from canon and browning... and probably would have ended up with the canon.. but once GM filed bankruptcy and started putting everything on clearance, the Liberty dropped to a price I couldnt resist so we went that direction..

I have no regrets at all.. the Liberty has been a very good safe so far...

 

[slam8031]

I have a 48 liberty that I like, my dad had a browning which has also been good, and I just acquired a canon. The liberty and cannon are electronic locks and the browning is old school. They protect the guns and stuff from the typical thieves but water and fire will probably destroy contents in all three if conditions are right. (Or wrong).

 

[Nature Boy]

Overall quality. Triangular pins that secure the corners when locked.
Like Mekaniks, I have Brownings that I like but I believe this is a step up.
Mekaniks brings up a good point about shipping costs. It could be a deal breaker. Just do your research.

It looks like Ft Know is a pretty good safe. I'll look this weekend.

 

[Nature Boy]

Here we go again, this is what I remember from the prior thread on this subject. No right or wrong, just a wide range of opinions: Sort like saying, a Ford or Chevy really aren't trucks, you need a Mack or a Peterbuilt. I am sure Brown and Gruffunder are fantastic safes, they are also super expensive and super heavy.

After getting some basic info these are not what I need. For one, super heavy and hard to get into my house. Two, too costly for what I need.