Finding a Gun Safe

[JS41989]

I've never owned many guns, and I'd never had children or roommates, so a gun safe had never been a huge priority to me. I kept a small drawer safe for my handgun and thats about it. Fast forward to today, I've now got some shotguns and rifles and a baby on the way.

I HAVE TO GET MYSELF INTO A SAFE ASAP.

It should not have taken me this long, but here we are. I've got about $500 set aside to find a safe and I can't tell what is really a good buy for my budget. Willing to spend a little more but I see some of these things cost $2,000 or more. I've seen some of those $200 stack on ones and they look really unsafe.

ANY INSIGHT FOR GOOD AFFORDABLE SAFES WOULD BE WELCOME

[naaack]

I started thinking about a safe last night also. I just DRO'd my first M1A. I would also like to hear some insights on a safe also.

[tradecraft]

$500 is rough to work with. The Bighorn 19ECB goes on sale regularly for around that price (+free delivery) / or browse Craigslist. The 19ECB will keep your kids out, but not much else.

[stevemac]

Also check out Costco. I've seen great safes in the $500 and under price range.

[JS41989]

$500 is rough to work with. The Bighorn 19ECB goes on sale regularly for around that price (+free delivery) / or browse Craigslist. The 19ECB will keep your kids out, but not much else.

I'm open to spending more, but I was wondering HOW MUCH MORE am I going to have to spend to get something decent. I'm a safe noob and it's awful.

[silversaver]

Yes, try Costco.com. free delivery $599

[SkyHawk]

$500 doesn't get you a safe, it gets you a security container that looks like a safe. And that is perfectly fine for keeping kids safe. You are a smart person for seeking one out to keep the little ones away from guns. As mentioned, Costco has good deals on them.

If you want to keep thiefs out, you're looking at $3k and up. So in my opinion, no reason to spend more than $500ish unless you are going to step up to something like a Sturdy Safe for $3k+

And the Stack On 10 gun cabinets (the welded ones not the 8-gun bolt together job) are also fine to keep young kids out. They frequently sell for less than $100 at Walmart, free delivery. I use one for ammo, it is pretty dang sturdy and reliable - I would (and do) trust it to keep young kids out while giving me reliable, keyed access to the contents.

A $500 dollar safe will slow a thief down a tad more than a $100 cabinet, and will probably keep the local smash and grab teenager from getting into it.

[scbauer]

As others have said, at $500 you're really looking at a storage locker, not a safe. You can find a decent deal at Costco often, but those aren't going to keep any determined criminals out for long. They will, however, do a decent job at keeping out kids.

If you want to start getting serious security, you'll need to move up into the $1,500+ price range for something used.

Keep an eye on the For Sale forum here. I picked up a good used Sturdy Safe here for under $2k.

Here's a great resource: https://www.sturdysafe.com/pages/gim...bout-gun-safes

[Gromann]

If you live near Covina, Outlet ELS on Azusa occasionally has costco safes for about half or 2/3 their normal price.

The place is a mad house with occasional finds.

[ElDub1950]

There's a section in 'Firearms Accessories' and here's a stick for introductory info.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=135167

[Harley]

Keep saving.

[GUNNTZ]

Stop and really assess what you have currently, what you project to buy and account for any extra items you'd like to store. What is safes job really going to be; keep the kids out or ??? This will give you an idea in what size you should be looking at. Think about things like fire and actual theft protection, research them extensively as not all safe are created equally. Also, do you move often; high weight could be a real killer. How big usually adds to their how much, if you get the idea. Thicker metal or double walled is always better, but this can drive up there cost quickly. Is this your only line of home defense, think about an alarm and/or camera system. A safe is a great investment, but it needs to fit your requirements. I've got two, one for guns and then other for everything else.

[JS41989]

Stop and really assess what you have currently, what you project to buy and account for any extra items you'd like to store. What is safes job really going to be; keep the kids out or ??? This will give you an idea in what size you should be looking at. Think about things like fire and actual theft protection, research them extensively as not all safe are created equally. Also, do you move often; high weight could be a real killer. How big usually adds to their how much, if you get the idea. Thicker metal or double walled is always better, but this can drive up there cost quickly. Is this your only line of home defense, think about an alarm and/or camera system. A safe is a great investment, but it needs to fit your requirements. I've got two, one for guns and then other for everything else.

I currently have an alarm system on the house with security cameras that monitor outside my property, as well as a few cameras inside in key rooms. My wife jokes that we live in the most secure 1,100 sq-ft in the city, HA!

[SmallShark]

if it says it is a 16-gun-safe, that really means 8 guns.

[scbauer]

I currently have an alarm system on the house with security cameras that monitor outside my property, as well as a few cameras inside in key rooms. My wife jokes that we live in the most secure 1,100 sq-ft in the city, HA!

Perfect, so you'll be able to let the police know who stole all your guns.