The Gun Safe thread
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:04 pm
Someone mentioned needing a new safe. I sort of searched to see if there was a thread for this, but I couldn't find one during my distractable search. So, I thought I'd start one.
Background: Right now, I just have 3 StackOn cabinets. They've served me adequately. I don't have lots of valuable stuff. But I have an aggregate of stuff, some of which is worth protecting.
My parameters: It needs to go in the basement, so weight and size are controlling factors. I've gotten fridges and freezers in and out as a size limit reference. I plan to contact a safe moving company to tell me about what weight they think will go down the stairs, though I haven't done that. If I can get document-level fire protection, that would be nice, but it's not crucial. Price is a factor. Keeping a determined burglar out is not a factor. I'd like to discourage a burglar who is above the smash and grab level but I know I'm not going to stop a bank safe cracker.
My main questions are about brands:
- Are there any manufacturers I should definitely avoid because they are junk?
- Are there any manufacturers that have good price to performance ratios?
- Which manufacturers are great but charge you an arm and a leg for more than most guys need?
- What did you buy? Did you love it or hate it? Would you buy it again? If not, what would you buy instead?
For instance, Liberty Safes advertise heavily and seem great, but are quite spendy. Bass Pro has a fairly wide range of safes that mostly seem to have gun makers' names on them. I don't know if Red Head safes are crappy or decent or great. My general impression is that StackOn is low end, but I don't know if it's lower end than would serve my needs. Maybe the market is at a commodity level, and only features matter. I just don't know.
If anyone else is looking for a safe and has different criteria, feel free to throw that in the mix. This could end up being a resource thread for future needs.
Fire away!
ETA: Just found this site: Gun Safe Reviews Guy, but I haven't dug through it much. Post better links if you have them.
Background: Right now, I just have 3 StackOn cabinets. They've served me adequately. I don't have lots of valuable stuff. But I have an aggregate of stuff, some of which is worth protecting.
My parameters: It needs to go in the basement, so weight and size are controlling factors. I've gotten fridges and freezers in and out as a size limit reference. I plan to contact a safe moving company to tell me about what weight they think will go down the stairs, though I haven't done that. If I can get document-level fire protection, that would be nice, but it's not crucial. Price is a factor. Keeping a determined burglar out is not a factor. I'd like to discourage a burglar who is above the smash and grab level but I know I'm not going to stop a bank safe cracker.
My main questions are about brands:
- Are there any manufacturers I should definitely avoid because they are junk?
- Are there any manufacturers that have good price to performance ratios?
- Which manufacturers are great but charge you an arm and a leg for more than most guys need?
- What did you buy? Did you love it or hate it? Would you buy it again? If not, what would you buy instead?
For instance, Liberty Safes advertise heavily and seem great, but are quite spendy. Bass Pro has a fairly wide range of safes that mostly seem to have gun makers' names on them. I don't know if Red Head safes are crappy or decent or great. My general impression is that StackOn is low end, but I don't know if it's lower end than would serve my needs. Maybe the market is at a commodity level, and only features matter. I just don't know.
If anyone else is looking for a safe and has different criteria, feel free to throw that in the mix. This could end up being a resource thread for future needs.
Fire away!
ETA: Just found this site: Gun Safe Reviews Guy, but I haven't dug through it much. Post better links if you have them.