What kind of gun safe do you use?

[7stw]

I myself based on research and experience wouldn't own anything but a liberty. I own two and am looking at a third. I despise bears "job box" type locks. A pain to open and keys get lost also I like the peace of mind of having a combination that only I know. As others have said avoid digital keypads like the plague. Bears also have a marginal fire rating. And the best advice I can give is to buy as much as you can afford. Because inevitably you will put all kinds of valuable and important things in it besides guns. They fill up fast. Go look at a few and decide what will best suit your needs. As far as accessories go if you buy a bear go with the rifle rods on a browning or liberty pay go the door organizer well worth the money. Most quality safes have holes for anchor bolts to mount to the floor. Also buy a good dehumidifier.

 

[doctorjj]

I myself based on research and experience wouldn't own anything but a liberty. I own two and am looking at a third. I despise bears "job box" type locks. A pain to open and keys get lost also I like the peace of mind of having a combination that only I know. As others have said avoid digital keypads like the plague. Bears also have a marginal fire rating. And the best advice I can give is to buy as much as you can afford. Because inevitably you will put all kinds of valuable and important things in it besides guns. They fill up fast. Go look at a few and decide what will best suit your needs. As far as accessories go if you buy a bear go with the rifle rods on a browning or liberty pay go the door organizer well worth the money. Most quality safes have holes for anchor bolts to mount to the floor. Also buy a good dehumidifier.

I can't stand the Bear locks either. Total pain in my butt. I just ordered a Fort Knox with several upgrades.

 

[BamaAlum97]

And whatever you do, DON"T get one with a digital lock, They are cool looking and easy to open until they fail (and it will eventually) then you will be drilling it open, And it will happen just as you are leaving on a hunting trip or while someone is attempting to kick your door in!!!!

I have seen several with digital locks and manual key override...does that still fall into the no-no category?

Are combination locks best?

 

[Spata]

I foolish bought 3 60gun gun safes thinking they would be large enough to store all my ammo and firearms. Now one is overflowing with evil rifles and the others are surrounded by ammo and mags that wont fit in them. My advice buy a bank vault sized one and be done with it.

 

[TJay74]

+1 ^^^^
And whatever you do, DON"T get one with a digital lock, They are cool looking and easy to open until they fail (and it will eventually) then you will be drilling it open, And it will happen just as you are leaving on a hunting trip or while someone is attempting to kick your door in!!!!

I have had a digital lock for years with no issues. I actually had more issues with the S&G dial lock on my old safe that even the locksmith could get sorted out. In the end Cannon sent me a whole new lock to use.

I hated the Baer locks system, one of the other main reasons I didnt buy one as well.

 

[soonerbulldog]

Winchester. Buy the biggest. Insure everything in it. For that youtube video posted.....that was a cheap pos not bolted to the floor. Keep that in mind.
I researched for months before buying and visited every safe store around and I found that dollar for dollar Winchester is the best. My opinion I know but I'm sticking with it. Its not the most expensive and far from the least expensive but you get what you pay for. It's got lifetime replacement warranty if attempted break in occurs. Insure insure insure.

 

[SoonerShooter08]

I have a Winchester Silverado safe and I had SCI convert it to a S&G mechanical combo lock vs. the electronic lock that originally came with it. Now, I don't know about other safe's, but the electronic lock safes I've seen have a manual override in case the electronic pad goes out. On the Winchester safes it was basically a big skeleton key that could be inserted after popping the electronic pad off. Granted, that does you no good if you have the backup key stored in a safe deposit box or somewhere otherwise not immediately accessible. Regardless, I prefer manual combo locks since there's no keys to lose and no worries of electrical/electronic failures. I also have a rider on my homeowner's insurance to cover the firearms I own and I keep offsite records of the make, model, and serial number of all my firearms and other big ticket items. No safe is break-in proof and all you can do is hope that you have helped insure that the criminal doesn't have the necessary time to get in. Part of that is simply locking up your house, having an alarm system etc.

 

[FullAuto]

I'll be purchasing a new safe in the next few months. As much as I'd like to have a Graffunder, I'll probably end up with one from American Security. But I'm still looking.

 

[chazroh]

Bear or armor vault

 

[Peabody]

I use a Liberty Safe from H&H. I have the Lincoln 50. It's very large. I love it. I also chose the electronic lock. I love it too.