I have been looking at safes would like to stay under 1000. I have an old metal cabinet now that I am outgrowing. Looked at a Winchester and cannon 24 gun safes at tsc wondered if they are any good or should I keep looking.
1. What is the value of my firearms?
2. How many do I have?
3. How concerned/worried am I that someone will break in and take my safe with them or open it and take the contents?
4. Where am I going to put it?
5. Am I concerned about fire?
Once I answered those questions I originally decided to turn my home office closet into a "safe". But then I fell into a end of season, scratch and dent, 11% off, reduced to cost due to scratch and only 3 left sale at Menards. So I bought it.
I almost hate to post this because I'm always looking for safes, but if you aren't in a hurry my advice would be to watch Craig's List. It has taken a couple of years, but I've picked up several TL30 and 1 TL30x6 very heavy duty safes, and only the TL30x6 cost me over $1000.
I have one of those safes. They are great safes for the price point. You have to consider your situation and what you think are the most likely things to cause problems with a particular safe. If it's easily removed from your home, it doesn't really matter what kind of "quality" was put into it. Location of the home, location inside the home, properly securing it, etc. are all more important than the safe itself.
That said, ALWAYS go witha safe that is bigger than you need right now because you will eventually outgrow it and ALWAYS go with the best fire rating you can get. Sometimes the two of these are a balancing effect of sorts. Something else I recommend is looking for bolts on ALL sides of the door.
Gun safes are insurance policies. The better the protection (coverage), the better the safe you'll want to buy. I've got a Liberty but I've never had it put to a test yet *knocking on wood*. I like it. I've heard good things about Johnsons. It's too late now but our Orscheln's store had a moonlight madness sale last night where after 9:30 regularly priced merchandise was 20% off--they carry gun safes.
I have a 48 gun Cannon and like it for what I need right now. If you wait for Black Friday, TSC sells it for $700. That's how I got mine. I'm not crazy about the electronic lock, but it's all I can afford.
I have been looking at safes would like to stay under 1000. I have an old metal cabinet now that I am outgrowing. Looked at a Winchester and cannon 24 gun safes at tsc wondered if they are any good or should I keep looking.
If you want to feel safe, buy whatever you want. If you want to BE safe make certain you purchase something that has been Underwriters Laboratory (UL) tested and rated!!!
Their testing sets the standard for quality products. They have years of engineering knowledge that they use to truly test the products sent to them.
If the product you purchase hasn't been tested then you are simply basing your information on sales propaganda. There is nothing wrong with sales propaganda in and of itself, it is what every company does to sell its product. But that doesn't mean that it is accurate or relevant to what you need.
The TL30 rating is one of the best there is! I believe there may(?) be a TL60 but I am unsure.
If I were you I would do a LOT of research on safes and gun safes. Find out for yourself what the terms are and what they really mean. Then I think you will find that a LOT of safes that "look" good may not "be" good. And even IF they are good, you will understand what "good" means.