gun safes, where do you guys get them

[bigred133]

Got mine from Tractor Supply.
Winchester® Gun Safe, 24 Gun Capacity - Tractor Supply Co.

 

[Big Guy]

I bought this Cannon Safe from TSC a couple years ago, and I'm still happy with it. It was on sale around Christmas for $999.00, marked down from $1299.

 

[Big Guy]

Cannon TS7240 Tall & Wide Body Gun Safe, 48 Gun Capacity

I bought this Cannon Safe from TSC a couple years ago, and I'm still happy with it. It was on sale around Christmas for $999.00, marked down from $1299.



Price:


$1299.99

 

[K_W]

No offense to the cheap safe guys, before you pay good money for those, you could have a Johnson for a few hundred more... And they make cheap safes look like they're made of tin foil... Because they almost are.

Cannon's Winchester's and most Liberty's are 12 or 14 gauge sheet all around. Johnson start at 10 guage (1/8 inch) plate steel and 1/4 solid plate door. Those big bolts are mearly held on with a 1/4" bolt to a piece of sheet metal inside the door. Johnson safe's bolts are welded to a solid piece of 1/4" steel

Here... look at Liberty...
http://www.nragunsafe.com/bolt-brackets-with-anti-pry-tabs-lm-29-p-1779.html

Big impressive bolt held on by little wimpy bolt to bent sheet metal

 

[Big Guy]

For the money, you can't beat the Cannon safes, IMHO.

 

[Bennettjh]

I got mine at Rural King. Haven't had any problems. Johnson has a booth set up at the 1500, good looking safes.

 

[Speedybruin4]

I picked mine up at Dunham's at one of their Black Friday sales a few years back. Had my budget been what yours currently is, I definitely would have went the Johnson route.

Another poster mentioned this earlier, and I will echo what he said. When you think you have found the safe that is for you, dig deeper and go bigger. It's amazing how fast a safe can fill up in just a couple of years.

Agreed. I always assume that the safes hold half as many guns as they say, especially if you leave accessories attached. I think that is how I got my wife to go for the 36 gun safe instead of the 18.

 

[05wrangler]

With the Johnson's safes, I got onto his web site an I could maybe swing the second biggest JS series he has avalible but the BR line seems like it would be worth downsizing a little for the extra steel

 

[bonkers1919]

Where ever you buy a safe from, buy the BIGGEST safe you can afford. Safes are not just for guns. Birth certificates to death certificates and every thing in between is my safe.

 

[K_W]

With the Johnson's safes, I got onto his web site an I could maybe swing the second biggest JS series he has avalible but the BR line seems like it would be worth downsizing a little for the extra steel

Make sure you have room, the floor to support it, and a way to bolt it down.

 

[Libertarian01]

To 05Wrangler,

To you want to "feel" safe or do you want to "be" safe? There can be a big gap between the two, and you won't know until the guns are gone.

I would never go with a safe that has not been UL tested. UL has consistent, methodical testing that truly determines whether or not the safe does its job. They have NO profit motive in whether or not you buy.

Here are a few links I used to research when I bought mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M (A very good, short video)

Burglary & Fire Safe Rating Guide - Maximum Security Safes (A basic guide to the ratings)

Gun Safe Buying Tips - Buying Guide to Weapon Safes - Brown Safe Mfg. (Some basic ideas from Brown safes)

11 Myths about Gun Safe Theft Protection - Gun Safe Reviews Guy (Some "myth" busting about gunsafes and security.)

TQMZ.GuideInfo - Tool-resistant Safes, Class TL-15 (Here are Underwriters Laboratories basic requirements for a product to receive a TL - 15 rating)

http://www.nashvillesafehouse.com/faq/top-10-things-to-know-before-buying-a-safe/ (Some more ideas for safety. Has some good info on fire ratings and protection.)

Everything you need to know about gun safes | Safe Gun Safes Blog (More general info.)

Most will tell you to buy larger than you need, and I agree. You will find things other than guns to put in your safe. Guns do grow too.

If you are truly concerned about security just remember that a gun safe is only PART of security. Home lights, video, an alarm with a good company, protection of windows, etc are all things to consider when protecting valuables.

Regarding the most common threat, fire, remember that even when fireproof it can still reach over 300 degrees Fahrenheit inside the safe! So plastic things over firearms could drip down and ruin them. Also, loaded firearms where the ammo could go off might blow a hole through the safe and allow more damage. I believe Liberty has a small container for about $100 that keeps everything inside it under 120 degrees. Others may have this too, but Liberty is the company I remember seeing it with first.

Good luck on your search. Remember, this is one place where quality really does matter over price!

Regards,

Doug

 

[AA&E]

No offense to the cheap safe guys, before you pay good money for those, you could have a Johnson for a few hundred more... And they make cheap safes look like they're made of tin foil... Because they almost are.

Cannon's Winchester's and most Liberty's are 12 or 14 gauge sheet all around. Johnson start at 10 guage (1/8 inch) plate steel and 1/4 solid plate door. Those big bolts are mearly held on with a 1/4" bolt to a piece of sheet metal inside the door. Johnson safe's bolts are welded to a solid piece of 1/4" steel

Here... look at Liberty...
NRA Gun Safes - Factory Tour - Bolt Brackets with Anti-pry Tabs

Big impressive bolt held on by little wimpy bolt to bent sheet metal
View attachment 37256

I've opened safes for over 20 years. I have provided warranty service to numerous manufacturers over that time frame, including Liberty. I can assure you the whimpy bolt/bent sheet metal arrangement you are referring to is far more difficult to pry open than you suspect it to be. I have responded to more attempted safe break ins than I can begin to estimate. Out of all of them, I have seen a successful opening twice, obviously performed by a person of some skill and knowledge (drilled one hole openings, the same as I would do).


The site you linked too also used this image as a quality design build on page one of their safe construction page... very similar to Liberty's design.

http://cdn.gunsafereviewsguy.com//gsrg/_files/uploads/anti-pry-support_summit-denali-ex.jpg

 

[bmbutch]

Very happy with my Big Johnson! Jeff is a great guy as well, we had some great laughs getting the safe in my closet, then me trying to wedge myself between wall & safe to get out! (Shut it pervs).

 

[CountryBoy19]

If you want a legit safe (UL TL-15, TL-30, TL-60, TL-30X6) without breaking the bank it takes a great deal of patience to find one second-hand. You can normally get them pretty cheap if you know what you're looking for AND have the ability to move it. The last part is key. The reason they are sold cheap second-hand is because nobody wants to move them; they are heavy. If a business is relocating or closing it is sometimes more economical for them to sell their old UL Safe cheap with a "You remove it from the premises" stipulation and then buy a new safe with free-delivery from the dealer worked in.

Example: the more recent safe acquisition I did was for my dad. It involved an ISM TL-30 bullion safe (a good one from the late 90's, before they went down-hill) located in Bloomington. It was tight quarters getting it out of it's current location and the company was relocating. It was cheaper for them to buy a new safe with free-delivery than it was to pay somebody to move the old one. The safe weighed just shy of 3,000 lbs. My dad, brother, and I pulled into the parking lot with the truck, trailer, fork-lift, pallet jack and other associated supplies. It took us 45 minutes to get the safe lifted off the floor high enough to get the pallet jack under it, get it re-positioned a couple times to jockey it through the tight quarter, rolled out the door to the parking lot where we picked the whole safe & pallet jack up with the fork-lift, drove it onto the trailer and strapped it down. The cost of the safe: $500 cash plus our time. Replacement cost of similar safe today: $4,000+

 

[Rancal]

I would also strongly endorse Johnson safes. They are custom made to your specifications. Very good quality!

 

[zippy23]

i've got a decent sized johnson......its a great safe. Call him up, he's awesome

 

[zippy23]

Very happy with my Big Johnson! Jeff is a great guy as well, we had some great laughs getting the safe in my closet, then me trying to wedge myself between wall & safe to get out! (Shut it pervs).

good thing you got out of that tight squeeze with your johnson

 

[John317]

I have a Barska quick access safe I got off of Amazon. Pretty happy with it- have already filled it up so need to buy a larger one. Will likely go with a larger heavier duty one but I like the quick access smaller one as my wife will let me keep it close by.

 

[longbarrel]

To 05Wrangler,

To you want to "feel" safe or do you want to "be" safe? There can be a big gap between the two, and you won't know until the guns are gone.

I would never go with a safe that has not been UL tested. UL has consistent, methodical testing that truly determines whether or not the safe does its job. They have NO profit motive in whether or not you buy.

Yes, but to make it clear to receive an Underwriters Laboratory cert. it can cost anywhere from 10k to 80k so that would be a huge profit motive? No?

 

[Libertarian01]

Yes, but to make it clear to receive an Underwriters Laboratory cert. it can cost anywhere from 10k to 80k so that would be a huge profit motive? No?

To Longbarrel (et alia),

I don't know who told you that but they are dead, 100% WRONG! It costs about $1,050 (+/- $100) per year to get a rating from UL.

The motive is to put your product up for testing by an unbiased, third party. That unbiased third party (UL) which has a high reputation, through testing proves that your product will do what you claim it will do.

Anything else is just propaganda.

Regards,

Doug