Safe

[Grogmister]

I have a Champion and really like it. No frills or fancy paint job but is rock solid IMO.

 

[drillsgt]

Tractor Supply carries Liberty and Cannon. Give them a look if there's one close.

You might also hit this place up - it's a pretty neat shop. If they're open right now, it's worth a look.

Indepenence Safe Company

I get a trojan alert trying to get to their site, do they have safes in the 800-900 range, not looking for something 1800+ etc.

 

[WebSnyper]

Digging up an old thread. Anyone do any business with these guys? https://dclockandsafe.com/ Looks like they are fairly local to me being located in Camby. I called and they carry Fort Knox, Guardall, and American Security and said they have some of these to look at.

Thinking about heading over there soon to take a look in person.

 

[WebSnyper]

Lots of good advice here, especially "I strongly suggest you consider a mechanical S&G rotary dial locking mechanism. No batteries to fail or electronics to otherwise malfunction." I recommend looking at Johnson safes, he's a local business and builds a quality product. I bought an American Security safe 25 years ago and it has never given me a problem. I think you can see that line at the safe retailer mentioned earlier up thread.

​

I'm rolling out to look at some Johnsons early this week... well that didn't sound right, but I'm going to his place of business hopefully late Monday afternoon or sometime in the next week (he wasn't available today). I talked to him for a bt on the phone. Sounds lie he's 11 months out on new build.

I went to dc Lock and Safe in Camby and looked at a couple examples of Fort Knox and an American Security. DC Lock itself seemed decent enough, but not sure I got a compelling reason to go their way, except they are a local small business. That said, we'll see how they compare to a Johnson once I discuss further.

I will say this, Fort Knox's web site kind of sucks when one of their big points is being able to customize things hhow you want. You can walk through the process, but being able to see pricing and get a visual of what you are "building" is much less than optimal. American Security's site is not great either.

I may have to roll up to Independence Safe at some point, but they are a bit of a haul for me. Their web site seems to be jacked right now.

 

[Clay Pigeon]

I am a Browning person but if I was to buy a new Johnson, I would purchase another, extra large Johnson....

 

[WebSnyper]

I am a Browning person but if I was to buy a new Johnson, I would purchase another, extra large Johnson....

Could even consider a used Johnson...

 

[Clay Pigeon]

Sure, as long as the color combination was correct....

 

[WebSnyper]

I went and looked at a used Johnson that Jeff had from a trade in as well as some he had in various states of build.

Didn't decide to take the used one, but signed up to get on the list to have a big Johnson built for me.

Need to decide on the exact specs soon. Exciting times...

 

[MindfulMan]

I went and looked at a used Johnson that Jeff had from a trade in as well as some he had in various states of build.

Didn't decide to take the used one, but signed up to get on the list to have a big Johnson built for me.

Need to decide on the exact specs soon. Exciting times...

 

[Clay Pigeon]

I went and looked at a used Johnson that Jeff had from a trade in as well as some he had in various states of build.

Didn't decide to take the used one, but signed up to get on the list to have a big Johnson built for me.

Need to decide on the exact specs soon. Exciting times...

I looked at them when Andrew has his business and they looked really well built. And the plus of options you dont get when buying at a store or show.
all of mine were bought from my cousins customers calling and asking if they were interested in buying their safe and moving it before the house settlement.
I bought my two big Brownings from one person for about a third of new, but I had to move them.

 

[Maverick30]

I've got a Johnson Safe that I was lucky enough to get with no wait Happened to call him the Friday morning of the Indy 1500 mid-last year or so asking if he had any at the show that were available immediately and he said he did, had a customer who wasn't ready for their safe yet so they got put to the bottom of the list. My luck it was the exact specs that I would've got from color, accents, dial, and interior setup, even had the humidistat. Went to the show that afternoon, checked it out, talked to Jeff for about an hour or so like I do every time I see him at the show and paid for the safe. He delivered it the following Monday. Would not hesitate to do business with him again.

 

[ditcherman]

I went and looked at a used Johnson that Jeff had from a trade in as well as some he had in various states of build.

Didn't decide to take the used one, but signed up to get on the list to have a big Johnson built for me.

Need to decide on the exact specs soon. Exciting times...

Boy I bet she (or he) is excited too!


(hey it's 2020 get with the program)

 

[Clay Pigeon]

Good point. Fire and water ratings might be just as important to some as weight and metal thickness, especially depending on where in the house you put the safe. And OP, the best safe is the safe that no one knows about. A locked basement closet surrounded by layers of security (alarm system, cameras/motion detectors, push notifications, trustworthy neighbors, a good dog, etc.) is probably more secure than the best gun safe money can buy parked in your garage for everyone to see. Don't rely on the safe alone to protect whatever goes in it.

I have a friend that build a new home in Madison about 20 years ago, Herman put his gunsafe on the first floor in its own closet. His home was in the woods and he was out of town and it burned the second floor and about 2/3rd of the first floor. I don't remember the brand but he tended to buy quality, He started digging out the basement within a day or so and on the third day he found his safe in the basement sitting in a few feet of water. All wood and plastic were not salvaged along with a few guns. Everything steel was rusted bad. The only lucky part he had a few transferable's and they were on the bottom under water. Some here that live around Madison will remember him with his jeep and mule and the different deuce's he would have on the back for veterans day... He and Ken Lomont were tight as ticks....

Moral is be careful where you do bolt your safe down.. It might be swimming one horrible day...And it will take time to get to it...

 

[76Too]

i have the (Liberty) Cabelas 'FatBoy Jr' 48 (stupid friggen name and I kinda wish I waited till they started printing 'Classic' on them instead)...it's a little smaller than I'd like inside, but it has two layers of fireboard in the interior. the steel/door/locking mechanism are solid, and I don't think one could do much better for the money.

I can typically fit 1 less rifle per row than there are slots for, but my Garand/M14 sections, I have to leave two of the slots open since they're so wide and the charging handles protrude from the sides so much. I had to skip an entire row on one side so I could fit my scoped rifles...I only have about 6 or 8 of those, but have to put them in differently because there's not enough room rear of the designated slots for the optics.

In short, I'd figure on it being about a 35-40 long gun safe unless you have 48 golden boy squirrel guns with no optics. Still plenty of room in the top for pistols, pistol caliber carbines, AR uppers and/or SBR's. I do wish they'd offer an option to include the 'deluxe' inner door organizer with the 'classic', because it holds 10 pistols instead of 6 and has heavier fire protection pockets for storage of important documents and nudie magazines.

overall, i'm very happy with the FatBoy Jr. (other than the stupid name)...and the only thing i'd have done differently is to get a mechanical lock (not really offered 'in-store'.) I was kind of in a hurry to buy it when I was in the process of moving my guns here from out of state last year.

 

[Clay Pigeon]

I tend to alternate rifles, one barrel up and the next down. And all of them have heavy socks on them before loading in a safe. I get more loaded that way. Plus if needed one can fill in between the rows. With storing in socks or sleeves they can touch without damage.

 

[76Too]

Apparently I need to spread some reputation points around before I can come back to you, lol.

I've honestly NEVER even thought of storing them barrel down! you're like a genius!

Question though...if everything is in a sock, how the heck do you know what anything is? Do you have a chart/matrix that shows what's where?

 

[Clay Pigeon]

Apparently I need to spread some reputation points around before I can come back to you, lol.

I've honestly NEVER even thought of storing them barrel down! you're like a genius!

Question though...if everything is in a sock, how the heck do you know what anything is? Do you have a chart/matrix that shows what's where?

A chart would be good. But we are all Marines in my house..
Sometimes you have to open a few to find what you are looking for. Sometimes I ask my sons what vault is blank in? lololol...

Most of my rifles are kept in fabric tapered sleeves that have a flap and shoestrings on the fat end to close it up. I use a sharpie and write on it what rifle and caliber if needed on the flap. The last time I bought sleeves they were about 10 bucks a piece.

 

[WebSnyper]

I've got a Johnson Safe that I was lucky enough to get with no wait Happened to call him the Friday morning of the Indy 1500 mid-last year or so asking if he had any at the show that were available immediately and he said he did, had a customer who wasn't ready for their safe yet so they got put to the bottom of the list. My luck it was the exact specs that I would've got from color, accents, dial, and interior setup, even had the humidistat. Went to the show that afternoon, checked it out, talked to Jeff for about an hour or so like I do every time I see him at the show and paid for the safe. He delivered it the following Monday. Would not hesitate to do business with him again.

Yep, Jeff and I spoke about that. I'll definitely have him put me on the call list if anything falls through with another buyer. I was actually there looking at one that he got back on trade in, but honestly it was going to be too big. He stated, it would go where you want it, but it would never likely be able to come back out.

Decided to then get on the build list and go that way.

I should also go look at Independence Safe company up in Noblesville just to make sure I am not missing something they may have.

I was checking out some Fort Knox stuff (went to DC Lock and Safe in Camby recently as they have a couple there). With Fort Knox, it seemed, unless you find a dealer with them already in stock, you order, pay shipping to the dealer and then delivery from the dealer... things started to increase the $$ very quickly.

In any case, Jeff's safes look really good. He has an interesting place there as well.

 

[Maverick30]

Yep, Jeff and I spoke about that. I'll definitely have him put me on the call list if anything falls through with another buyer. I was actually there looking at one that he got back on trade in, but honestly it was going to be too big. He stated, it would go where you want it, but it would never likely be able to come back out.

Decided to then get on the build list and go that way.

I should also go look at Independence Safe company up in Noblesville just to make sure I am not missing something they may have.

I was checking out some Fort Knox stuff (went to DC Lock and Safe in Camby recently as they have a couple there). With Fort Knox, it seemed, unless you find a dealer with them already in stock, you order, pay shipping to the dealer and then delivery from the dealer... things started to increase the $$ very quickly.

In any case, Jeff's safes look really good. He has an interesting place there as well.

Yea I lucked out with that one! None the less, it never hurts to cover your bases and look into every option to find what will work best for you.

I had *heard* previously (take that with a grain of salt), that Jeff used to work for one of the larger safe manufacturers before starting his own business, possibly Fort Knox, I can't recall. I don't know the validity of that statement but it would make some sense that he'd have a background in the field before starting his own business for it.

Unfortunately I've never been to his shop however I've heard it's a sight. Always do enjoy catching up with him at the gun shows.