Gun safes?

I have a mid-size Liberty safe -- about 750 lbs empty. IIRC, it cost about $1500 delivered. I figure it this way, that's the cost of about 2 guns. And I've got a whole lot more than 2 guns stuffed in there.

Figure out how many guns you will ever own. Then get a safe that will hold twice as many as that. That way, it will be at least 5 years before you fill it up and you need to by your second safe:mad:

Yes, safes are expensive. You buy them by the pound, kind of like hamburger. And the cost is remarkably similar...

M1911
 
What about floors and "safe weight"?

I never gave that a second's thought, until my father in law said something about it the other night. (His is in the basement and bolted down to a concrete floor.) Our house seems pretty solid and I was going to put the safe in a first floor bedroom. But it IS a lot of weight in a small area. Plus, it's an area that's over my basement. Opinions please??

KR
 
Kentucky, one of the guys at a safe store said the "footprint" of a safe is less than that of a double bed holding two people, because the safe spreads the load out over a 30"x24" or whatever area. Sounded reasonable.

But then the manager of a gun shop near me said they stopped selling any of the heavy safes because they were such a hassle. He said the larger Browning safes couldn't be delivered to the buyers in some communities because it involved having a building inspector come out and check to see if the floor would support it. Baloney? I dont know.

Schmit, I've already started looking into fireproof gypsum board to line the safe with. The only thing I have to figure out is how to attach the shelves to the boards. Currently the safe has vertical rows of notches that the shelf hooks are inserted into. Any advice from handymen on this board would be welcome.

I can't remember the last time I was so excited about buying a used whatever. :cool:
 
Mine's in my basement, so I'm not terribly worried about the weight. I used to be a civil engineer, but never did residential, so I can't tell you whether or not the structural framing of an average home would hold a heavy safe. Now I push a mouse around for a living...
 
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If heavy gun-safes were crashing through bedroom floors, somebody would have written SOMETHING about it. I'm not going to think about it any more.

Little side story: ~My doctor is one of those "bargain hunter" types. He goes to auctions, yard sales, flea markets, etc... He went to an auction in downtown Louisville where he found an old, very heavy safe from a defunct savings and loan company. He figured it would be "just the thing" for his guns, with room left over for other valuables. It took him and four other guys to get the thing down to his basement. Fortunately, his basement had an outside door so they brought the safe through that and only had to deal with three or four steps. Anyway, the rope they were using broke:eek: and the safe slid a few feet and pinned one of the "helpers" (another doctor) against the wall. It also broke one of his ribs in the process. MY doctor had to treat the injured "pancake" doctor for free. The moral I took from this little story is to pay the delivery fee. When he told me the story, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.:D The whole thing sounds like a "Three Stooges Movie". (Or, in this particular case, four.)

KR
 
Kentucky Rifle, why does the phrase "physician heal thyself" keep bouncing around in my head? ;)

I was concerned about having friends help and then get injured, so I called some moving companies. The one I hired is going to charge just $150 to take it out of my friend's basement and put it in my upstairs. The way I look at it, a dinner for four of us would run that much!
 
Monkeyleg:

$150? Suppose you hurt your back while moving the darn thing and are out of work for a few weeks (and in pain for quite a few more). How much is that worth? Or you drop it on your friend's foot and cause permanent injury. How much will that cost?

$150? Cheap money as far as I'm concerned.

M1911
 
M1911...

I think you misunderstood Monkeyleg's post.
He IS going to pony up the $150 to have the safe professionally moved. (But you are right about it being the right thing to do.)

KR
 
An interesting idea I have seen done once or twice is to drop the safe into the cement in your basement. That way the only thinbg that is shoing is the door. You just place something over it and nobody knows its there. Obviously the size is somewhat more restrictive here. But as an added bonus you couldn't get much more secure or fireproof.
 
Glock;PhD, it would be a sin to put a safe as pretty as this into cement. ;) It really is nice looking, and built like a tank.

The three guys who moved it had a horrible time trying to get it up the stairs to the second floor, and they were three strong young bucks. The lead mover said it was the worst moving project he'd ever had. I couldn't imagine four forty-something's trying to tackle this job.

Damn, it really feels good to have a real safe! I can't explain why I feel this way, but it's better than buying a new gun. Really.
 
M1911...

No problem.
Your opinion was indeed correct. Leave moving the safe to the guys who do it for a living! Safes are heavy, unwieldly things. (Re: my little "side story" about the squashed doc.) They're MADE not to be moved around easily. If they were easy to move, the crooks could just run in, grab your safe and leave! :p I've never seen a safe with "handles" on it!:D

KR
 
couple o' late comments on the safe thing

Costco (and perhaps other warehouse stores) sells a big a$$ safe, with fireproofing, 'curbside' delivery included, for $850. It's 17 cu.ft. and 530 lbs, and allegedly holds 14-28 firearms.

See here: http://www.costco.com/frameset.asp?...93&subid=1979&hierid=1980&prdid=10011256&log=

The other thing I've heard about for somewhat stealthy gun storage is converting an old refrig or freezer to a safe. You can buy 'em cheap, they blend into a garage no problem, they have lots of insulation (fireproofing). Put a hasp and padlock on it, with maybe a few beer type stickers, and the scumbag thieves (redundant, sorry) might be too busy looking elsewhere to realize what's what.

The neatest safe I saw was at an old-timer's place, while getting his thoughts and expertise on varmint hunting. He regaled me with stories, and kept reaching into a typical safe in his office to pull out rifle after rifle. I sat there watching and listening. He then mentioned that his best rifles were kept separate, and if they were a snake they would have bitten me.

What the ? I was sitting on them! He had a horizontally oriented safe, with a thick upholstered cushion on top. I hadn't even noticed and I was sitting there for 45 minutes. ;)

He said the horizontal setup also kept his vintage rifles from getting their old recoil pads squashed, like when stored muzzle up.

Last thought/recommendation, from a sheriff deputy pal: "You want the scumbag thief (there I go again) to go to an easier target. Like a mugger will probably pass by a tough guy, in favor of jumping a pencil neck like Charlie Shumer. And most burglars are in a real hurry, smash and grab sorta stuff, and then out the door. So if a real safe isn't a practical option, make a 'safe' closet.

Yank the hollow-core door and replace it with a solid-core type. Replace the hinges with the type that don't have the pin you just tap out, or drill through both sides of all hinges (3 hinges are better than 2 with a heavy door) and then install steel pins into the doorframe that will engage the holes in the hinges when the door is closed. (Can't lift it off that way...)

Replace the doorknob with a good deadbolt.

Won't stop a truly determined scumbag with enough time, but it will prevent the crank fiend from getting inside who only spends 60 seconds racing through your house.

You can also keep food, flashlight, water, and the obvious hardware in the closet (depending on size) to use as a safe room if you worry about home invasion robbery, etc.

Be sure to get/use a deadbolt with a latch on the inside so you're not stuck in there without a key.


In an ideal world (presuming we can't ban weak-minded lying liberals, dang, talk about redundant!), 2nd Amendment proponents would rest easy while the rest are laying awake at night, wondering how many criminals have seen their federally required front door placards (lighted per regulation), which read: "Certified Unarmed Household". :eek: :barf:
 
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A thought about moving a safe.

I've got a 72"x40"x28", 1250 lb safe.

I've moved it 4 times. Mostly with just myself, my wife and oldest daughter.

With a level headed mind, clear thinking and, most important, the proper tools moving it is not a problem. That is the reason pallet jacks, dollies, come-a-longs, cribbing, strapping, etc were invented. Just ask the Egyptians. :D
 
personal for Gunny Schmit:

Might you have ever been aboard the LPH-9 USS Guam in your time in the Corps?

My girlfriend's dad was CO for a couple years in the late 70s, and he considered his time on the Guam among his happiest (and one of his proudest accomplishments). He just passed away, may he rest in peace, and it warms my heart to think of the noble fraternity you and other good men represent.

Semper Fi, and Go Navy! :)

Any of you posters out there that like to read, and need something besides the latest John Grisham trash, check out some outstanding fiction that contains lots of historical fact and neat information: The Corps, by W.E.B. Griffin

It's a series of books, not yet done either, with maybe 7 or 8 volumes so far. Great stuff.

All of the Griffin series are excellent, so you might look for his others too.

Happy holidays to all good Americans.
 
You already got the safe but I couldn't resist making a few comments.
I bought a used Browning safe from a guy down on his luck locally. He helped me move it (I didn't know him and really hated to have a guy I didn't know in my house and knowing the combination to my safe). Right away I realized this was a mistake. First of all, it was everything we could do to move it. And I mean everything we could do to move it. It took us 10 minutes to get over the threshold of his front door. Second, all I could think about was, if this gets away from us, someone is going to get seriously hurt and that isn't worth the safe. I would rather lose my guns than have this safe fall on me. In addition to the saftey factor and the breech of security, I rented a heavy duty dolly and rented a trailer that was the same height as my front porch. So moving it myself was not a good deal from any standpoint.
When I decided to finally buy a safe (I had already had one home invasion twarted by my dog), I looked around and decided on a pretty much top end safe. The biggest one the guy had. But this used deal came along and I figured, it is 1/3 the money, and although it is a big safe it is only half as big as the one I initially was going to buy. Well half my gun collection is now OUT of the safe. Go big or stay home. A 14-28 gun safe would be good for the guns that I can't get in my present safe. In case anyone reading this wonders why they list a range (Like 14-28) gun capacity. If you have a scoped rifle in a slot, the slot opposite is likely not able to be used because the scope takes up that space in the safe.
I live in a $35k "manufactured home" and so far (fingers crossed) the safe hasn't gone through the floor. Nor do I think there is much danger of that. Although my floor might actually be stronger than that in a residential stick built home, I am not sure.
 
444, read you loud and clear. Those scopes take up a lot of room. So do cases of ammo, magazines, and other assorted gear). ;)

Schmit, I'm guessing that I'm maybe 25 to 30 years older than you. When you're 52, come back and tell me how easy it is to move a safe. :D You just wait: you can't be a skinny jarhead forever!
 
Cases of ammo ? Why put that in a safe ? I am lucky to have room for paperwork, let alone half my guns. I don't have any magazines in there either. I do have a couple knives in there but that is it.
 
I posted this three years back, it's still an option.

"There is another route: Some of our governmental entites are disposing of the vaults in which the old (paper) computer tapes were stored. Presumably they have upgraded storage systems. I came up with a safe which is about 66" high X 70" wide (double doors) X 24" deep inside. It has 4 inches of concrete (I don't know what kind of a fire rating this gives, but it is very high), and weighs about 5000 lbs. The inside did require racks and shelves, but for what I have in this unit, I'd happily do it again. Check your local gov't surplus auctions and bid low!"

Bob
 
444, I now have a 25 cubic foot safe, and just a bit more than a handful of guns. Obviously, that's a problem.

Part of the pitch I made to my wife regarding purchasing a safe was that there wouldn't be guns in the closets, ammo in the cupboards, magazines in her nighties drawer, knives in the refrigerator, and holsters in the china cabinets.

The first step in establishing Homeland Security is to make sure the boss of your personal homeland isn't ticked off at you. ;)
 
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