What safe to keep my XD(m)9mm in for SD/HD?

F

Freezebyte

Moderator
Hey all, need the advice from the gun guru's in here. As most of you may know, I secured my first handgun, the beautiful XD(m) 9mm. I live in an apartment complex and my building is a two level design. My neighborhood is pretty safe but I want to take no chances. I'm stuck trying to figure out the following:

A: Exactly what am I looking for in a gun safe that can keep it out of harms way and store it safely? I do not have kids in this home, just me and my girlfriend.

B: Can I use a fireproof safe? This would be nice as it will save my expensive firearm from fire and keep the bullets from going off vs traditional safe in the event of a fire

C: One of the intended uses of this firearm is for self and home defense. I'm confused as I want to protect the gun, yet I also want it accessible in the unlikely event I must use it to protect my home and loved ones. It won't do much good to have my gun locked away in the dark in the next room, but I also wanna keep the gun safe. What are my options here? I can't afford/ justify buying one of those huge ass safes nor would my landlord allow it in home, so thats not an option. I also cannot drill/attach safe to the wall or floor as well. I want the budget for the safe to be around $50 max

I went around town and took some pictures of some safes I was looking at. Can you give me feedback on what would work best for my scenario? Thanks all!

safe1.jpg


safe2.jpg


safe3.jpg
 
Yours is a difficult question to answer.
The problem is that how do you now mount those small safes so that some one cant pick it up or pry it up and take it away.
You also need to look at the fire rating of the safe. Even though they call them fire proof safes what that can mean is that after being at 1000 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes your documents will still be readable.
Some of these safes your guns will be cooked to the point that it’s still junk even if they call them fire proof.
There are certain ratings that match time and temperature and if the safe does not have rubber seals and or some kind of seal and the walls are not insolated or very thick metal or concrete filled there not going to do your guns much good much less than keep the ammo from cooking off.
Look at the fire department records for your aria and see how long the average fire takes before they put it out.
From looking at small safes for my wife for paperwork I don’t think your going to get much protection for 50$. We purchased several that are 1 cubic foot and the out side dimensions are six inches larger on all sides and it was about the same fire rating as my gun safe. They sold for $350.
My gun safe has a high rating and if memory serves me (5 years ago) it was good for 1200 Degrees for 15 or 30 minutes. It is a lot larger than you need but it also cost over 1800$.
One of the best safes for a gun is the finger safe. It has indentations for your hand and buttons for the tips of the fingers. You press the buttons in a sequence that you set. It makes them quick and easy to remember.
Literally in seconds you can have the gun in your hand, with out lights and without a key.
These sell from $100 to 150 but have a poor fire rating.
But the major problem for a lot of these small safes is how you mount them. Many of them the holes are what make them no longer very fire proof.
The small safes we bough have small steel legs that allowed us to mount into concrete. Yes you can with time get them out but you need some special tools and a lot of time. If we ever sell the house they will stay with it.
The following is one that we have in our store that cabelas also has.
For a quick reaction time for a gun this will do you well.


http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...t=perf&parentType=index&indexId=cat20799&rid=
 
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Get a Gun Vault.
If you want a safe that's fire and water proof for documents get one of the Sentry or Honeywell units made for that purpose.
In a self defense or home defense situation you do not need to be fumbling around for a key or doing anything that delays you from retrieving your gun.
The basic Gun Vault can be screwed to the floor or tethered with a cable to prevent it from being lifted easily.
i have a Gun Vault by/under the bed and a real gun safe in the basement for long guns, cameras , jewelry and other stuff.
Cheers,
Jorge
 
I would use the economical $30 sentry fire/water safe (if you are in a floodable area).

First, locate your floor joists (studs). Drill through the pre-cutouts in the floor of the safe and use achors to bolt it to the floor next to or under your bed. Put the key on your house/car keys. When you go to bed, insert the key in the box and unlock it. When you leave for the day, then lock it and take your key.

Or you could spend a lot more on a safe, but why? While it's important, but it's only a $500 gun. Save up your money for more guns/ammo or a nice home fire safe.
 
First, locate your floor joists (studs). Drill through the pre-cutouts in the floor of the safe and use achors to bolt it to the floor next to or under your bed.
Click to expand...

I live in an apartment, im not allowed to do ANY type of drilling.
 
Are you worried about your girlfriend shooting you? If it's only you and your girlfriend living there, I'm assuming you want to protect it from being stolen when you're not home. Anything that looks like it could contain valuables such as lock boxes, safes, fire boxes, etc will get stolen, and the BG will break it open while he's at his own place. Unless you plan on getting a very large and very heavy gun vault, hiding the weapon is your next best option. You can get a $20 combination lock box that will keep kids and curious adults out for safety reasons. At night or when you're home I'd suggest to leave the weapon out and loaded where you can quickly get to it.

From the safe's you've listed I like the one on the left in the bottom picture. Find one that has a combination lock, with a key for backup. If the combination numbers don't glow in the dark, get one of those battery operated lights that stick to the wall so you can easily illuminate your safe so you can open it in case of a power outage.
 
FYI
I just flew from Philadelphia to Portland, Oregon via Salt Lake City with a Smith and Wesson revolver yesterday. I checked the gun in with Delta in a Sentry 1000 safe/case that I borrowed from a family friend. At the begining of both legs of the journey I was summoned by a Delta emplyee to leave the plane and go to the ticket counter, on the other side of the security check point, to re-lock the case that had come open....For what it's worth, the Sentry is a POS or this one is messed up. I'll be cotacting Sentry with some questions shortly and I'll post the outcome.
 
Get the $20 pistol box from Wal-Mart. You can mount the thing to your bed if you like, or mount it to that wall studs in the back of a closet. Yes, you said you aren't allowed to drill or mount anything/anywhere, but even in a rented apartment, you can certainly drill two small holes. No way you can't hang a picture or a small curio shelf, and this little box doesn't need much more than that.

We aren't looking for Fort Knox here, all you need in this case is a small box that is secured, so if a neighborhood punk of 12-18 yrs old walks in, he doesn't find it and walk out. It's common knowledge that there is no safe made that protects anything under all out attack. The little box gives you a small margin of security-- hiding the placement of the box offers as much/more security.

It's not theft proof nor is it fire proof. What you have is a very functional handgun that they make thousands of every month. EASILY replaceable. It's not the handgun your Grandfather carried across Europe and it can be replaced. That's why you have renter's insurance. Renter's insurance is CHEAP and will replace your XD if it's gets stolen or burnt. This insurance is a no brainer... When I first got married, our apartment building got struck by lightning and caught fire. We had no fire damage, no water damage, but I lost a TV, computer, stereo and answering machine to electric shock damage... all replaced by an insurance policy that was like $140 a year. (at the time, I owned like 10 guns, so it was a no-brainer!)

Fire proof box? Great for documents, very bad for firearms. Those boxes are sealed, they can't breathe, and guns tend to want to rust inside them. I'd avoid it for any firearms.

Home defense with a locked up handgun? Nope! In my home, I've got the big safe. I waited until I got a house, then it was the first thing I bought. When I'm not home, all the guns are locked in it. When I'm home, it's mostly unlocked and accessible. When it's bed time, one handgun comes out, safe gets locked up and the handgun comes to bed with me.

It's always been my opinion that ANY gun you intend to use for personal or home defense is one that you should be COMPLETELY familiar with. I think the best way to do that is to handle it DAILY until you know it better than the back of your hand.

In my house, that one particular handgun coming in and out of the safe once a day is as regular and scheduled as taking a shower.

So that's it-- a minimum of security from basic thievery, keeps a local kid from shooting himself in the head (or at least shows that you didn't leave one laying around for that to happen, which is the LAW in some states) but doesn't offer fire protection. Your insurance will cover it, and so much more, and Springfield has already made 10,000 more of them since they made yours.
 
First off, forget about "fireproof" document safes. Not only do they tend to hold in moisture but the insulation is actually wet! Rely on insurance in the case of fire. I know you said you cannot bolt/screw the safe down but you should really find a way to do that anyway otherwise you've just provided a great big arrow to your valuables and a handy carrying case. I don't know about the other ones in your pictures but I had a look at that Honeywell at a local Wal-Mart and it felt really flimsy. I could flex the door a bit just a couple of fingers.
 
Sevens is right IMO Freezebyte. For the money you're willing to spend it's probably the best option.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, I'd recommend apprehensively the Gun Vault. It provides quick access to your gun and can bolt to your nightstand. I know that a nightstand can be moved, but not as readily as a small box with a gun in it.

One more thing....unless you have tens of thousands of dollars to invest in a real one, there is no such thing as a fireproof safe. The UL ratings on safes are quite ambiguous. If you need clear-cut info, there's a member here that specializes in safes that will be happy to explain things better than I. Let me know and I'll PM you the info on him...
 
Stack-On Strong Box with the touchpad is my favorite. GunVault is nice, but it eats through batteries like crazy.
 
If you have a dresser that stands up on legs sufficiently high you might be able to attach a small gun vault upside down under the dresser. That would afford some degree of concealment, allow you to avoid drilling into the apartment itself, and still give you quick access to your firearm. If liquid spills on the floor your gun vault will be safe, and should you move your dresser and vault can move with you. Fill the dresser with enough stuff to make it difficult to move and you'll slow down or deter a grab and go thief.

That's the installment I'm considering along with an option to drill through the bottom shelf of a book case and attaching the vault to the slab via running thread and concrete anchors (I live in a house so drilling isn't a problem). A few inches off the ground will protect if from wet floors incase of minimal flooding or my kids (O.k. I mean me. Since it's in my room) spilling milk or juice in the room, and make it a bit easier to access.
 
Went and got the Sentinel gun box. Will do the job fine for now. Decided not to deal with having weapon lying around ready for a night intrusion, im not comfortable dealing with all the angles of that yet. So for the meantime, it stays in the safe when not in use in the closet out of direct sight
 
I live in an apartment and have a American Sentry Safe..its about 280 pounds. I cant bolt it to the floor and yes it could be carried out by two people, but it offers the best protection and security that I can find living in an apartment.
 
Does that Sentinel have a keypad? It'll be awkward trying to find a key when you need it. Plus someone can just fumble through your keys and open it.

But it's better than nothing. Be sure to bolt it to the wall/floor.
 
Decided not to deal with having weapon lying around ready for a night intrusion, im not comfortable dealing with all the angles of that yet.
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Some will contest this case that it's better to have a gun available to use regardless of your level of comfort since it wouldn't do any good if you happen to perish in a burglary. Although I see this point, I feel you're doing the responsible thing.

Just be sure to make it a priority to receive competent training so that online soon...
 
Tuttle, I like you and we've been zinging each other in threads lately... so take this in the spirit it's intended: if it's a burglary, nobody will get hurt! (home invasion, robbery, assault, murder, those are different animals!) :D

Aside from the fun jabs, I back Tuttle on this one, 100%.
If you don't feel YOU are ready to keep a loaded handgun in your home, at night or otherwise, you have already made the best decision: don't do it.

If/when you feel you are ready, through range practice, muscle memory, thought & planning, I hope that you are as confident in your home plan then as you are now. Your choice is the right one!
 
Tuttle, I like you and we've been zinging each other in threads lately... so take this in the spirit it's intended: if it's a burglary, nobody will get hurt! (home invasion, robbery, assault, murder, those are different animals!)
Click to expand...

Hey, I stand corrected. My turn to give you a pass...:cool:
 
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