Gun Safes

[SFC B]

How do you open it if the electronics die? Neighbor had that happen once.

Most safe manufacturers will tell you the exact opposite. If electronics have issues or you forget the combo there are relatively easy fixes. OG tumbler locks with similar issues mean destructive entry and a new safe. Liberty, for example, will build them on special order but with a disclaimer about these possibilities.

 

[noharleyyet]

A different perspective....
I bought mine 30 years ago and it served me well.
I bought it at Sams club for about $200.
Yes I know....cheap, thin metal, etc.

My goal was to retard theft by having a cheap safe bolted to the wall. If a drug addict breaks into the house, he is typically going to steal whatever he can grab quickly so I simply wanted a cheap safe so a quick grab is unlikely. Yes I know you can cut through those cheap safes like butter, but most drug addicts are prepared with metal cutting tools.

We do have a Ring security system and the alarm does go off and I get a text if anyone opens the closet door (contact sensor and motion detector sensor) where the gun safe is bolted to the wall. So I would know about an attempted theft in less than a minute. Plus in our Alaska neighborhood thefts are rare and a risk of getting shot.

We were traveling when my wife recieved a Ring alert. The feed to her phone showed an unkempt dude creeping our front door. I called my neighbor and the police. Seems the guy, according to our neighbor, left our home in the cul de sac and accosted the lady directly across from us. She had a gun but it didn't seem to faze the guy. He retreated while yelling obscenities & telling her to shoot. The police came out, spoke with her, and canvassed the neighborhood to no avail.

 

[375H&H]

Most safe manufacturers will tell you the exact opposite. If electronics have issues or you forget the combo there are relatively easy fixes. OG tumbler locks with similar issues mean destructive entry and a new safe. Liberty, for example, will build them on special order but with a disclaimer about these possibilities.

Interesting. My dad has 2 Liberty safes and both are key/dial, no electronics. If he forgets combo etc it’s simple to reset the combo on his own with a few easy steps. Done it many times.

Neighbor had an electronic safe that failed and he had no access to his guns for a week until a locksmith came to disassemble the door.

Liberty still makes plenty of key/dial safes that aren’t electronic, I just checked their website.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

We were traveling when my wife recieved a Ring alert. The feed to her phone showed an unkempt dude creeping our front door. I called my neighbor and the police. Seems the guy, according to our neighbor, left our home in the cul de sac and accosted the lady directly across from us. She had a gun but it didn't seem to faze the guy. He retreated while yelling obscenities & telling her to shoot. The police came out, spoke with her, and canvassed the neighborhood to no avail.

My neighbor woke up to a ring alert.
2 drug addicts trying to steal his generator.

He yelled at them from his upper deck.
they threw the generator in the trunk of an old Toyota sedan. My neighbor shot out their tire. The drug addicts bailed, running in waist deep snow. My neighbor had his wife call 911 and say " Shots fired". The state troopers quickly showed up and caught the drug addicts exhausted from wading thru waist deep snow on the road 1 mlle down the hill from their car.

 

[Chama Grande]

I found this Harbor Freight job that looks like swiss cheese after someone literally stole it from the home and then took a pick axe to the top of it. The front door is just for show if the top is that easy to smash through

 

[grizzly63]

At one time, they put Nitroglycerin vials in the safe walls and door to provide a nice surprise for criminals. I don't think the legal departments would allow that anymore. The harder it is to get in, the more damage they do. Decoy safes are a good idea. If they don't find it, its less likely to get stolen. Bolt it down, to the wall and not in the garage next to all the tools. Loud alarms scare people away. Anything electronic will eventually fail. People buy them for the convenience. Some are really cheap crap. I change safe combos for people and they biggest problem with dial combinations is people refuse to slow down. It only takes a few more seconds to methodically dial the combination correctly. I ask people what is your existing combination? I don't remember but my hand knows? OK

 

[Felicia Johns]

I use SteelWater safes. US Company, made in China to their specs. They had the best fire rating that I found. At their price point I was able to buy a bigger model. I'm saving for my second one for ammo storage.

Are SteelWater safes actually that good? I have heard many people talk about sturdy safes, liberty and amsec but never steelwater

 

[Felicia Johns]

And for the love of all that is holy, go look at the safe that has your interest in in person, or at least other offerings from that company so you can judge fit, finish & quality of build.

100% agreed I had to look into the Amsec safe I bought and went all the way to the stores location (3H drive) to make sure that this will work out