Best place to purchase gun safe, and can I leave in detached garage?

[CAPTAIN 0]

Hey, I was wondering where the best place to buy a decent gun safe is? I've seen some at local locksmiths, but their prices seem a little steep. Are there any places around that have good deals on good safes? I'm looking for something with a 30 minute fire rating or more, and that can hold a few rifles and some shelves for handguns and ammo/documents, like the American Security model TF5517 or TF5924. I'm willing to drive a decent amount and have a pickup truck and plenty of muscle help to pick it up and bring it in the house, so I don't need delivery. I might even be interested in a used safe if anyone has one for sale.

 

Also, my house doesn't have a lot of storage space, closet space is at a premium and the wife will have a fit if I have "an ugly safe just out in the room somewhere".

I do have a large detached garage, but it has no heat or AC. The roof doesn't leak, but occasionally I see some water seep under the garage door after a big storm. If I mount the safe out there, will it be OK? Are there any drawbacks to mounting a safe in a detached garage?

[e80hydro 120]

Don't put your safe in that unheated leaking garage!!!!!

 

Move her stuff their and put the safe where her stuff used to be in your environmentaly controlled home. Your guns are not tools, they're your friends.

[71ragtopgoat 23]

If you want a safe built well I like this one.It's small for a closet. But made out of 10 gauge steel(lower number thicker steel) If you dont like it he offers many others as well.

 

http://www.safeandvaultstore.com/productdetails/518

 

Safes need to be placed in as dry an area as possible,Once locked they circulate very little air which can cause moister problems and rust on the safe as well as guns even if placed on a first floor slab I would use a moister barrier.

 

Real good safes are very heavy so give thought to this when you pick your spot.You dont want to have to move it more then once. Safes should also be placed out of sight. Do Not put it in the garage facing the street it will attract the wrong kind of attention.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I'd adjust the size of the safe your looking at and find a place inside the house that has heat and AC, I would not put my firearms or ammo in a place that doesn't have heat or AC, let alone a damp environment.

 

Also while a safe is great to have if you really are limited on space you can get away with multiple gun cases, a few rifle cases that you can lock are good for long guns and multiple handguns.

 

Harry

[Malsua 1,422]

I would rather risk losing my firearms by not having a safe than to risk losing them to rust and decay due to being in an uncontrolled, potentially humid environment.

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

Check craigslist. That's how I bought my last two gun safes.

 

Ideally you want your safe to be attached to a wall/floor so it can't simply be put on a dolly and wheeled out, but if you can't attach it then consider filling it up as much as possible with ammo in addition to the firearms to make it *heavy*.

[Wojo 98]

If you must put your safe in the man cave, make sure you buy one of the heated rods they sell for safes and one of the dehumidifiers that can be plugged in to 'regenerate' their ability to absorb moisture. On the cheap, even a small 15/20 watt incandescent bulb inside an enclosed space will generate a good amount of heat. I would make sure that everything stored in it has a nice coating of CLP on it and is put in a silicone sock...as should be the case with all safes. Just to put something in perspective...people bury firearms that are coated with preservation oil and stuffed in mylar or heavy duty plastic bags, the military has HUGE unheated warehouses for stock ammo and stored firearms.There is a range in south Jersey that a large federal organization stores a lot of toys in an unheated metal sided container. It is well alarmed, but far from being climate controlled.

 

Lube it well, leave the bore unplugged and put it in the heated safe. Also, putting a couple of patio blocks underneath it to raise a couple of inches off the floor is good insurance. Putting a $20 dollar motion sensor inside is a nice option as well. Set the alarm, and close the door. If someone opens it without having the little key fob to turn it off, it will startle them for sure. YMMV.

[DevsAdvocate 112]

Hey, I was wondering where the best place to buy a decent gun safe is? I've seen some at local locksmiths, but their prices seem a little steep. Are there any places around that have good deals on good safes? I'm looking for something with a 30 minute fire rating or more, and that can hold a few rifles and some shelves for handguns and ammo/documents, like the American Security model TF5517 or TF5924. I'm willing to drive a decent amount and have a pickup truck and plenty of muscle help to pick it up and bring it in the house, so I don't need delivery. I might even be interested in a used safe if anyone has one for sale.

 

Also, my house doesn't have a lot of storage space, closet space is at a premium and the wife will have a fit if I have "an ugly safe just out in the room somewhere".

I do have a large detached garage, but it has no heat or AC. The roof doesn't leak, but occasionally I see some water seep under the garage door after a big storm. If I mount the safe out there, will it be OK? Are there any drawbacks to mounting a safe in a detached garage?

 

For the best Gun Safe deals, wait until for Black Friday/Christmas deals. If you're lucky like me, you may even be able to get a floor model with a steep discount. I got an 19 gun Stack On that was advertised as 30% off at Dicks... but the only one they had left was the display model, so they gave me another 20% on top of that... and then there was the $50 rebate (which took 7 months to get). Throw in a few friends and a borrowed truck, and what a deal!

 

As for seeping water... just mount the thing up on cinder blocks or something.

[DevsAdvocate 112]

If you must put your safe in the man cave, make sure you buy one of the heated rods they sell for safes and one of the dehumidifiers that can be plugged in to 'regenerate' their ability to absorb moisture. On the cheap, even a small 15/20 watt incandescent bulb inside an enclosed space will generate a good amount of heat. I would make sure that everything stored in it has a nice coating of CLP on it and is put in a silicone sock...as should be the case with all safes. Just to put something in perspective...people bury firearms that are coated with preservation oil and stuffed in mylar or heavy duty plastic bags, the military has HUGE unheated warehouses for stock ammo and stored firearms.There is a range in south Jersey that a large federal organization stores a lot of toys in an unheated metal sided container. It is well alarmed, but far from being climate controlled.

 

Lube it well, leave the bore unplugged and put it in the heated safe. Also, putting a couple of patio blocks underneath it to raise a couple of inches off the floor is good insurance. Putting a $20 dollar motion sensor inside is a nice option as well. Set the alarm, and close the door. If someone opens it without having the little key fob to turn it off, it will startle them for sure. YMMV.

 

Why a silicone sock?

[Wojo 98]

It is assumed that the silicone socks provide a barrier to prevent / repel moisture from getting to your firearms. Plus in my case, going beyond the advertised capacity of your safe, it helps to protect them from scratches and klunking into the other things in the safe. Like if you need to pull something from one of the back rows, pushing around the ones in the front will be afforded some protection in your haste. For a few bills it is a decent investment. Plus, if your spouse or other set of prying eyes peek in, they have no idea what is inside those socks to talk about with people that might have a EBR phobia.

[Jsanchez 0]

I bought a Winchester safe from The Safe Place Winchester Gun Safes

I was looking at the American Security Gun Safes too American Security Gun Safes

[irishpete 2]

Here are 3 safes I am currently looking at

 

mid safe1

 

expensive safe 2

 

cheaper safe

 

I still have'nt decided which to get

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Just found this, way out there from what is being looked for here but some pretty cool stuff and ideas.

 

Modular Vaults & Safes

 

 

Harry

[JonF 79]

Regarding the safe in the unheated garage, its totally fine, i have done it that way in the past for years and no ill effects. Of course, i took some precautions such as having both a goldenrod and an Eva-Dry mini dehumidifier device in there to keep things under control. With those two methods, i've never seen humidity rise over 55% relative even when the humidity is quite high outside (constantly monitored by a remote thermomoeter/humidistat probe. I've also used the silicone/fleece borestore stocks for added measure, but mostly to keep stuff from klinking around. I have several older surplus pistols that i shoot corrosive ammo through and consider those to be the most succeptible to corrosion from humidity and never had an issue with them and those i hung on the door with no protective sock.

 

http://www.eva-dry.com/products.html

[AnthonyG 36]

I bought a big horn safe from costco when they were on sale was the best deal I could find for the most security features.You dont wanna put any safe in a area where it will have big temp changes constantly and chance of water. Some safes are waterproof but you don't want the safe being constantly exposed to water.

[Tactical Turtle 11]

Check Craigslist.... And to.help with moisture control I got a bunch of those scilica packets that you find when u buy shoes in the safe ( about 150 lol) once a month i just shake them.around since there kept in a shoe box on the floor of the safe. Yet to see any rust on my mossberg, I have also heard of people putting rice in cheese clothe and every 6 months swapping it out with fresh rice...dry uncooked of course, not sure of the amount you would need though.

[Socom 19]

nice safe info!

[JonF 79]

Check Craigslist.... And to.help with moisture control I got a bunch of those scilica packets that you find when u buy shoes in the safe ( about 150 lol) once a month i just shake them.around since there kept in a shoe box on the floor of the safe. Yet to see any rust on my mossberg, I have also heard of people putting rice in cheese clothe and every 6 months swapping it out with fresh rice...dry uncooked of course, not sure of the amount you would need though.

Get an Eva-Dry dehumidifier, they're cheap and rechargable unlike those silica packets. They have a handy indicator guage to tell you when to recharge as well. Well worth the $20-25.

[mipafox 438]

Put it where you will use it. You are not going to use it much in a detached garage unless you spend 99% of your time at home completely unarmed and with no access to guns.

 

Is the garage alarmed? A safe serves two purposes:

 

- Keep kids and guests out

- Delay/deter intruders until cops arrive

 

It's a delay. It won't keep out somebody that wants to steal your guns all by itself. It needs help.