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Do you own a gun safe?

robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
edited February 2005 in General Discussion
Mr. Myers and I just crossed paths, not in a bad way, and he made me think of this question. How many of you who collect guns in any amount actually have gun safes, and how many of you who have a collection do not have safes? I'd like to hear from everyone on this, cause its my guess that the majority are like me and cant afford one, even though the antis think I can. Shoot, I cant even afford gun locks for over 30 guns, or at least I'm not willing to afford it. The other problem is, I'm military, and a good safe is going to put me really close on household moves for allowable weight, if I dont do a self move. I can't imagine how my $2,000 safe would look after some anti gun mover got through with it either.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • agloreaglore Member Posts: 6,012
    edited November -1
    I do not have a gun safe. Keep my firearms in one 10 gun cabinet and every empty nook and cranny in the house that has room for guns. Wife just hates that.
    AlleninAlaska
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  • BlokeyBlokey Member Posts: 284 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've got a small arsenal which I keep in a locked closet. Since that scenario presents basically NO security whatsoever, I just purchased a Browning safe and will store the guns in there. Just about the best investment you can make.
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  • Mr. LoboMr. Lobo Member Posts: 538 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think that when we were all kids gun safes were not as necessary as today. The reason is that today with all the anti-gun folks around a lot more people don't have a clue how to handle or be safe with firearms. For years my father and I kept the family collection in an old cedar chest with no lock. Several months ago I broke down and bought a cheap safe. This purchase was not to keep the rip-offs from getting my collection it was to prevent my family or friends from getting hurt by them. I am not concerned about my family hurting anyone because we all have good safety habits but it that one time a friend of one of my sons comes across a firearm that worried me. Now all the firearms were loaded when I was single but my wife put and end to that 15 years ago so someone would have to find the ammo load the gun and then. I guess what I am trying to say is you cannot be safe enough and for the $200 bucks I spent I feel it's a great insurance policy.
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  • salzosalzo Member Posts: 6,396 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I wrote a response to this in the "ask the experts" section, but did not go through-now I know why.I am not sure what qualifies as a safe, but I have one of those "homak" safe/cabinets. It is metal, and you open it with a key. It says it can hold seven guns, but I have nine guns in there, and could perhaps fit two more. It is light, and cheap(paid like 80 dollars). If someone really wanted to, they could drill out the locks to get inside. But if you hide the key, I do not see how a child could get into it(unless they were handy with a drill) For my purposes, it is totally appropriate.
    Happiness is a warm gun
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  • DaRoostaDaRoosta Member Posts: 270 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I live in a 2-story apartment/townhouse. The majority of windows and all the doors are downstairs. I don't have a bunch of extra room simply because of the layout. I have to keep all my rifles upstairs. I'm afraid that if I buy a safe and put it upstairs where there is room, I'll wake up one day and it will be sitting in my living room downstairs. I have a gun cabinet for the time being, but when I move into a house, which will be soon, a safe is going to be one of my first purchases.
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  • GreenLanternGreenLantern Member Posts: 1,647 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don't have a safe yet. I'm in an apartment on the 2nd floor. Building has secured entrance so that helps some, depending on whether or not other people let just any Joe Schmo in. Concievably someone could climb up onto my deck but it'll take a little effort. Probably going to by a house within the next 6 months so at that time I will definately be getting a safe. In fact, I'll try and factor that into my house-shopping. Trying to get a home that will easily accomidate a safe.HOWEVER, I'm still paranoid that someone will still break into my apartment between now and then.GL
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  • RugerNinerRugerNiner Member Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have A Safe, but not a "Gun Safe". Some of my guns are hidden in my furniture which is specialized. Such as Hidden Drawers, False Fronts and Side Panels. I paid a lot of money for this furniture. I bought my safe at Wal-Mart for $89.00. It measures 14"W x 17"H x 17"D. If you have Kids, Frequent Visitors or live in a Questionable Neighborhood you need a safe. I break down my long guns for storage. I also don't have any of the three things mentioned above.
    Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
    Keep your Powder dry and your Musket well oiled.
    NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
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  • BlueTicBlueTic Member Posts: 4,072
    edited November -1
    Built my own - 2'x5'x1' out of stainless. 3 locking lugs on the door and a "no access" lock on the handle. Cost the company about a grand in time and materials (It was a slow week and we were on night shift). Fits in my closet. I should have taken the time to add drywall, but the sucker is heavy enough with the 8 or 9 guns it holds (10 if they are small). Being a welder has it's good times...
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  • RugerNinerRugerNiner Member Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    SaxonPig; When are you getting your third safe? I wish I needed two safes.
    Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
    Keep your Powder dry and your Musket well oiled.
    NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
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  • njretcopnjretcop Member Posts: 7,975
    edited November -1
    SALZO!! I knew this would happen.......we finally have something in common besides our love of guns. I have the same cabinet and agree with you that it is totally appropriate for my needs.We must have coffee again sometime, I'll bet we can agree on other things as well. -Charlie
    It's the stuff dreams are made of AngelNRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com
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  • jetjet Member Posts: 543 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    no safe,old school lockers with hardened chain to wrap around the front,atached to wall,I keep my shot guns and single shots in their,I keep my semis with me.
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  • k.stanonikk.stanonik Member Posts: 2,109 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I live in a quiet neighborhood, but after my truck was broken into one night it goe me thinking so i bought a vault, the house has not been broken into but i ws ripped off by my former room mates son while he lived here. Did i waste money no, I would hate to think of what would have happened if i didnt have a safe.
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  • smokey1smokey1 Member Posts: 76 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Robsguns,Post your address and I'll tell you if I have a gun safe or not.
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  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've got 2 made by KenCraft. The same company that makes Kennedy tool boxes. They are designed to hold 10 guns each. If your careful packing them you can get 14 in there.In the spring I'm building a small addition on my house. The floors will be built to hold the weight of a fire rated safe.WOODS
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  • mustangmustang Member Posts: 615 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    buying a safe is good for not being robbed, and for kids, but what about fire? i don't know if there is a safe that will stand up to 1500 deg. for 2 hrs. with out letting the finish on the wood bubble. it would be easier to collect ins. on a collection lost than for repair. (if you have proof of ownership, like photo's and s # in a safedeposit box in a bank.)
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  • RUGERNUT3RUGERNUT3 Member Posts: 247 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Two...and will have to add a third soon, like yesterday. Bought two at once to save $$$...still exspensive. If I had thought about how bad my "addiction" would become...would have bought 3 to begin with! Now I wont get as good a deal buying only one...maybe I should learn from my past and get two again!..as I see no end in sight for my gun collecting fever. Not a bad ivestment actually..as my guns are the part of my estate that will be part of my grand childrens inheritance......Browning safes by the way...sposed to be for 32 guns each..but after I "set" them up...more like around 24-28...scoped rifles screw up the whole layout....
    "ANY" EXCUSE IS A GOOD REASON TO BUY "JUST 1 MORE".& VICIE-VERSIE!
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    smokey1,robsguns@hotmail.com
    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • winged 1winged 1 Member Posts: 19 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I own a liberty gun safe,it will hold 18 guns and is a fire safe.Mustang if you have a 2 hour fire thats a lot of house to burn.I talked to a friend who is a fireman about the 30 min protection on my safe.He said it would protect my guns with no problem.He also told me that he has seen some of the homark type safes protect guns in a fire.I thought to myself one day that no insurance money could replace some of my families hand me downs.Plus little ones running through the house changed my attitude on gun storage.It is truly one purchase I don't regret.Besides I will have a chance to buy another one the way my wife puts things in it and you know what good is an empty safe?About as good is a empty gun!
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  • daddodaddo Member Posts: 3,408
    edited November -1
    Have a Liberty safe- fire rated 1400 deg. for 30 minutes and weighs about 800 lbs loaded. It is bolted to the walls and concrete floor. Holds 25 guns.Paid only $800.00 at a gun show. Have a 1000 lb lift on truck-so took it home with no delivery fee. My question is- What is to keep the theives from carrying off a regular metal only Gun cabnet, as they don't weigh much, or just cut the metal with a hammer and screwdriver to gain access?
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  • smokey1smokey1 Member Posts: 76 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    robsguns,Not your email address, your street address.My attempt at being a smartass was pretty lame I guess.Thing is, I would never divulge my defensive situation on a public forum. Kinda like not wearing a "I'm packin'" t-shirt in public.
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  • edharoldedharold Member Posts: 465 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a very large, fire proof safe (1 hour)it's suppose to hold 36 long guns. That is really like 36 pool cues. So you have to reduce the number if you value the stocks very much. Has shelf room for 10 handguns. Weighs 1100 pounds, not looking forward to moving it. Also have a HOMAK key lock upright box for cheaper stuff. If I have $15,000 in guns I certainly want to protect them. I also keep papers etc. So I don't have to pay a bank for a safety deposit box.
    "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"Benj. Franklin, 1759[This message has been edited by edharold (edited 02-15-2002).]
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    smokey1, I gotcha, shoot some of the regualars here know my street address already anyway. Thats ok, I was just wondering if most people have one, one person more or less wont hurt my question.
    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    We have a 4 bedroom house and only two kids. I took over the 4th room and turned it into my "office" I have two gunracks on the wall and one 10 gun cabinet. Whatever doesnt fit in the racks or cabinet get stacked in the corners. This room is deadbolted along with a locking knob. The door is not heavy and could be knocked down, but while you are doing that you have to worry about the Keeshound/shepard that we feed once a week and let her scrounge for food the rest of the time(just kidding!). I would like a safe for in the basement soley as ammo storage.
    If you want my guns you will have to kill me first. I was born free and to take that from me you better be ready to fight.
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  • BullzeyeBullzeye Member Posts: 3,560
    edited November -1
    My current collection of 3 shotguns and 2 rifles resides in a glass-windowed gun cabinet with an under-cabinet for ammo and room for 8 guns, but it has very flimsy locks. The guy could smash the window and get in, too.I'd buy a safe, but the dough just aint there.I mostly bought it just so I'd have a place to keep 'em all. I was running out of closet corners to prop 'em up in, and they kept falling over.Heres a good question: Do you store your ammo in the same cabinet as your guns? If so, would it protect against the rounds cooking off in case of a fire?It might get ugly if .300WinMag rounds start blasting through the walls while the firefighters are trying to put out your house.
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  • gap1916gap1916 Member Posts: 4,977
    edited November -1
    I would like to believe that my home is my safe. Do I need a safe within a safe? Maybe. The govenment sure does believe in a back up for a back up for something that may or may not fail.
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  • pops401pops401 Member Posts: 616 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A 30x60x24 Fortress. Plus about 30 guns strategically placed so one never makes it that far.(think you know enough about me to know I ain't kidd'n)Edited by pops to include the "puppies"[This message has been edited by pops401 (edited 02-15-2002).]
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I own a 10-gun oak display cabinet (recent purchase) and have a little security system of my own rigged up. A motion sensor detects an entry into my apartment and blasts a flood-light at average head-height towards the entry to my bedroom. It will wake me immediately because I am a sound sleeper and will blind anyone that walks into my bedroom after hours giving me the advantage of sight--illuminate the intruder but prevent him from seeing me. I think it's better than night sights. I am the type that would probably wait in the bedroom (armed) while dialing 911 and resort to lethal force only if forced to do so. I live in an incredibly secure environment but I don't own enough guns to fill the cabinet yet. I own nothing of sentimental value and would be more apt to fall back on insurance before I invest a fortune in a safe on the incredibly RARE circumstance that anyone could gain entrance to my humble abode or would even dare to do so in broad daylight. I have a couple of small Sentry fire safes for ammo and other nasties that could reek havoc in case of a fire.
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  • RugerNinerRugerNiner Member Posts: 12,636 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    7MM Nut; Ammo in the basement? What about dampness and corrosion? I'm curious whether this is a factor and if something can be done about it. I've been thinking of trying to buy Silca Gel for my ammo cans. Anybody have any Ideas on this?
    Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
    Keep your Powder dry and your Musket well oiled.
    NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
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  • wundudneewundudnee Member Posts: 6,108 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a 22 gun American Security fire rated safe and should have bought a bigger one. I mostly have small caliber rifles so if I'm careful I can double them up for more capacity. I have no illusions that it would deter a determined thief but it might slow them down a little. For the price of a couple or three of my guns it makes me a little more comfortable. If I would ever build another house I would give serious consideration to a walk in combination vault and storm shelter. A good vault door costs about the same as a safe.
    "If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?" Will Rogers
    standard.jpg
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    If you have a dry and cool basement like I use to have at my moms house, its a perfect storage environment, actually recommended. Its just like the bunkers we have in the Corps.
    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 36,085 ******
    edited November -1
    I have a total of six safes of different sizes and designs. I heartily recommend a safe. You can get smaller ones that will fit into a closet.A good friend did a neat thing. He had a new house built, and in the center of the house, he had a safe room built. Steel-reinforced concrete floor, walls and ceiling, similar to the way a bank is built. He had a vault door put on it, and now has a climate controlled walk-in gun safe that doubles as a storm shelter. He said it didn't add that much to the overall cost of the house.
    Certified SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of the General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com, the premier gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net Jesus is Lord!
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  • treedawgtreedawg Member Posts: 321 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    i have a 30 gun liberty fire safe. about a year ago we had a house fire and lost close to 70% of our belongings, but all guns, cash and important papers were just fine. as soon as we were allowed back in the house i went straight for the safe and opened it. everything looked fine although a little hot.
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  • jetjet Member Posts: 543 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I keep everything in a cardboard box withU.S.P.S. tape on it that says."breaking seal will violate federal law"that aughta hold em
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  • Master7thSonMaster7thSon Member Posts: 229 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I do own a safe---it's not actually designed for guns but I modified the interior so it could easliy accomodate every gun I'll ever buy----its real big
    a real old one bought used for a song because it was too heavy for previous owner to move.
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  • COWBOYKIDDCOWBOYKIDD Member Posts: 239 ✭
    edited November -1
    Filled up my Fort Knox and need another safe for the new babies I bring home. Yes I have it booby trapped lol.KiddSaxon. Cant figure it out. A guy buys some nice guns and for the price of a nice gun can have a safe 1500-2000 bucks.
    Thieves in 3 piece suits = Politicians,Doctors & Lawyers
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  • KadaverKadaver Member Posts: 333 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    i keep all mine in a closet with 2 seperatly keyed deadbolts....and each gun case has 2+ padlocks (keyed seperatly), each firearm also has a trigger lock and cable lock, all ammo is stored across the house in another safe (except for 1 pistol) and all the keys are stored in yet another safe which needs a key and a combo.......
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  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I was thinking, what the f......, how is he going to defend himself if..... then I realized, its been a long day, hes kidding, and its time for bed. See you guys later, thanks for the input, I belive I will at least look into a cheap one when I get to Cali. I'm not moving one there, I know that.
    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
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  • boogerbooger Member Posts: 1,463 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yea, you gotta get a safe. I've got a big old Browning that is a 26 gun "easy out" model. Ain't no easy out to it, as it's slam full. In my old house I had to crawl underneath and use a house jack to support the weight as she was beginning to sag on through but now I'm on a slab.I can go to work or on vacation and not worry. I'd like to come home and find a burglar trapped under it like a mouse in a trap.
    Them ducks is wary.
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  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    Dang right I own a safe! You are moving to Oceanslime right? Base housing list is pretty long at the present and Oceanside ain't got no pertier in the past few years.You can get a Liberty 25 gun safe for less than a grand if you look around a bit. It is UL certified which will keep you from having to buy a gun lock with every purchase of a gun in this stoopid state. It would be a very wise investment in my opinion.
    If you can't fix it with a hammer, take it to a mechanic. will270win@aol.com ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
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  • sandman2234sandman2234 Member Posts: 894 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Couldn't see spending the money to buy a gun safe.They don't make them big enough, and the wife ain't going to let me have five or six around the house.So.... I took a lot of rebar, concrete, and a safe door from a bank that closed and made a nine by fifteen foot gunroom. Also does the deal for a hurricane shelter.Five inch concrete, reinforced heavily, inside a concrete block building,with monitored alarm, inside a yard with two lovable dogs... Yep, I got a "safe".
    Have Gun, will travel
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