So I just purchased my first home and one of the first things I want to do is get a gun safe. (Collection is getting a little too big for the "under the bed" strategy)

I have a budget of around $1200 I can put towards one. I'm hoping someone here has made a purchase in this price range? Best option? Where to buy?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Aggiebrewer said:

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I've got a funeral the day you need it moved.

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It will probably be my funeral you're attending at the rate this closing process is going

F that budget nonsense & go big

Found this one on sale last year for about 850. Moved it myself with the help of a buddy. Liberty 64 gun. Buy bigger than you need and fill that ***** up

Houston area I assume?

Moore Security
http://www.mooresecuritysafes.com/

1201 Upland Dr. Suite C
Houston, TX 77043
281-236-7249

24430 I-45
Spring, TX 77386
832-813-8827

I had my Sturdy shipped to Moore Security. For a fee, they took delivery brought it to my house and installed it.

Plan for future increased inventory...

Love my sturdy safe. Would highly recommend.

Delivery is worth every penny. At that price point go bigger, the steel won't be as thick, but generally it will be good enough. I love my electric lock...to each their own.

I just bought a Winchester 24 gun safe. Got it on sale for about 400 bucks at tractor supply. It isn't the best safe in the world, but it holds quite a bit and it very well built for its price point. Your budget let's you get outside my price range, so the others here likely have better suggestions at your budget as I never looked up there, but for me the Winchester gets it done. It's in a locked closet with a solid door, lightly reinforced hinges, and it's bolted down. I went with the less expensive safe and bought a cz-75 sp01. But thats me...

Aggiebrewer said:

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but seriously, I bought one with battery powered keypad.
hate it

go mechanical & go big.

my 2 cents

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This.

I went as big as possible/realistic as we could handle in a sane manner, and mechanical to boot. Mom has one that is electronic (Browning) that is somewhat problematic and had to have the local locksmith out a couple of times to get in it. Same locksmith installed my safe and inquired as to why I went mechanical, mentioning he installed over 200 safes a year and only a handful were mechanical. I explained why (reliability in the long run/EMP/etc.). He said, with the brass internals I had in the one we bought, that it would be a safe that my great grandkids could use, and then hand it down from there.

Whatever you get, BOLT IT DOWN. Everyone gets caught up in the door bolts/strength, when the bottom already has holes to put a recip saw blade through and get started cutting. Tip it over and go to town. Within minutes you are "in".

https://www.costco.com/Bighorn-31.41-Cu-Ft-Ultimate-Access-Gun-Safe%2c-75-Minute-Fire-Rating.product.100285123.html

My latest purchase.

Wanted lightweight.

Think of it more like a gun locker. Secured to the floor in a closet.

Fireproof..nope. Easy to conceal yes. Easy to move. Yes. Keep kids out. Yes.

https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/product/agile-model-52-bin-bundle/

highvelocity said:

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31?

Anyone on the OB ever known someone who's had their house broken into and the criminals got into the safe?

Have two 14 gun safes cuz wife wasnt too hip on making the safe the primary feature of any room. Fit nicely in closets now.

Definitely go as large as you can, with mechanical locks. I'm still unfortunately limited to a pretty small safe since I was living in an apartment when I purchased it, and still am in an apartment for the foreseeable future. I have a Stack-On 8 gun safe, and it is quite small, but its as large as I could get in the closet. Its full, and I have to make sure things are out of the way to get the door closed. When I finally buy a house, I'll get something a good bit larger.

LiveOak said:

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Anyone on the OB ever known someone who's had their house broken into and the criminals got into the safe?

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Someone down the street from us had their safe dragged all the way through their house, from the back bedroom to the front door, gouging the wood floors along the way, where it was loaded into a truck and as far as I am aware still missing

(bolt it down!)

Whatever you do, don't limit your security to the safe itself. Home security systems have gotten much cheaper and easier to install than they used to. Ring (like the Ring doorbell people) have a full security system that you can have professionally monitored for $10 a month. I'd rather have a basic gun locker and a full home security system, than a super secure safe with no other security.

Just curious, do you know about how big or heavy their safe was?

Its in the 40s last I checked

i did the same thing when i moved into my house in dallas. home security systems are the way to go regardless if you have a house full of valuables or not.

Another vote for Moore Security. Picked up a Liberty from them just as Christmas. I have a digital lock, which I love but appear to be in the minority on that.

tlh3842 said:

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Just curious, do you know about how big or heavy their safe was?

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I do not, all I heard was that it was "a really big one" which of course means different things to different people. My impression was it was a 30ish gun size

highvelocity said:

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Its in the 40s last I checked

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and not a single jewelry box or file folder. Who wants to bet this guy is not married?

i will take "who is not married for 1000, Alex"

all the important docs are in the pockets in the bottom. by important docs i mean tax stamps and car titles haha

Let's discuss this bolt it down strategy-

I have a gun safe in a closet that is bolted down. This is not a big safe and it was not expensive. My fear is that a thief could still just pull it forward and blow the bolts thru the safe bottom. I have been meaning to drill a hole in the top part of the back of the safe and run a lag bolt into a wall stud to prevent this.

Has anyone else addressed this issue?

Here's a link I've posted before. It's got a lot of really good info to think about when selecting the safe you want. Some of the links are probably broken at this point, but overall it's a good read.

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html

up-n-aTm said:

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Let's discuss this bolt it down strategy-

I have a gun safe in a closet that is bolted down. This is not a big safe and it was not expensive. My fear is that a thief could still just pull it forward and blow the bolts thru the safe bottom. I have been meaning to drill a hole in the top part of the back of the safe and run a lag bolt into a wall stud to prevent this.

Has anyone else addressed this issue?

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I've had the same thought before. I have one of the lighter SecureIT gun lockers that someone above recommended, mostly because the only practical place for me to have a safe is on the second floor. It's bolted to the floor, but that's just a layer of engineered hardwood on top of 3/4" plywood. I'm worried that with the leverage from the height of the safe, someone could pull it forward and blow the threads out from the wood they're screwed into.

I suppose your idea is one option, though I'd have to screw additional holes into the rear sheet metal.

Honestly, if you're worried about someone doing it from the floor they're going to get it. Boiled down or not, the "safe" or more accurately, residential security container, wil perfect the contents from a smash and grab bugler.

If someone wants it, they'll get it. Honestly if i was already willing to force the door, or pry the bolts from the floor, an extra lag screw is just going to make me do more damage to your home.

Remember, dead bolts only keep thieves out that aren't willing to break a window. Or just as easily take a sledgehammer to your brick, or fire up a chainsaw and just cut a hole in your siding. Fancy alarm with your motion (likely covering just your entry and living room), door sensors, window sensors, and glass break... Wont stop someone from making their own door. Bet you don't have a camera where the jewery is kept either.