Best safe under $1500? Theft protection is my biggest priority.

One that is bolted down

I like Fort Knox. May be out of your $1500 range.

Thieves access a gun safe by cutting through the thin sides and pulling guns out through the hole.

Ive read of cases where they wrap a chain around it, drag it through the house wall with a truck and cut it open on a side road.

Have the safe bolted down and out of site if possible.

Many gun safe thefts are from a service company worker that spots it.

If security truly is a priority, I would suggest a jewelers type safe >$10,000. Steel all around. Provides good protection.

After that, they are not safes, but containers (fancy school lockers) and differences will be minimal. Prices vary due to %steel and marketing. The safes under $10k will not stop a prepared and determined thief.

Safe bolted down (or safe room) + security system + cameras + dog. That is the best setup.

I also recommend one with a dial lock instead of an electronic lock. No idea on which one is more secure, I just know that I don't want to have to call the locksmith for an electronic malfunction.

How hard are they to carry with two people. Is 350 lbs a hard move?

Unless you are a high profile attorney with high profile clients that are high end criminals that know you have an expensive gun collection…..

Any 1500 dollar safe will be way more than sufficient if it's bolted down. I used to get carried away with thinking a 10,000 dollar safe was necessary but the fact is that no one knows what's in the safe upon entering your house and if they didn't know you had a safe at all then they aren't properly prepared to get into it if you have cameras and a security system that has already notified authorities. Times ticking. I understand that everyone (myself included) thinks the Oceans 11 crew is scoping out your crib but that's simply not true. You're being robbed by a garden variety idiot looking for your Aggie Ring sitting on the counter and your wife's wedding band sitting on her dresser or any firearms stacked in a corner of your closet.

What you should more appropriately be worrying about (in my opinion) is fire protection. I'd say focus on that, any container made from steel that's more than 1/8" thick is going to handle those guys and if it's got a fire rating of 60 minutes or more, it's going to be fine.

My opinion is somewhat formed by having my truck broken into and having 250 dollars of useless electronics stolen while leaving a .40 caliber pistol In the door because it was covered with a hand towel. Time constraints and adrenaline are hell on thinking processes of crooks.

Howdy Dammit said:

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How hard are they to carry with two people. Is 350 lbs a hard move?

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I helped a buddy move a 375 pound safe and it wasn't too difficult with an appliance dolly.

Howdy Dammit said:

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How hard are they to carry with two people. Is 350 lbs a hard move?

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Pretty easy. I have moved mine 4-5 time by myself.

The two biggest issues are addressed here in this thread: Bolting down being #1, and a rotary dial (quality brass one) combo #2. The best locksmith and safe "cracker" in the area (who installed my safe and bolted it down) told me only a small percentage of the hundreds of installs he does a year have rotary dial combination locks. He prefers the electronic ones for customers for ease of use, but told me flat out that with the quality brass rotary combo, that it is inherently less of an access issue and the safe will be able to handed down through generations to your grandkids kids before any issues arise, and If his eyes were good, that's what he would have. Also, that if not bolted down, all the intruder has to use is a battery operated recip saw because the holes to bolt it down are exposed if tipped on it's side and the operation is so quiet at that time no one outside the house would hear.

That being said, you could retrofit a lower heat rated safe or no heat rated safe to one with better resistance using the higher set heat seal around the door jamb if you wanted to better protect the contents of a less expensive safe.

Edit to add:

I paid my locksmith to install my safe and bolt it down, and it was purchased from a local Liberty dealer not him. I was going to do it all myself which I was capable of doing. Had mapped a cardboard cut out of the dimensions through the path to get it to the room it would reside and thought I'd covered it all. But knowing my home foundation had post tensioned members to supplement the rebar and he was insured in case something happened and he does this a few hundred times a year, was willing to pay a few hundred dollars to have him pick it up from the dealer get it to its resting place and bolt it down. Glad I did. Just the transit plan through the house took them 45 minutes measuring all the angles and they used a gamut of equipment for maneuvering that I did not have or would have taken me a few hours to procure. Worth the money and insurance against damage.

But a true commercial safe with a TL rating from a going out of business sale. $500 for the safe, $500 for the move.

Kodiak 52 gun is in that range and 650 lbs.

I've got a Liberty Classic 50 gun that weighs 1200lbs unloaded. Nobody is moving that **** easily. It also has a solid steel door.

Right now it is in my office not bolted down. I've got a walk in entry closet that I want to put it in, but the door is too narrow to get it in. Debating enlarging the door just to get it in. Once that happens, only the front of the safe will be visible which offers better security.

Liberty has lifetime warranty and I've had good dealings with them already. The jewelry box screws came out of a shelf within the first year and they replaced the entire shelf and drawer.

ETA that this would be out of your price range, especially now with inflation (FJB). I went with "pay once, cry once" and went bigger than I thought. 50gun will hold about 30-35 guns with scoped/not scoped mix. Only bad thing about this idea is that it fits in less places and is hard to move.

WestTexAg12 said:

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I I've got a Liberty Classic 50 gun that weighs 1200lbs unloaded. Nobody is moving that **** easily. It also has a solid steel door.

Right now it is in my office not bolted down. I've got a walk in entry closet that I want to put it in, but the door is too narrow to get it in. Debating enlarging the door just to get it in. Once that happens, only the front of the safe will be visible which offers better security.

Liberty has lifetime warranty and I've had good dealings with them already. The jewelry box screws came out of a shelf within the first year and they replaced the entire shelf and drawer.

ETA that this would be out of your price range, especially now with inflation (FJB). I went with "pay once, cry once" and went bigger than I thought. 50gun will hold about 30-35 guns with scoped/not scoped mix. Only bad thing about this idea is that it fits in less places and is hard to move.

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Good advice that a 50 gun safe holds 30.

Psych said:

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I also recommend one with a dial lock instead of an electronic lock. No idea on which one is more secure, I just know that I don't want to have to call the locksmith for an electronic malfunction.

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The maker of the safe can always get in, Period...

They may have to enter 30 digits, but they can get in...

I just got a brand new in the box safe and the default code did not work. We went thru about 4 different rounds of stuff, but got it back to 000000. The I could take it from there.

Anyone have a local retailer in Houston? Looking to get a Liberty.

I haven't bought a safe from them, but you might look at Moore Security. Josh Moore has helped me move my safe a couple of times and has been terrific to deal with.

Moore Security is your guy. I, and many on this board, have bought from them.

Good to hear. Moore is on my list as the first person to call.

had a very large fort knox since 1997..superb safe. I just ordered an large old glory I will let you know what I think when I get it. ordered it due to very large price difference

I guess I'm in the minority but I'll never go back to a rotary style combination. Electronic is way, way quicker to access. I've had the safe for 8 or so years and have had to change the batteries once. It gives you plenty of notice with a loud beeping so not like the batteries will just die on you and you get locked out.