What kind of Safe?

firedog · Apr 22, 2010

I just pulled the trigger on a new gun safe (in fact should be here tomorrow.)
It's made by Patriot Safe Co. and has a two hour fire rating. 2 Hour Gun Safes

Was interested in storage concepts, gun arrangement, and/or problems you've ran into. ideas?

Will_C · Apr 22, 2010

You won't be able to put the listed number of guns in the safe, unless they are all iron-sighted .30-30's! I have the safe configured to hold my guns in 2 "U" patterns, with the top shelf for important documents, etc.

Will

300wtby · Apr 22, 2010

firedog said:
I just pulled the trigger on a new gun safe (in fact should be here tomorrow.)
It's made by Patriot Safe Co. and has a two hour fire rating. 2 Hour Gun Safes

Was interested in storage concepts, gun arrangement, and/or problems you've ran into. ideas?

I have a Liberty safe, mine came with the door storage for handguns that I really like worth the extra money if does not come with...........

CurlyDave · Apr 22, 2010

The very first step in making a safe, well, safe, is to bolt it to the floor.

You would be amazed at how quick and easy it is for 2-3 knowledgable guys to get a gun safe into the bed of a pickup and haul the whole thing off for an attack at their leisure.

One bolt can stop this cold and force them to open the safe to get at the contents, a much harder job.

Spend the time & money to embed a bolt in your concrete floor with some epoxy, drill a hole in the bottom of the safe and lower the hole over the bolt.

Then figure out a way to arrange your guns & papers inside so as to prevent the bolt from scarring your guns.

Also remember that if you can drive your tractor up to the safe someone else can use your tractor to remove the safe -- a very powerful tool.

skipmarcy · Apr 23, 2010

Will_C said:
You won't be able to put the listed number of guns in the safe, unless they are all iron-sighted .30-30's! I have the safe configured to hold my guns in 2 "U" patterns, with the top shelf for important documents, etc.

Will

Absolutely correct !!! Bolt rifles & scopes will cut capacity dramatically. My safe is an Outdoorsman, made by Cannon, supposed to be a 30 gun model. I have had 30 rifles in it before but it wasn't pretty ... you will get dings/scratches, no way around it. I recently bought the optional door unit to hold handguns, this freed-up some of my top shelf space for scopes etc. I also sold-off a dozen rifles, now keep about 20 in it and it's still tight !! My safe weighs 750 lbs. empty, takes 3 real men and a boy to move it. If I ever finish my base moulding in the office I still plan to lag it to the floor once it's in position though (I have concrete floor). I used a Dri-Rod the first several years I owned it but it quit a couple years ago - haven't had any humidity problems with the safe in the house so far. If it were in a garage or similar I would definitely replace the Dri-Rod.

robb01 · Apr 23, 2010

Good advice Dave, it is a must for it to be bolted down

beersngars · Apr 23, 2010

Another good reason for bolting it down is the weight is all on the door. I have a very large Browing wide body safe and I can tell you if it's sitting on carpet with thick padding, and you swing that big door open......

.... it can get ugly fast. I used four 3/8" lag bolts into the floor joists and now it's solid as a rock.

gsganzer · Apr 23, 2010

Firedog,
Buy a multipack of the gun socks, found at Cabela's and some of the other stores. These will help you from dinging up some of your nicer guns, when you pull guns in and out of your safe.

Car Doc · Apr 23, 2010

CurlyDave said:
The very first step in making a safe, well, safe, is to bolt it to the floor.

I couldn't agree more that's what I did and also used a bar across the floor joists under it.

I would also recommend jacking the floor or reinforce it under the safe because the floor will settle eventually.

If a safe savvy person wants in they will simply drill or pick the lock but a ram and jamb thief type will hopefully be stopped when they cant get it on a dolly.

Steve