Gun Safes

[Buntlineguy]

Dick's sporting goods has a good selection at decent prices.

B

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[Youngblood]

A decade ago when I bought my first gunsafe one of my PRIMARY considerations was how to get it delivered and "installed" (a.k.a., into my house).

I met a fellow at a local gunshow who sold/delivered/installed Ft.Knox brand safes who said that I could act as his Helper in the process, I could save some money ... which worked out perfectly because I wanted to get some hands-on experience for the future.

I went home, did more research on Ft.Knox gunsafes, gave the guy a call and placed my order.

The delivery went smoothly (basement installation) and 2 years later when I decided to get a 2nd, I called the same fellow.

I suppose that the moral of this story is to decide how big a gunsafe you need ... and then get one two or three sizes larger, because you are going to fill that pup UP.

BTW, I am happy with my gunsafes. I re-did the Spacers so that I could get more long guns in and added peg board for bolt (and other stuff) storage on the doors. I also added inside power for rope lights, stick-heater and small fan.

[us019255]

Before I purchased my first safe I talked to a vendor at a gun show. He had retired from selling safes and strongrooms in Hollywood. His advice made sense. He claimed that all the brands of safes would be good enough, unless one had some really valuable stuff (like $1,000,000 in bearer bonds). If you had that and the right person found out, the best safe in the world would probably not be enough.

He did recommend that you secure the safe to the floor. Otherwise you may come home to find that after the local druggy smashed the handle and dial, he still couldn't get it open and ended up tipping it over in his rage, scratching your guns.

My only other advice is that the installation is a big thing. Gun safes are heavy!! My present man cave has a very small door. (The house dates to 1905) I couldn't get a standard safe in. I did some research and found Zanotti Armor on the web. They make safes that come apart into pieces. Not only did the pieces fit through the door, one or two men can easily handle them. I noticed last month that they now have competition.

I thought long and hard about electronic locks vs. mechanical. Yes, I know you can replace the batteries from the outside, but I decided that I didn't need another thing to go wrong when I really wanted to get into the safe. I went mechanical.