# Best Gun Safe on the Market ?



## Grinch (Jan 3, 2016)

Hello everyone, a person who does not live too awfully far from me about two miles from my road had a break in last night. He is not apart of the community because he's from the city and does not want to fit in which to each his own. But anyways whoever did this either 1 knew their shit or 2 got lucky with the safe, it was a large gun safe if I am correct it said Liberty which I have heard very good things about. It was tore open and looked like you put a hand grenade in a tin can.

This was not only a very chilling incident but also an incredibly sobering one, a high end 338 Lapua and a Barrett rifle to name some, many higher end style rifles were stolen. What the guy said to the police he had a " _500lb safe_ with money in it, but that was stolen, a few of us saw the gun safe and it was shocking to see the police bringing out for evidence, you know I mean it really makes you think what you have protecting what protects you. My Summit safes claim they're good, but all of them do. It struck me so odd someone would spend the time to bust open a gun safe, but the one officer said the security footage showed the guy coming in and leaving in about fifteen minutes.

What I am asking here is what have you heard or know is a good quality safe ? I don't care about that great deal at Costco where you picked up some gun safe for 200$, not for nothing but those Summits were far from cheap. For a general price say under 10K what would you say is the best gun safe out there ? I mean is there a Pelican version of the gun safe out there that not too many people know about ? My old safe which I bought for 100 at a yard sale was solid as a rock, it had one key that could not be duplicated nor cut no matter where I went. I tried to make my own for it but failed, when an old ex-girlfriend and I got into an argument while driving she threw my one key ring out the window and into a pond. So needless to say I had to break into my own safe, now granted back when this safe was made it was stamped 1962 steel was cheaper and they used more of it. It took me and two buddies about forty five minutes to break into it, and that's with modern equipment. By no means are we safe crackers or anything it was our first time doing so. Now might I remind you most thieves would have their hands full at my place with the two Belgian Malinois/ Rottweiler mixes inside and my Australian Cattle Dog, but I mean you know it's possible.

Again I am looking for the so called Pelican version of gun safe under 10K.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

It depends on how much money you want to spend. I have a 700 lb Liberty Franklin bolted to a concrete floor. The design is very pry resistant (high build quality) but with 11 ga steel that can be cut through using a $100 tool (cutter weighs about 3 lbs) (and plenty of spare blades) available at Home Depot in less than an hour. We're talking about a 2' x 4' hole in the side with little or no damage to the contents. Liberty makes lower end models than my safe and models with much thicker steel that requires a thicker wallet to buy.

The lower end Liberty Centurion safes have 14 ga steel an ax can punch through.

But I bet I could get into the top of the line with 5/16" steel safes in less than 3-4 hrs with the same tool although I may bring a spare tool in case the 1st one burned out. Any experienced burglar can get into safes like this given enough time. Your goal is to make getting into the safe require more time than the burglar is willing to spend getting into it. 

A torch will get into the safe even faster but would probably damage the contents. Any safe with steel less than 5/8" thick and super well designed can be cut into given a few hours using readily available tools. They all talk about how they protect from drilling the lock or punching back the pins (drill small hole in the side of the safe to do this if the lock has a poor cam design) but with modern mechanical cutting tools (no torch or plasma cutter needed) cutting 3/8" steel isn't that hard to do given some time.

Keep in mind that 95% of home burglars don't know how to cut a safe and want to get out of your home in less than 5 minutes so get some thick steel and slow them down if your budget allows for it and what you store in the safe is worth the additional expense.


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## SittingElf (Feb 9, 2016)

The best safe I have is a 12" PVC pipe with spare weapons, ammo, food and other supplies...buried in an undisclosed and secret location in the event I am overrun. Done!


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Back when I did gun safe research 7 gauge steel was the holy grail if you had the money and Liberty offers a 7 gauge model which is about 1/5 of an inch thick steel. I believe it's called the President model with prices starting around $4500.
Anything thicker and large enough to hold "24 rifles" will weigh a ton,,, literally and cost just as much. 

For people who keep large amounts of cash I'd suggest an in the floor safe (sunk into a concrete floor) or a super hidden safe with thick steel. Also keep in mind that a safe is useless if someone can catch you by surprise and make you open it. That's why I keep the cash ect. in the bank and not at home.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Mason jars in the back yard may be the safest haven for money. Canon is a good brand. Talk to some locksmiths that deal with a wide range of brands and used stuff. See what they say about what they like.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

The best safe is the one nobody knows about, and can't be seen.
Everything else is just an advertisement for goodies.


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## rstanek (Nov 9, 2012)

Kauboy said:


> The best safe is the one nobody knows about, and can't be seen.
> Everything else is just an advertisement for goodies.


Like Kauboy said, anything can be broken into if one wants to bad enough, place your cache where no one can find it, you know your environment, be creative. No one can find it if they don't know what to look for.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

rstanek said:


> Like Kauboy said, anything can be broken into if one wants to bad enough, place your cache where no one can find it, you know your environment, be creative. No one can find it if they don't know what to look for.


Two adages come to mind for this discussion.
"Where there's a will, there's a way." (nothing is truly safe)
"Out of sight, out of mind." (self explanatory)


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## Operator6 (Oct 29, 2015)

A friend who owns a jewelry store made it real clear that what the gun community calls a safe is really just a security container. 

He said his insurance company wouldn't cover what we call a safe for his purpose. 

Every safe/security container is only a way to buy time. Each layer of his security buys a little more time and would require a very sophisticated thief to circumvent. 

Ok so if you're looking for a gun safe I like Liberty because they offer a lifetime warranty even if it's burnt in a fire. Keeps the average door kicker out if you provide other types of security. Alarm system and being discrete. I like to hide my safes.


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## Grim Reality (Mar 19, 2014)

I have long held the opinion that ANY safe, given sufficient time & determination, can be breached.
The factor of delay is all they provide.

Mine is 5/16" steel, but I realized from day one it is more of a time deterrent than a guarantee of security. 

Jeff Cooper, pause...moment of silence, had a very good idea. In the basement of his hacienda at
Gunsite, Paulden, Arizona, he had obtained (somehow) and installed an old walk-in bank vault from
what I guess would have been the 1800's. VERY secure. IIRC it was perhaps 12' by 12' square with
one small window to the outside measuring maybe 4" by 12"...through which no human could pass.
I don't know WHY he had any window at all...but it was there.

I was, however, a little surprised at how few firearms he kept inside it...less than 20. I had imagined
that it would have been filled with HUNDREDS...but no...such was not the case.

Then again, perhaps "The Colonel" had a few secrets that he did not share with the public.

Grim


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## Targetshooter (Dec 4, 2015)

the best gun safe is the one on your hip .


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## Quip (Nov 8, 2012)

Make sure whatever you get has the rods that lock into the top/bottom as well as the sides. It will up the cost about $200 compared to ones without. 

Mine is bolted thru oak floors into the basement. In the basement the floor the bolts go thru steel plates. The nuts and washers have been spot welded. Not being able to knock it over reduces the leverage someone can get. Damn thing weighs 750 empty but, is easier to move/tip than you might think. Hopefully slowing them until myself or a neighbor gets to them.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Strong and heavy duty looking front doors and rods for the "appeal" but thin sidewalls. Build it in.


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## dpadams6 (Nov 8, 2012)

Liberty is good, fort knox is better. At a cost -


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## chocks141 (Nov 21, 2015)

locks and safes only keep honest men honest. If thugs want your stuff bad enough, they will get it.
A friend had about 40 higher end guns in a safe, they broke in, worked about 10 minutes trying to get it open. when that didn't work, they took a chainsaw and cut a hole in the wall, wrapped a chain around it and hooked it to a pick-up and yanked it out of the floor, took a come-a-long and drug it into the truck and was gone. His security cameras recorded everything but could see the truck.

most thieves are not industrious enough to put out the effort it would take to even get to my safe.


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## chocks141 (Nov 21, 2015)

sorry...could not see the truck


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## dpadams6 (Nov 8, 2012)

chocks141 said:


> locks and safes only keep honest men honest. If thugs want your stuff bad enough, they will get it.
> A friend had about 40 higher end guns in a safe, they broke in, worked about 10 minutes trying to get it open. when that didn't work, they took a chainsaw and cut a hole in the wall, wrapped a chain around it and hooked it to a pick-up and yanked it out of the floor, took a come-a-long and drug it into the truck and was gone. His security cameras recorded everything but could see the truck.
> 
> most thieves are not industrious enough to put out the effort it would take to even get to my safe.


Put safe in basement.


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## erengare (May 7, 2018)

Generally speaking I am not a fan of leaving firearms unsecured and adrift at various places around my house. It may work for some people, but its seldom an ideal response. It depends on how much money you want to spend. I have a 700 lb Liberty Franklin https://secretstorages.com/best-gun-safe-under-1000/ bolted to a concrete floor. The design is very pry resistant (high build quality) but with 11 ga steel that can be cut through using a $100 tool (cutter weighs about 3 lbs) (and plenty of spare blades) available at Home Depot in less than an hour. We're talking about a 2' x 4' hole in the side with little or no damage to the contents. Liberty makes lower end models than my safe and models with much thicker steel that requires a thicker wallet to buy.

The lower end Liberty Centurion safes have 14 ga steel an ax can punch through.

But I bet I could get into the top of the line with 5/16" steel safes in less than 3-4 hrs with the same tool although I may bring a spare tool in case the 1st one burned out. Any experienced burglar can get into safes like this given enough time. Your goal is to make getting into the safe require more time than the burglar is willing to spend getting into it.

A torch will get into the safe even faster but would probably damage the contents. Any safe with steel less than 5/8" thick and super well designed can be cut into given a few hours using readily available tools. They all talk about how they protect from drilling the lock or punching back the pins (drill small hole in the side of the safe to do this if the lock has a poor cam design) but with modern mechanical cutting tools (no torch or plasma cutter needed) cutting 3/8" steel isn't that hard to do given some time.

Keep in mind that 95% of home burglars don't know how to cut a safe and want to get out of your home in less than 5 minutes so get some thick steel and slow them down if your budget allows for it and what you store in the safe is worth the additional expense.


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## StratMaster (Dec 26, 2017)

erengare said:


> Your goal is to make getting into the safe require more time than the burglar is willing to spend getting into it.


Some good stuff here.
MY goal is to feel confident that thieves will spend an inordinate amount of time and energy busting into my bait safes.
The REAL safe is built behind a sliding pantry, or behind a paneled wall in what used to be a hall closet. The bait safe is left out in the den. With time and effort they drill it or force it by whatever means, and inside they find a couple cheap used shotguns/rifles, some crappy gold and silver plated commemorative coins, and maybe a few hundred bucks. positive they have found your stash, off they go with their "loot".


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