colt22man Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I have been shopping for gun safes. With most internet search's, the seller is in another state. Seller's generally include shipping in the purchase price. I've found that alot are shipped directly from the safe manufacturer. With the start of the new year and 2010 in the rear view mirror, stock is low or just flat sold out. I am looking for a 70 - 72 inch tall & wide safe. Please tell me your experiences with your purchase, was shipping involved and are you happy with the entire experience. I decided to pull the plug on a Cannon tall & wide safe last friday. I showed up for a pickup and load, the digital lock wouldn't work. Store manager suspected someone changed the combination while the safe was on the show room floor(instructions were inside, safe door was open). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suesstech Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Just curious, what is your budget? I purchased a Liberty safe. I've not only been happy with the construction, durability, and security built into the unit itself but I'm also extremely happy with both the warranty and the customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 I'm in the $1200- $1800 price range. I'm looking at a Patriot Warrior 72" x 40" and a winchester silverado 54 but the winchester's are sold out nationwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffWard Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I got a "less expensive" Centurion (by Liberty) a little while back. I'm very happy! ('Cept now I need a bigger one...) Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Everyone tells me buy a safe 25% bigger than what you think I need. My wife's jewelry boxes will go in as well as any other valuable's and paperwork. Did you have your safe delivered or did you have a local neighborhood beer and pizza crew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suesstech Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I'd definitely buy bigger than you need. I bought the biggest I could afford. I bought it through Cabelas. They provided delivery as part of the price. Glad they did because I watched two BIG guys struggle to get it into the house and into place...and they were using the proper tools. You may ask the retailers if they have any scratch or dent sales. They still warranty these completely. I bought mine at a scratch and dent sale. It didn't have any dents and I had to get a flashlight out to see the scratches. Got it for about 40% off retail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue edge Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Hey Dave, Gander Mountain down in Bowling Green had 50 in stock last time I was there.Differant sizes,brands & prices. Dont forget PIG he now has http://www.jetguns.com/safes-c-429.html . You may also try http://willisklein.com/ on Westport Road Bigger is better or have room for 2!!! Edited January 6, 2011 by blue edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Your the man, Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I'd definitely buy bigger than you need. I bought the biggest I could afford. I bought it through Cabelas. They provided delivery as part of the price. Glad they did because I watched two BIG guys struggle to get it into the house and into place...and they were using the proper tools. You may ask the retailers if they have any scratch or dent sales. They still warranty these completely. I bought mine at a scratch and dent sale. It didn't have any dents and I had to get a flashlight out to see the scratches. Got it for about 40% off retail. Watched two guys with the proper gear take 45 minutes to get the safe into the house. Fast forward a few years, and I got to watch two movers with a padded blanket take five minutes to get it out of the house and on the truck. 28 days later (after the closing from hell totally collapsed) I watched them take a padded blanket and five minutes to put it back.... So, if you've got real moving experience, you can probably beat the safe movers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark R Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I purchased a Homeland Security safe about 4 years ago. It was delivered to my garage door...actually they brought it into my garage. I uncrated it, removed the door to make it a little lighter, and with another strong guy and I with a heavy duty 2 wheel dolly, was able to move it into the house. I then brought in the door and put it back on. It came with extra large bolts (7 I think), 5 star gold handle, key lock, and gold push button combination lock. I have to insert the special key and unlock manual lock, then push button combination to unlock safe. Also got the dehumidifier rod too. Price wasn't too bad, about $1000-1200 including S&H and delivery. I didn't get the highest fire rating I could have, yet settled on mid range. Homeland Security I'm very satisfied with it. It did come with one blemish though...looks like they wrapped it up when the paint was still tacky. I buffed it out and it looks ok, but doesn't affect the operation and security. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohuskers Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Always get a size larger than you think you'll need because I guarantee your wife will find space for jewelry, important documents, etc., plus your gun collection will likely expand over time. Just another reason to buy more guns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Canon Safe has sponsored Steel Challenge , I won the same safe you are looking at a few years back. = Its a great safe. the shipper was hard on it and must have laid it flat in shipping and one of the inner panels came louse . it was easy to fix. I recommend going to safe guys that support the sports when you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lppd4 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Just curious, what is your budget? I purchased a Liberty safe. I've not only been happy with the construction, durability, and security built into the unit itself but I'm also extremely happy with both the warranty and the customer service. I also have a Remington safe made by Liberty I am curious if you had the need for customer service/warranty and if so the nature of same. I have had no issues with mine and it is about 15 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 I have a pallet jack to move a safe, neighbors who have endured torturous safe moves and a grnd. floor shop where my safe will live. I'll bolt it to the floor once in place. If I had to deal with steps up or down to different floors it'll be the movers job. I have to leave the house unattended and I want my mind free from concern while I'm at work or on vacation. Several forum reply's indicate house invasions are all to real. Homeowners insurance covers bare minimums on gun and jewelry reimbursement. A closer look at additional insurance writers to cover guns and jewelry stolen, with values above $2500 for both guns and jewelry run $1 per $100 value per yr. $25K in unrecoverable stolen guns and jewelry is about $250 additional premium a year on top of your renters or homeowners insurance, which is already pretty expensive. Add more guns, a late family members jewelry, your uncle or grandfathers old but valuable guns and you may be bumping $40K - $50K. Had any of your wife's jewelry appraised lately? My wife's wedding ring is 3X what it cost. We are already above the homeowners insurance policy cap of $2500.00. In other words, Pretty easy to justify the cost of a safe if that additional homeomners/renters insurance writer costs you $250-$500 yearly. Just food for thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMartens Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I went with Cabela's scratch & dent sale. Got a great price and had it delivered. Not much choice as it had to go down basement steps. Three moving guys, 45 minutes, and some unkind words later it was in place. The moving guy had one suggestion, sell it with the house. The safe was made by Canon and I have had zero complaints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 Thanks for the great information guys. Keep it coming. Someone needs to post a video of the moving guys on a really tough job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Everyone tells me buy a safe 25% bigger than what you think I need. My wife's jewelry boxes will go in as well as any other valuable's and paperwork. Did you have your safe delivered or did you have a local neighborhood beer and pizza crew? You let your wife see inside your gun safe? Wife looking over shoulder - best line ever - "is that a new gun in there - no I am just keeping that one for a friend..........." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Got mine from Cabelas, which I think is really a Liberty safe with Cabela's name on it. Unfortunately, we knew it was 1/2" too wide for the doorway of the room we wanted it in. OK, no big deal, we built the house so I figured I could yank the jam and rehang it. Did that, but then we realized that if we're ever going to paint that room, we better do it before the safe was installed. Between Mrs and I we can paint a room pretty quickly, so the room got painted. Installed safe, which was easy because plenty of room since the door jam was gone. Rehung the door jam and was nailing on the trim when Mrs said to hold off on replacing the trim on the hallway since she wanted to paint that wall while we had all the drop cloths et al out. So one new safe turned into a day of home improvement. If we ever move, the safe will stay with the house. The next house I build, I'm going to build it around the safe, or all the doorways will be at least 2'10" wide or maybe 3-0's. Hey, gotta plan for getting older and potentially the need for things like walkers and wheelchairs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 The next house needs a poured concrete safe room, say 10 ft. by 12 ft. with a vault door. You can tell your wife it doubles as a wine cellar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I think most "gun safes" are a scam anyway. It's pretty hard to find one that's made out of thick enough plate to deter a good thief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colt22man Posted January 17, 2011 Author Share Posted January 17, 2011 My brother had his home burglarized, took all his wife's jewelry, big screen tv, 1 gun that wasn't locked up in a gun safe, personal belongings, but they had 4 hrs. to mess with the safe and choose to ignore the gun safe. Ransacked the bedroom, flipped mattress's, pulled all the drawers from dressers and ransacked the cloths in the closet looking for jewelry. I went into safe mode and settled on a winchester silverado 45 I found on sale. 1100 lbs. - 18 1.5 inch bolts, seems pretty well built, the 18 1.5 inch bolts are pretty impressive. Unless it is chained to a tractor and an attempt is made to drag it from the home, it should stay in place and provide protection for valuables for many years. I don't want to move it again. Thanks for all the input on this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I think most "gun safes" are a scam anyway. It's pretty hard to find one that's made out of thick enough plate to deter a good thief. It's a matter of how many 9's of protection you want. One 9 means 90% of the thieves won't open it, two 9s means 99% won't. Gun safes are typically 12gauge; 10gauge or 3/16" (with some thicker or multi-walled units). Virtually none (except one of the AMSECs) come with a TL15 or TL30 rating - and even such a rating simply means "cannot be opened in 15 (or 30) minutes using tools, other than a torch, one person can carry". Move up to TRTL60x6 and you have 60 minutes, all 6 sides, including torch. The only problem is that such a unit (for example, the ISM Super Treasury) will not only weigh several tons, it will cost a ton of money - I'm talking tens of thousands. My guess is that any decent gun safe gives you at least one 9 of protection, and the better ones may approach two 9's. Abrasive grit blades for circular or reciprocating saws, angle grinder blades, metal cutting blades of any sort, carbide blades and cutting torch tips should be stored inside your safe since it is not unheard of for B&E artists to use tools they find on site to do a box job. Despite claims to the contrary, gun safes do not offer "bank vault like protection" ... but if you're burgled, your odds of still having your stuff go way up if you have one. seems pretty well built, the 18 1.5 inch bolts are pretty impressive. You're falling for the marketing - pay more attention to the overall weight of the safe and the thickness of the walls. Safe manufacturers like to advertise on strength, which is why you see all the talk about the bolts, hardplate in front of the lock, videos of people trying to sledgehammer a safe (but never ones of someone using a grit blade on a circular saw or torch to open the side door), and overall thickness gets only a passing mention - or is described in surpulatives that make 12 gauge sound like it's actually thick steel (it isn't). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 [it's a matter of how many 9's of protection you want. One 9 means 90% of the thieves won't open it, two 9s means 99% won't. I tried to add another 9 to the equation. If they can't find it, they can't crack it. Only my wife and I know where my gun safe is hidden, and she ain't talking. Unless they are a lot smarter than their career choice indicates, the crooks will most likely walk past it several times without knowing its there. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perf40 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Don't forget, you can write off a portion of the cost on your federal income tax if store your tax records and supporting documents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james57 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I sell gunsafes for Cabela's in KCKS, so I am not in your area to sell-but maybe this will help you out? I sell four to six per day and keep over 60+ in our store. Freight for one safe is an issue-be prepared for all the extra charges. Liberty has five Cabela's branded levels. I have sold Cannon, Stack On, and Champion and still do on special buys. Liberty is very good to work with. You will pay for what you get- your call on how thick the shell, what brand of lock, how much firerock, and how the lifetime warranty will work.Safe Mfg have many different levels- be sure to compare apples to apples. Safes are generally either 60 or 72 inches high. 72 makes it much more difficult to move as they get top heavy. Watch for return shipping charges on warranties. See if the locks are made where you can get warranty service-most locks are not covered more than five years even if the box is. By the way, one fire will destroy the firerock lining. Many safes are offshore mfg, just more difficult to deal with. Always bolt your safe down. You can't get enough weight inside to slow down a winch. Most semi professionals use cable, slings and winch for a 20 min removal. PM me if I can answer any questions. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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