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Just got a gun safe
Folks here (and most places) are concerned with theft or fire.
I moved to several homes in my life and one of the constant factors has been the gun cabinet my grandpa made for me.The problem is, my granddads cabinet is not in any way helpfull in keeping my guns safe or fire protected.
I have bought guns on credit and now realize that I have to protect my credit if not my status in the comunity.
I just bought a Winchester pony 42 gun safe for $888 (and tax for total $950 or so at Home of Economy ion Jamestown ND)
This is not a jewelry safe, but will slow down a pair of bad guys.
If you have a valuable gun collection, you have to protect it. Anyway look on YouTube and elsewhere to protect your investment.
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15 Replies
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Hi over here in England we have to have an appropriate safe fitted to a solid wall or floor, the police come around and check it before we even get a firearms license, and the key has to be only available for me to use , the police can come around anytime to check that all the conditions of my license as being followed
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Hi over here in England we have to have an appropriate safe fitted to a solid wall or floor, the police come around and check it before we even get a firearms license, and the key has to be only available for me to use , the police can come around anytime to check that all the conditions of my license as being followed
I sure hope it doesn't come to this in the US
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There are situations where a safe is not a practical option, in which case the next best alternative is to make theft difficult enough and time-consuming enough that the thieves give up, starting with an inconspicuous locking cabinet and then using trigger locks and other devices to make theft nearly impossible without also destroying the firearm. I only have long guns and none of them are particularly valuable so my concern if they're stolen is having them misused.
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Hi over here in England we have to have an appropriate safe fitted to a solid wall or floor, the police come around and check it before we even get a firearms license, and the key has to be only available for me to use , the police can come around anytime to check that all the conditions of my license as being followed
The same here ! It has to be the approved kind too.
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Getting a safe is a very good move. I have a friend who has a very nice collection of old lever rifles and SAA Colts, along with a bunch of other handguns and rifles, and he doesn't have a safe!!! One of these days he is gonna get cleaned out. He knows he needs to get one. I hope he does before it's too late.
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I have a practical question for you guys with safes:
If you bolted them to concrete floor how did you manage to locate holes and slide safe back over?
Here is my plan for this 800# or so safe.
Slide it into place (garage, concrete floor)
Mark holes on concrete
Slide safe away and drill holes with 5/8 impact drill/carbide bit.
Slide 1/2 inch horse stall pad over holes, mark locations(maybe use cardboard template) and hole saw the stall pad.
Move pad over holes
Oil or dish soap pad to allow safe to slide, and shove safe over pad to match holes holes
Set fastenall anchors with setting tool and torque boltsMy question is how do I keep pad from sliding when I push safe?
Your stories and advice welcome!
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Hi I just put the safe where I wanted it used the holes that are there in the safe has a template , mark them , move the safe to one side then drill , I wouldn't use dish soap has it contains a lot of salt and might have a detrimental effect on the safe / floor
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Ah thanks Larkin! My goal with the rubber horse stall pad was to avoid any corrosion from moisture from the slab. I will be sure to use some petrolium based lube.
Freaking 800 lbs… I need more local, reliable friends lolJust an aside, I used to shoot trap and have 400 lbs of 7.5 shot… I plan to store that in the safe also lol- unless the advertised 42 gun is wildly inaccurate (it is inaccurate just not sure if it is wildly so).
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Over here in England the number of gun the safe manufacturers quote is for guns without scopes or other accessories fitted , they also have them so close together it would be hard to get them in and out without damaging them , my safe is made to hold 12 , I consider it about right with my 3 rifles with the scopes and accessories fitted but I'm really ocd about them and where I've put it its not easy to get to , I had limited places where I could fit it as all my internal walls are made of compressed straw , and has to be in a room with no direct access to an out side door ,
The police officer who came to check it over , told me he's come across someone that had just been screwed to the wall with every day screws and plastic plugs and heads of bolts stuck over to fool them , which seems to me more trouble than doing it correctly, but saying that we have a special type of idiot are here , I think we specialise in breeding them lol -
What I would do…
Position the safe (and any pad or moisture barrier) and drill from the inside of the safe down into concrete. Over drill the safe floor if needed to clear the anchors. Bolt it down- no need to move or reposition. If you can bolt floor and wall its even better.
Use “gun socks” to prevent dings and scratches and alternate long guns muzzle up-muzzle down. I can get 43 guns in a 30 gun safe.
If the safe is on a wood floor with subspace basement or crawlspace, support it with steel underneath. I know of a guy that lost a nice collection inspite of his expensive fireproof safe, not theft or to the fire, but because the fire burned enough that the safe landed in a basement flooded by the firefighting efforts.
Use a golden rod or similar dehumidifier. -
Flooding is a real concern for me which has happened in the past – so basement was not an option. Thanks for the post, if it is too unmanageable, I will look at doing what you suggest. I have a golden rod (clone) so humidity should not be a problem.
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I bought the Winchester 22 Gun safe from Tractor Supply Co. (TSC).
Although not a high end safe it is nice and works great.
My one recommend for anyone buying a safe is buy as biggest as you can afford right away as they are always rated higher than what they will realistically carry and if you buy more guns they fill fast. My 22 gun is already full haha.
There is tricks so moving the safes no matter how big they are, placing them on cardboard helps slide them across different floors types. Pushing from one corner slightly putting pressure onto the back corner puts less pressure on floor and makes them move easier. Can actually be moved by one person rather easliy if you know where to apply pressure. -
You can move one on same level pretty easy if you tip it a little and put some 1/2″ pvc or round wood dowels to roll on. golf balls also work great if its not a wood floor surface (will mar wood with grooves if heavy enough). If you have to, use a flat prybar to lift an edge up to start.
Just put it where you want it. Drill from inside the cabinet and use washers when you bolt it down.another safe story…
There was a guy who was well known at gun shows, used to brag about his collection and his big honkin superduper gun safe. He was known as a buyer and collector and lived in a rural part of Iowa.
He came home one day to find house parts scattered about his yard and drive and a great big hole in the back of his house. Somebody had backed a vehicle up to the house, probably a tow truck, kicked in the back door and run a chain around his safe. They pulled it out and drove away with it. Presumably so they could take their time peeling it open somewhere else.
The moral of the story is: Don't advertise the stuff you want to keep. -
Just imagine the damage to the contents!
Not a trick but I find that it's very easy to tip a big safe by opening the door and then tipping the safe towards the hinges to place your roller- then close door and it will push easy. Open the door all the way before you tip since that door is heavy!
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You're correct about the door. A significant part of the weight is the door. Some safes use a pin hinge that will allow you to lift the door up and off the hinges which sometimes makes moving them a little easier.
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