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I keep wondering when/if I should purchase a gun safe. I have 3 handguns (2 in my EDC rotation, 1 set up for home defense that rarely sees carry) and one AR. The handguns are all in locked handgun safes (the home defense weapon has its own) near the bed. AR stored in a locked case.

My sons are both teenagers who have both been trained to shoot, but I keep the guns inaccessible to them as law and logic would dictate.

My main considerations for potentially purchasing a safe are theft mitigation as well as the ability to keep the AR more readily available for defensive purposes. As it is now, I'd have to unlock the case, load mags, etc. Basically, the AR is not a defensive option in my current setup.

For those who have purchased safes, why did you purchase when you did?

For those who've consciously decided not to purchase one, how did you arrive at that decision?

Thanks!
FloMoAggie

A gun safe is always a good idea. I bought mine because of my growing collection and I was building a new house.

Do yourself a favor and go to a real safe store. A good one will show you the differences over the safes you see in big box stores. The one I used is THE SAFE COMPANY in Garland. They have used safes too, which can save you money.

One more tip: Whatever safe you think you need, double it. That's typically where those used safes come from... people who bought too small.

ETA: Have it bolted down.

You can never have too much ammo or a large enough safe. Buy big. My friend spent a fortune on a safe with a dial combination. Takes forever to open. I bought one with a keypad and opens fast. Mine is for theft prevention. I know there are fire ratings, etc. but all I care about is theft.

Buy the largest you can afford/have space for. I like the dial, not electronic push button, but I am just old fashioned.
My brother has a large one, push button with motion and open door sensor, it is very nice.

Gun safes are great, but it all depends on your budget, not just for the safe, but for future guns. If you plan to stay in your house for some time, and have the budget to get more guns at some point, then you want a decent sized safe as others have pointed out. I looked into it not too long ago, and found two good choices from Liberty and Browning. A-1 Locksmith is a chain of stores that has some on display. Having a power outlet near the safe is very helpful, then you can get a golden rod for humidity, and a light for inside the safe.

There are choices from $500 to over $5000, so it just depends on what you think you might need for the future. If you just want something for your AR, then you have a few choices like the ones listed here: http://preparedgunowners.com/2017/02/02 ... our-ar-15/

FloMoAggie wrote:I keep wondering when/if I should purchase a gun safe. I have 3 handguns (2 in my EDC rotation, 1 set up for home defense that rarely sees carry) and one AR. The handguns are all in locked handgun safes (the home defense weapon has its own) near the bed. AR stored in a locked case.

My sons are both teenagers who have both been trained to shoot, but I keep the guns inaccessible to them as law and logic would dictate.

My main considerations for potentially purchasing a safe are theft mitigation as well as the ability to keep the AR more readily available for defensive purposes. As it is now, I'd have to unlock the case, load mags, etc. Basically, the AR is not a defensive option in my current setup.

For those who have purchased safes, why did you purchase when you did?

For those who've consciously decided not to purchase one, how did you arrive at that decision?

Thanks!
FloMoAggie

I bought a safe when my kids were young, son was 3 and daughter was newborn. The purpose of buying a safe was to store guns and ammo, keep them away from the kids, and prevent theft.

I bought a 15 gun safe by Stack-On. It is fire-safe, and it has the electronic keypad, so I can open it quickly, however I keep my EDC and my home defense handgun in a biometric gunvault by the bedside. I bought my safe online from Wal-Mart, after price-shopping at other sporting goods outlets. It was a very good value. But like others have said, it's not big enough. I wish that it were twice as large, however, I think I will get another safe (not fireproof) the same size and store my ammo in it and probably keep some handguns, magazines, accessories, etc. in it, which will free up some room in my fireproof safe for more guns.

FloMoAggie wrote:I keep wondering when/if I should purchase a gun safe. I have 3 handguns (2 in my EDC rotation, 1 set up for home defense that rarely sees carry) and one AR. The handguns are all in locked handgun safes (the home defense weapon has its own) near the bed. AR stored in a locked case.

My sons are both teenagers who have both been trained to shoot, but I keep the guns inaccessible to them as law and logic would dictate.

My main considerations for potentially purchasing a safe are theft mitigation as well as the ability to keep the AR more readily available for defensive purposes. As it is now, I'd have to unlock the case, load mags, etc. Basically, the AR is not a defensive option in my current setup.

For those who have purchased safes, why did you purchase when you did?

For those who've consciously decided not to purchase one, how did you arrive at that decision?

Thanks!
FloMoAggie

Here's an old thread on gun safes you might want to review
http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... t=gun+safe

Pawpaw wrote:A gun safe is always a good idea. I bought mine because of my growing collection and I was building a new house.

Do yourself a favor and go to a real safe store. A good one will show you the differences over the safes you see in big box stores. The one I used is THE SAFE COMPANY in Garland. They have used safes too, which can save you money.

One more tip: Whatever safe you think you need, double it. That's typically where those used safes come from... people who bought too small.

ETA: Have it bolted down.

Great advice from start to finish!

FloMoAggie wrote:For those who have purchased safes, why did you purchase when you did?

As soon as I could afford one, I bought.

Buy way more size than you think you will ever need, because sooner than you can believe it will be full- even if not with guns.

I'll just echo what has been said so far. Buy for at least 2x what you think you're going to need. For me, I should have gone 3x or 4x what I thought I'd need. Even after going through varying ways to cram more in there (Rifle Rods, various pistol storage means, etc.) I am completely out of room.

I started with a cheap StackOn 'cabinet' but realized that wasn't going to fly. Shortly before my first daughter was born, I finally went to a 24 gun safe that I picked up at Costco, which was, at the time, more than I could ever need (or so I thought). After somehow managing to cram 38 long guns in there, I'm in a holding pattern. I've moved some pistols to a smaller executive safe type of box so I could get some room to keep other valuables in there, but it's a temporary solution. I have to be careful when I open the door.

When I had the room, it was nice to store ammo in there, but that didn't last long. I have to store it in my gun room outside the safe now. Fortunately, I live in a very dry climate, and store desiccant packs in the ammo cans & crates, so I'm not too worried.

Not sure what your budget is, but I'm looking at these and have heard very good things: https://rhinosafe.com/all-products/gun- ... ed-series/ (specifically the 76 gun model)

allisji wrote:I think I will get another safe (not fireproof) the same size and store my ammo in it and probably keep some handguns, magazines, accessories, etc. in it, which will free up some room in my fireproof safe for more guns.

For ammo storage, it's hard to beat the Liberty Ammo Can.

It's not a "gun safe" by any stretch of the imagination, but it'll keep the kids out and provide some security. Empty it weighs 270 lbs. With all the ammo I've got in mine, it's a heck of a lot heavier.

I have a 10 gun(no way will it hold 10 long arms) stack on that was a Christmas present a few years ago. It's adequate for anti theft, I also have a small keyes safe beside the bed for edc, at night it just lays on the nightstand in the open though. I also keep an old homemade gun rack hanging above the safe with a cheap pump 12 that's easy to get to for bumps in the night. Once the kids get old enough that they could get to it by dragging in something to stand on I'll start keeping the bedroom door locked as well.

Since we are sharing, my biggest challenge with a safe is figuring out how to mount one in a newer house with a post tension slab. I don't want to void my warranty or break a cable. An appropriate mounting solution is going to either look weird or get very expensive. Epoxy is an option but quite permanent.

The first thing to keep in mind is that any safe can be opened by someone determined to open it. You need to use layers of protection (like an alarm, safe, cameras etc.) along with insurance if you are worried about theft. I do not see the point of buying a high dollar safe unless you have an heirloom firearm that cannot be replaced, a safe is really just to slow thieves down (but some can offer some protection from fire and other natural disasters. It is a different story if you are trying to keep firearms away from children but I can buy a lot of firearms for what some of the higher end safes cost. If you only need a smaller safe that offers high security look for a used TL30 safe. They are much harder to get into and very heavy. Another deterrent is to make sure the safe is bolted down to the floor. Just my 2 cents.

SQLGeek wrote:Since we are sharing, my biggest challenge with a safe is figuring out how to mount one in a newer house with a post tension slab. I don't want to void my warranty or break a cable. An appropriate mounting solution is going to either look weird or get very expensive. Epoxy is an option but quite permanent.

My house has a post tension slab and installing it was no problem at all. The cables are way deeper than the anchors.

SQLGeek wrote:Since we are sharing, my biggest challenge with a safe is figuring out how to mount one in a newer house with a post tension slab. I don't want to void my warranty or break a cable. An appropriate mounting solution is going to either look weird or get very expensive. Epoxy is an option but quite permanent.

I bolted mine through the back into a stud in the wall, not as secure as anchors in the slab, but it is on a floating laminate floor. From what I have seen second hand most thieves won't stick around long enough to try to take it off the wall or bust it open, they'll just take the tv's and laptops and run.