I need a new safe when I move to Texas.

Currently I have a Liberty Safe (Franklin series), but I sold it with the house.

I want something that will stand up to prying attempts ad I know that the thickness of the door/sides is important. (ie 1/4 door is thicker than 18ga)

What brands are good.

Currently I store about 14 long guns and 10 handguns, and a bunch important papers (taxes, old taxes info, jewelry, etc)

I can add interior lights on my own, it will be indoors so no need for a goldenrod, it will be attached to the floor (slab) and/or walls...

What else do I need to know??
What's a good brand?

Always remember the cardinal rule of safes.

Always buy a larger safe than you think you will need.

You will run out of space. You will.

Also, from Stack-On to AMSEC, what is your budget? Do you need fire/water/theft/the kitchen sink protection? It is just going to be a smash 'n' grab, type of safe?

H&K-Guy

^^ hahah I know!!

Mrs. Mike says I can do what I want...I'm grown

I’ve been very happy with my Fort Knox safe. Good people to deal with imo. Only one real problem, I need more room

Graffunder is nice...

http://www.graffundersafes.com

Recently saw secureit gun storage setup on wranglerstar YouTube channel. Interesting concept (mobility). A separate fireproof safe for paper valuables makes sense also.

https://youtu.be/DJD1gZNC1EM

https://www.secureitgunstorage.com

I've heard that Sturdy Safe is good. LINK


Bear Safe is local to me, I've heard they're good. They are a small company, been around for a long time. I'll be talking to them for a new Safe soon. Bear Safes link. From their website: In over 30 years and hundreds of attacks, we have never had a safe forced open nor have we had to repair a safe due to an attempted break-in.

Neither of these 2 manufacturers sell cheap safes. Price is what you pay, value is what you get.

Good luck to you.

Just bought an American Security 36 gunsafe, really like it. Only thing I was not sure about it was the electronic push button lock, but I’m growing to like it. It’s a little over 700 lbs, added a battery powered led light from Home Depot. It’s a little over $1000.00 out the door. Very happy with it.

I've had an AMSEC for 25 years. The electronic lock went out last year, so I replaced it with a dial/electronic combo lock. Very secure, I came home from vacation once and the door to my house was gone, but the safe was only scratched up a bit. A can of spray paint fixed it. Not pretty, but secure.

I've always bought a used commercial quality safe. Get one in good condition and it will last a lifetime without any problems.
The only downside, it may take a while to find what you want.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
I’ve been very happy with my Fort Knox safe. Good people to deal with imo. Only one real problem, I need more room

Ditto this. I splurged and got the black with gold dial and handle. Looks great in the house.

The only way to know how good your safe is would involve an attempted burglary or fire. Everybody is pleased with their safes because they look good and the door opens and closes, but that's not the primary purpose of the safe.

Sadly many find out that their safes aren't that great after suffering a loss.

The broad brush answer is that it depends. It depends on what you want to spend, where you're planning on placing it, the value you place on the level of protection the safe offers (not what the sticker on the door says), etc.

a1abdj,

I realize the Liberty I have now can easily entered by tipping it over and using a skill saw with a brick blade and peeling the side or back...I want something that is around 2k and is secure.

Thicker skin a good S&W dial, fire rated for about an hour...

I love my Cannon safe . Best warranty service . During the flood of 2016 it went under 4 feet of water . They shipped me a new , larger model at no cost to me .

Almost everything in a gun safe package in that price range is going to have an 11 gauge body. The AMSEC NF line gives you a 1/4" plate door.

Sturdy gives you some heavier body material but I do not trust their fire protection.

I don't know what part of the world you're in, but you can find used composite burglary safes in the $2,500 to $3,000 range that are large enough for guns. Much better protection than what a gun safe will offer, but uglier.

I have a Champion and a AMSEC, I like them both.
Both cost about $2000.
My purchase decision was made more around the fire protection rating than the security, though both will hold off most threat attempts.

I really like my AMSEC BF safe. I bought bigger than I needed and now I need a bigger safe! I feel from research I had done way back when that it has better security than many safes. I like the fact of how thick of a steel plate the door has to prevent someone from prying it open. It also has good fire protection.

If it is 11 gauge steel or weaker - it's an easy 5-10 minute chop through with a quality axe. Just something to keep in mind.

I'm happy with my Sturdy safe purchase but our resident guru correctly points out that mine also has not been tested. I did drill through the floor (4) 1/2" holes. I ran 1/2" all thread down and mounted (2) 6x6's perpendicular to the floor joists. This was to prevent tip over and discourage (or at least slow down) folks who might want to drag it out to work on it elsewhere

It's not perfect but it is a reasonable fix. When we were going to build a new house I was going to build a concrete safe room but we bought an older house instead so now I have to figure out what the long-term solution is.

Mark

We bought Diamond Backed safes for our home.