Gun safe recommendation

[SStomcat]

Yes. The shotgun pictured is with a 32" barrel.
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Pendleton safe, you can even order two with doors opening on opposite sides. The interior rotates as well.

Home | Pendleton Safes | Custom Gun Safes

Pendleton Safes are built for security to store your gun collection and valuables. Order your safe and stand today - proudly made in the USA.

www.pendletonsafes.com

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That's the price of a nice safari, probably more...

 

[mdwest]

A bugler who shows up to a residence with a two wheel dolly and or a angle grinder likely has some inside information on what is inside of the home.

Exactly.

A middle class house is not the typical target of a professional individual or crew. Far more often than not when theft is an issue in a middle class home, its either someone known to the homeowner (family member, friend, housekeeper, construction worker doing a renovation, etc), and they are walking out with something that can fit in a pocket that they think wont be missed for a while..

Decoy safes and other ruses are a waste of time and money (and space) for the typical middle income family.. pro's dont rob homes where they can get $10K worth the stuff.. and crackheads rob lower income houses that are within walking distance of their own place...

If youre buying a gun safe as a middle income earner for protection against a burglary.. statistically youre wasting your money... the reasons to own a safe for a middle income family include fire protection (not going to do you any good in a total house fire unless you buy a very expensive safe.. but can certainly save your possessions if you have a kitchen fire, etc. that gets a little out of control before the fire dept gets there), safety (keep kids and others (friends that are idiots, etc) away from your firearms), and convienience (1 place to store all of your firearms instead of having them all over the place, or filling up a closet, etc)..

I was a cop for several years in both a semi rural community for a little while, and then in a major metro area for a fairly long while.. I worked a good number of burglaries.. and know of a much larger number worked by others.. never once am I aware of a middle income home being hit by a burglar where anything more than a tertiary attempt was made by a thief to get into any sort of safe (to include low end ones).. Im also unaware of any common theifs (friend, family member, housekeeper, dog sitter, baby sitter, etc) stealing guns from a locked safe in any middle income home in all the years I worked..

its simply not "a thing"... baby sitters and crackheads dont bring box trucks, angle grinders, etc and arent trained in lockpicking or safe cracking... and pros dont target middle income houses.. its not worth their time or effort..

 

[JimP]

Years ago in one of the gun magazines there were some plans for a firearm storage system for those who homes were sitting on a slab or had a crawlspace. You had to dig a hole down into the dirt and place a large PVC pipe into it with a cap on one end that had a turntable above it. You would lower your rifles into this pipe and rotate the turntable to where you could get the next rifle in. There were various idea for the top from a very secure combo lock to just another cap that was screwed on.

Naturally this was placed in a location where you had a trapdoor or something along that nature to access it.

 

[SStomcat]

Exactly.

A middle class house is not the typical target of a professional individual or crew. Far more often than not when theft is an issue in a middle class home, its either someone known to the homeowner (family member, friend, housekeeper, construction worker doing a renovation, etc), and they are walking out with something that can fit in a pocket that they think wont be missed for a while..

Decoy safes and other ruses are a waste of time and money (and space) for the typical middle income family.. pro's dont rob homes where they can get $10K worth the stuff.. and crackheads rob lower income houses that are within walking distance of their own place...

If youre buying a gun safe as a middle income earner for protection against a burglary.. statistically youre wasting your money... the reasons to own a safe for a middle income family include fire protection (not going to do you any good in a total house fire unless you buy a very expensive safe.. but can certainly save your possessions if you have a kitchen fire, etc. that gets a little out of control before the fire dept gets there), safety (keep kids and others (friends that are idiots, etc) away from your firearms), and convienience (1 place to store all of your firearms instead of having them all over the place, or filling up a closet, etc)..

I was a cop for several years in both a semi rural community for a little while, and then in a major metro area for a fairly long while.. I worked a good number of burglaries.. and know of a much larger number worked by others.. never once am I aware of a middle income home being hit by a burglar where anything more than a tertiary attempt was made by a thief to get into any sort of safe (to include low end ones).. Im also unaware of any common theifs (friend, family member, housekeeper, dog sitter, baby sitter, etc) stealing guns from a locked safe in any middle income home in all the years I worked..

its simply not "a thing"... baby sitters and crackheads dont bring box trucks, angle grinders, etc and arent trained in lockpicking or safe cracking... and pros dont target middle income houses.. its not worth their time or effort..

I’m not sure I quite get the argument. A middle-income guy can be single, a gun enthusiast, and buy firearms either as a passion or as a trade. Over a relatively short period, he could easily accumulate a sizable investment.

But because he’s “middle class,” he shouldn’t secure that investment in a safe? Or should he just live with the assumption that burglars somehow skip over middle-class homes?

 

[Russ16]

Exactly.

A middle class house is not the typical target of a professional individual or crew. Far more often than not when theft is an issue in a middle class home, its either someone known to the homeowner (family member, friend, housekeeper, construction worker doing a renovation, etc), and they are walking out with something that can fit in a pocket that they think wont be missed for a while..

Decoy safes and other ruses are a waste of time and money (and space) for the typical middle income family.. pro's dont rob homes where they can get $10K worth the stuff.. and crackheads rob lower income houses that are within walking distance of their own place...

If youre buying a gun safe as a middle income earner for protection against a burglary.. statistically youre wasting your money... the reasons to own a safe for a middle income family include fire protection (not going to do you any good in a total house fire unless you buy a very expensive safe.. but can certainly save your possessions if you have a kitchen fire, etc. that gets a little out of control before the fire dept gets there), safety (keep kids and others (friends that are idiots, etc) away from your firearms), and convienience (1 place to store all of your firearms instead of having them all over the place, or filling up a closet, etc)..

I was a cop for several years in both a semi rural community for a little while, and then in a major metro area for a fairly long while.. I worked a good number of burglaries.. and know of a much larger number worked by others.. never once am I aware of a middle income home being hit by a burglar where anything more than a tertiary attempt was made by a thief to get into any sort of safe (to include low end ones).. Im also unaware of any common theifs (friend, family member, housekeeper, dog sitter, baby sitter, etc) stealing guns from a locked safe in any middle income home in all the years I worked..

its simply not "a thing"... baby sitters and crackheads dont bring box trucks, angle grinders, etc and arent trained in lockpicking or safe cracking... and pros dont target middle income houses.. its not worth their time or effort..

This is my thinking exactly. I care about the fire protection, although I know it is not complete. I also think it deters the random unplanned break in from easily grabbing a gun. At least much more than the glass fronted gun cabinet of old, which is where they were kept when I was a kid. Added to that is keeping them away from kids if any happen to come in the house.

I also like the climate control element, of having them in an enclosed space with a dehumidifier. You have to keep them somewhere and I don't like keeping them in cases where moisture can be trapped, especially in our humid environment.

 

[Tanks]

What's the point of buying the gun safe then?

Three reasons. First it does protect it from a casual thief, as it would take him/her, if he is an expert locksmith, about 2 hours to break into it (asked the safe person that delivered and installed it). Second, insurance purposes, it is required both by insurance company that insures my girlfriend's jewelry and the company that insures my firearms. And finally, CA state law that says I'd be liable if someone broke in and stole firearms that were not stored in a safe.

Additionally, house is surrounded by Ring cameras plus an alarm system, and I do have neighbors take care of the garbage cans when we travel (and vice versa).

 

[Sabre]

Years ago in one of the gun magazines there were some plans for a firearm storage system for those who homes were sitting on a slab or had a crawlspace. You had to dig a hole down into the dirt and place a large PVC pipe into it with a cap on one end that had a turntable above it. You would lower your rifles into this pipe and rotate the turntable to where you could get the next rifle in. There were various idea for the top from a very secure combo lock to just another cap that was screwed on.

Naturally this was placed in a location where you had a trapdoor or something along that nature to access it.

That sounds more like a really good assembly line to rust all your rifles.

 

[Tanks]

That's the price of a nice safari, probably more...

How you do one thing is how you do everything.
Buy once, cry once.

 

[375Ruger416]

Would like one of these, Craig Boddington endorses. https://www.pendletonsafes.com/pages/. However, they are not inexpensive and will need professional delivery.

However, I have one of these:https://www.snapsafe.com/modular-safes/. I believe Hornady owns now. It is ‘fire safe’ but I believe that is mostly a myth. However, it is modular so I was able to put it where I want it and can take it with me if I move.

Likewise, I recently bought some things from https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/agile-modular-gun-safes/. I have an ‘Agile’ gun safe. Very user friendly and great organization. Can screw to the ground. I have one of their gun walls to organize my gun room which is great too. Uses the safe shelves and organizers as the wall. They had a Black Friday sale that was quite good.

For my money, I’d look at the snapsafe or the secureitstorage stuff. Hope that helps.

 

[TOBY458]

Serious recommendation here...

NEVER buy a gun safe the size that you currently need.. always buy bigger than you think you will ever need..

also.. understand that whatever a gun safe advertises its capacity as.. cut that number by at least 1/3... depending on what type of guns you have, whether or not they have optics on them, etc.. you might need to cut that number by 1/2..

I have a 48 gun liberty "fat boy".. If I get really aggressive and play magical levels of tetris in there I can get MAYBE 32 long guns in the safe...

When I bought it I thought "I'll never fill this thing".. but I caught it on a great sale (on 50% off clearance when Gander Mountain was going out of business)... so I bought it..

Now the safe is full.. I have a 8 gun cabinet that is full.. and there are another dozen or so firearms scattered all around the house (hidden in coffee tables, bed side tables, in closets, in desk drawers, in the bed footboard, etc..etc.. and Im considering buying another 48 gun safe so that I can consolidate the collection...

What’s your address? lol!

 

[Whit]

Nothing beats a purpose-built vault! I sold Fort Knox safes on the side for 25y when the original owners ran the show. They are Still nothing like them in today's market. Had 4 survive home invasions (incl one in my own house 45y ago) and 3 survive substantial fires with only one having some water damage to the contents from an overzealous fireman. Most of what I see today are not much better than a steel door on a closet with a good dead bolt. They might deter a couple kids who break into your house, most who are more interested in you liquor cabinet than your guns.

Sounds like what I'd want... recommendations how to find a used model?

 

[Sabre]

Would like one of these, Craig Boddington endorses. https://www.pendletonsafes.com/pages/. However, they are not inexpensive and will need professional delivery.

However, I have one of these:https://www.snapsafe.com/modular-safes/. I believe Hornady owns now. It is ‘fire safe’ but I believe that is mostly a myth. However, it is modular so I was able to put it where I want it and can take it with me if I move.

Likewise, I recently bought some things from https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/agile-modular-gun-safes/. I have an ‘Agile’ gun safe. Very user friendly and great organization. Can screw to the ground. I have one of their gun walls to organize my gun room which is great too. Uses the safe shelves and organizers as the wall. They had a Black Friday sale that was quite good.

For my money, I’d look at the snapsafe or the secureitstorage stuff. Hope that helps.

What bothers me about the Secureit safes is the price for what you are getting. Most of them fit very few long guns in them for about the same price as a comparable "fire safe". I do like the weight savings over the fire safes, but if you are cutting out all the "fire safe" product and manufacturing from the product, you should see a significant cost savings.

 

[SStomcat]

How you do one thing is how you do everything.
Buy once, cry once.

Or cheap is expensive or expensive is cheap. Wish I could afford to spend that much

 

[Tanks]

Or cheap is expensive or expensive is cheap. Wish I could afford to spend that much

I have always saved my money until I could pay for quality over cheaper alternatives.

 

[Aaron N]

Store More Guns with Rifle Rods, Handgun Hangers & More -GSS

Secure Gun Storage & Organization Products For Gun Safes, Vault Rooms, or Gun Shops. Retrofit your storage space with more guns, accessibility, & functionality.

www.storemoreguns.com

I use this velcro and plastic rod system and fit way more guns into the gun safes. It gets rid of the barrel racks that dont really work anyway

I use gunsocks to avoid safe rash and use the velco tags used by cable installers so I know what gun is inside the sock

I have remodeled the interior of all of my safes to accommodate different lengths of rifles. One is all pistols with shelving at 9 inch intervals from the bottom of the safe, one all lever guns, one is rifles with 30 inch barrels, ar rifles etc

always buy the biggest safe you can fit and afford. It wont be enough.

I use 2 of the rod type dehumidifiers in each safe (in case one fails). Cheap insurance against rust

I have the safes elevated a couple of inches above the slab in case of spills.

All are bolted to the slab. The safes slow down thieves and keeps kids out of where they should not be.

The rods are a godsend for increased capacity

 

[HankBuck]

You are right, I always forget this, that in the US most houses are built from wood and plaster. Here in Belgium, houses are almost always built with concrete floors and ceilings, and brick walls (even for inside walls).

@VertigoBE - WOW, I’m having my Next Home built in BELGIUM !! You guys know how to build a house that will last !

A bugler who shows up to a residence with a two wheel dolly and or a angle grinder likely has some inside information on what is inside of the home.

@JimP i think years ago you’d be correct however the improvement in portable battery pack tools has vastly improved - easy to carry, spare batteries, a good small circular saw with carbide blade can cut thru a lot of steel, same with drills. I also think some burglary’s are planned ie: you have a plumber come into your home to repair a sink…he notices your taxidermy = guns? He tells one of his friends d Now your home can become a target….even though You are careful Not to openly display your firearms etc.. I believe a good safe is very helpful deterring or preventing most thefts and the better ones absolutely survive many fires with little or no damage to contents — the door “seal” is as important as the fire proofing material insulating the safe — a poor or improper seal and contents ruined by heat and smoke damage, gases etc..

 

[Tanks]

Store More Guns with Rifle Rods, Handgun Hangers & More -GSS

Secure Gun Storage & Organization Products For Gun Safes, Vault Rooms, or Gun Shops. Retrofit your storage space with more guns, accessibility, & functionality.

www.storemoreguns.com

I use this velcro and plastic rod system and fit way more guns into the gun safes. It gets rid of the barrel racks that dont really work anyway

I use gunsocks to avoid safe rash and use the velco tags used by cable installers so I know what gun is inside the sock

I have remodeled the interior of all of my safes to accommodate different lengths of rifles. One is all pistols with shelving at 9 inch intervals from the bottom of the safe, one all lever guns, one is rifles with 30 inch barrels, ar rifles etc

always buy the biggest safe you can fit and afford. It wont be enough.

I use 2 of the rod type dehumidifiers in each safe (in case one fails). Cheap insurance against rust

I have the safes elevated a couple of inches above the slab in case of spills.

All are bolted to the slab. The safes slow down thieves and keeps kids out of where they should not be.

One of the reasons I bought the Pendleton safes was the fact that it would rotate to provide me access to everything without me having to move some guns out of the way to have access to those in the back or the guns banging into each other.

The shelves inside are configurable. As a matter of fact, I will replace the middle shelf with one that has more slots to give me more room for longer shotguns and rifles and move extra pistols to my other safe.

 

[JimP]

@VertigoBE - WOW, I’m having my Next Home built in BELGIUM !! You guys know how to build a house that will last !

@JimP i think years ago you’d be correct however the improvement in portable battery pack tools has vastly improved - easy to carry, spare batteries, a good small circular saw with carbide blade can cut thru a lot of steel, same with drills. I also think some burglary’s are planned ie: you have a plumber come into your home to repair a sink…he notices your taxidermy = guns? He tells one of his friends d Now your home can become a target….even though You are careful Not to openly display your firearms etc.. I believe a good safe is very helpful deterring or preventing most thefts and the better ones absolutely survive many fires with little or no damage to contents — the door “seal” is as important as the fire proofing material insulating the safe — a poor or improper seal and contents ruined by heat and smoke damage, gases etc..

I'll still say that the common burglar if there is one won't be packing a backpack or tool bag with these types of tools in them. They would be way too obvious.

Now if someone knows what you have inside your home and decides that he wants it he'll get it.

But packing tools around and then carrying multiple items out to a vehicle in multiple trips, I just don't see it.

Crooks want to get in and get out with what they can put in their pockets or a small bag. They don't want to hang around inside a home working on opening up a safe while they are making all kinds of noise.

 

[HankBuck]

I'll still say that the common burglar if there is one won't be packing a backpack or tool bag with these types of tools in them. They would be way too obvious.

Now if someone knows what you have inside your home and decides that he wants it he'll get it.

But packing tools around and then carrying multiple items out to a vehicle in multiple trips, I just don't see it.

Crooks want to get in and get out with what they can put in their pockets or a small bag. They don't want to hang around inside a home working on opening up a safe while they are making all kinds of noise.

@JimP: Firearms are also easy to sell on the street (especially Handguns) and often bring more $$ then when purchased New - Unlike a Rolex which might sell New for $15,000 and a stolen one for 10% of that. I think you’re right that most Burglaries are committed by opportunists (see an unoccupied home = Low risk of getting caught) and break in to steal whatever is easy and of value - a good safe prevents that type of thief and also prevents a Crowbar/Ax type of tool to open the safe. Many burglars will use a Tool found-in-the-house to assist in breaking into cabinets & locker type containers….everyone has a hammer or screwdriver lying around.
I can’t see any downside to having a good safe - unless it’s the “cost” and everyone has their priorities on Cost. If a Safe was Free and installed for Free - do you think most firearm owners would have one?

 

[SStomcat]

Found this interesting-