ppkheat

I have two safes a Cannon and a Stack-On.

A. Once you get your safe it certainly is best not to "advertise" it in your community, as it might be a magnet for a BG to "visit" you one day. Discard your safe packaging material (or address labels) away from where you live. You wouldn't want to give the waste management guys any ideas.
B. Regarding putting a safe upstairs, I'd hate to be in on that task, especially if it is as big as mine are. If it gets away from you going up stairs it's going to be serious. Someone makes a safe that is delivered to you in parts, you could bring the parts upstairs and assemble it in place. Sorry I don't remember the company name.
C. I have one safe sitting on a hardwood floor, I could see a great risk in it ruining the floor as I put it in place. We tilted the safe back on a piece of carpet, and put some pipes under it and rolled it on the hardwood floor right to the spot I needed, then tilted it back and removed the pipes. Didn't the Egyptians or someone do that with stones long ago?
D. Both of my safes are fire-resistant and that was important to me.
E. Anchoring a safe is great, but neither of mine are bolted down, both are big, full of stuff and extra heavy. BG's will be at the ER needing hernia repairs and back surgery dealing with these two safes. I work out of my house, we have an alarm, etc, etc, so my risk for break-in is possible, but I think pretty low.
F. I live in a humid state, and don't use a humidifier or dessicant in my safe. I've had the Cannon for about 15 years? No sign of any problem. My safes are inside the environment of my house and it's usually about <30% in here. If my safes were in a basement or garage then yes, I'd consider something to counteract humidity.
G. I hope this helps......don't lose your combination.

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ccw9mm

Good point. Layered defenses are just as important when considering a safe.

A safe buys you time, that's all, as all safes can be broken into, given enough time.

So. If you're going to have a 100 lb "safe" then you should consider that anyone could simply carry it right out the door. Even with a 1500 lb unit, it simply needs a suitable hand truck, then away it goes.

Don't believe it? I watched my installer float the dang thing around the floor with two fingers, once it was on the hand truck he brought. Point is: with the right tools, it's simply not as difficult as some hypothesize, even for one person. Granted, he needed a stout lift gate, but between those two tools [gate, hand truck], that's all he needed for DIY movement and installation/removal. My installer didn't get a hernia nor need hospital time. He simply got a little bigger, that week, from schlepping two dozen safes from here to there, by himself. The right tools are a great thing, and they can make child's play out of doing this with even a great, heavy safe.

Bolting it down buys time. Having an alert 4-legged friend on-guard buys time. Having a monitored alarm system with police response buys time. Without any of those, a thief could sit in the house for as long as necessary to simply remove the safe, to be opened elsewhere.

Best defense: A heavy safe in a hard-to-access area (ie, down the stairs in a basement, stuffed into a corner), bolted to the foundation, contents insured, inside a home protected by a monitored alarm system, with alert 4-legged friends and a homeowner trained in firearms. And even then, there are no guarantees. Most folks will have less than all these features, due to cost, layout of the home, frequent moves, living in an upstairs apartment, whatever.

If you've still got questions about how simple it is to open many of the lighter, more-common "safes" sold today, particularly when accessible and not anchored, check this video prior to your purchase: Security On Sale.

Less buys you less time, security. Which is fine. Just know what you're getting and adjust your expectations accordingly.

A secure "cage" for the long guns that's anchored to the building, plus a smaller pistols unit, is fine so long as you insure the contents. Bought used, if you hunt around, you could easily get a couple of units for less than $1000 that would serve the need. Might take a bit of driving or delivery by a trucking company, but going for a used unit can be an effective way to knock 50-80% off the cost of the safe.

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Your best weapon is your brain. Don't leave home without it.
Reports: CZ P01 pt1, pt2.
Thoughts: Justifiable self defense.
Explain: How does disarming victims reduce the number of victims?
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wht06rado

Wow, that video is pretty crazy. Thanks for the post's guys! I am thinking of the floor plan both here and at our next possible location and I can put the safe in a corner in both places. It should fit in the large closet on the first floor in our next place. Which I was thinking I could even change out the door knob to a locking one on the closet to atleast keep people who don't need to see my safe from seeing it. I.E. mantenance men. That video deffinately makes me want to bolt down my safe in a corner and add a few layers of protection.

One more question: For those of you who have your safe bolted to the wall, did your safe come with holes pre-drilled? Or did you drill your own in the back of it?

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walvord

I just got my 24 gun safe a few months ago and had a company that specializes in safe moving deliver it to my house and set it up. It wasn't cheap, but they did the "heavy lifting" and I didn't have to. I had it put in the basement and achored to the floor. That baby isn't going anywhere and there was no muss or fuss in getting it in the house. IMHO, that is the way to go. I wouldn't want it going up or down any stairs as they could collapse on you - not good. My safe probably weights about 600-800 lbs. The installers used shims to level it so when the door is open, it stays put right where it is. That would be my advice.

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wht06rado

"A man only needs two guns......a short one and a long one" <--- quote by my wife, and oh how wrong she is!

I just saw your signature ppkheat. It sounds like our wives have a lot in common! Haha. I don't know that they will ever understand! Haha.

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ccw9mm

It should make you think of two things: (a) bolting it down, so that it cannot be taken easily; but also (b) that thin walls/doors do little to resist theft from a burglar having even basic tools.

The fact is, pry bars can be used on a safe that's flat on the floor, because the person is using the floor as a solid surface to resist the safe's "twisting" in that same direction, allowing them to buckle the door open. Think about how similar a bolted-down safe is, particularly if it's near a wall. The thief can use the solid nature of that safe, along with the wall, to generate leverage in much the same fashion.

In short, not all "safes" are. A safe with sub-par structural integrity is just that, upright or not.

My suggestion would be to acquire a safe with no less than 1/4" steel plate sides and door. Overall thickness of the door or walls isn't the issue; the thickness and quality of the steel plate used for the door and walls is. A rough guide can be the weight of a safe. A thinly made 60x30x30" safe can be as little as ~700 lbs, or as much as 4000 lbs, depending on the materials used. But those lighter safes are not going to be using anywhere near 1/4" steel plate.

__________________
Your best weapon is your brain. Don't leave home without it.
Reports: CZ P01 pt1, pt2.
Thoughts: Justifiable self defense.
Explain: How does disarming victims reduce the number of victims?
Tip: Use the <search> feature.

wht06rado

So I ended up getting a Redhead Theftguard Fire Safe. RedHead Theftguard 12/24 Fire Safe

So far I am really happy with it. Lots of room for all my stuff and plenty of room to grow. I am glad that I went with the bigger safe over the small Sentry I was looking at. Thanks for the helpfull posts' guys!

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I'm not pro gun, I'm pro rights. What are you?

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b52ace

Since you are in the military and move often, take a look at this company. Zanotti Armor Gun Safes

Also, check out this Safe Buyers guide. Gun Safe Buyers' Guide

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