Gun safe help, please!!
I am about to buy a gun safe and wanted to hear the opinions of TAG members:
What brand to buy? What is the best gun safe out there?
Thanks guys 😀
All Replies
I started to go with a touch pad for quicker access. I even looked into getting the one that also reads your fingerprints, but when I was talking to an old safe specialist, he showed me some really old safes with the original dial lock on it. He said they were over a hundred years old and still works perfectly, then he asked me when was the last time I had anything electronic that was over 10 years old and that still works or has had to be repaired. I would like to pass my safe to my grandchildren one day and I hope the lock mech still works. With the electronic lock, who knows. They may not even make 9volt batteries, by the time my grandchild gets my safe.
I have 2 fire proof safe’s, I want to say they are Cannon brand..real nice very heavy with several locking bolts..The only thing I would re-do is, I would get them with touch pads instead of the combo’s
I also put the de humidifier sticks in them.
http://www.cannonsafe.com/safescannonseries.nxg
I have the c18 and the c30
Again, Thanks for all the help.
I’ll go see what I can find this weekend. 😛
I went with Pentagon for mine. They had all the options that I wanted and they were close enough for me to pick it up. ( they are in Long Beach ) Don’t know if that’s an option for you but its worth a look. They are on the net and they have some really good prices. About half of what it would cost to get some of the big name brands.
You need to be careful about what you store in fire safes.
One of the ‘tricks’ (they call them features) to get higher ratings is to use lining materials that absorb and hold water. In a fire, this water has to boil away before the papers and other contents can char. Longer ratings. All is well and good….unless what you put in there rusts.
Be sure the safe you get is designed and intended to store guns, guys have learned this lesson the hard way. A thousand pound monster that protects your guns from theft and fire but rusts them in the process is no value IMO.
A friend (and engineer no less….) solves this by using a top rated gun safe (for theft) and built a fire rated sheet rock box around it.
Doug Owen
Good info guys!
I have opened many safes this way after house fire’s.
fire rated safes
most safe companies will replace your safe free of charge, if it is involved in a fire.
What is Fire Rated Gypsum?
Gypsum is approximately 21 percent by weight chemically combined water which greatly contributes to its effectiveness as a fire resistive barrier. When gypsum drywall is exposed to fire, the water is slowly released as steam, effectively retarding heat transmission.
Fire rated gypsum drywall is more fire resistant because it contains glass fiber reinforcement and other additives within its specially formulated gypsum core to help it hold up longer to a fire exposure.
Fire rated drywall is referred to as “Type X” and must be third-party certified by an independent testing and listing agency such as UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) to meet the fire performance requirements prescribed in the ASTM C 1396 standard specification for gypsum board products.
Type “X” fire rated gypsum drywall that is 5/8 -inch thick and installed on each side of nominal 2-inch x 4-inch wood studs spaced 16-inch o.c. or 3-5/8 inch steel studs spaced 24” o.c. has a minimum fire rating for the assembly of 1 hour, which is a typical requirement for most building codes.
Type “C” fire rated drywall is similar in composition to Type X, except that it has more glass fiber reinforcement and other ingredients in the gypsum core that makes its fire resistive properties superior to Type X. Type C gypsum board is available in 1/2-inch and 5/8-inch thicknesses.
In residential homes, installation of fire rated drywall is required by state and local building codes on interior and exterior walls near furnaces and utility rooms. Fire rated drywall can also be installed in a basement or other places where a wood stove might be used or around the opening of a fireplace. Fire rated drywall is typically found on garage walls and ceilings that are adjacent to the main living area of the home.
For commercial buildings, fire rated gypsum drywall is specified for most of the building walls and ceilings to meet building code requirements for fire partitions and assemblies. These fire rated partitions and assemblies provide life safety for the buildings occupants.
Your nailed it, the gyp is there to protect the wood or steel studs. Seam alignment and fire taping are also essential for making the fire rated wall work correctly, two layers with the joints falling on each other is useless in terms of a fire rating.
I should add that the rating (1-hour) is to keep the structural integrity of the wood or supporting members. Partition walls are reviewed and rated differently than structural walls…
If you built a box of 2×4’s and covered it with a few layers (say 3) of 5/8″ without tape or mud it would probably make it through a one hour blaze in a residential single story structure without any damage to anything inside… (well until the fire guys show up and give everything an extra long soak).
Thicker steel does not equal fireproofing , even steel needs to be covered to qualify as a fire rated assembly…
Typical residential buildings are what is called Type-V (five) non-rated construction, which means it will burn easily and the structure is no longer safe after a half hour.
In California they changed the residential fire code to combat the wildfire spread that has been so prevalent in SoCal, most homes that are remotely close to wooded areas, or areas where there is more combustible material than homes is now called the Urban-Wildland Interface Zone.
In there areas the exterior of the house has top be constructed out of Non-Combustible materials, siding needs to be cementitious board or stucco over type x gyp, roofs need to be tile, slate or metal with type-x gyp below… Stairs need to be rated non-combustible as well, setbacks were also increased.
If you own a house in these locations and need to replace a few windows be ready to remodel the whole exterior… Need to replace your entry stairs, get ready to bend over and get raped.
Do you like windows to see outside, now it’s limited to 10% of the total wall area if within 5′ of the property line. 10% is nothing for a window, on a wall 8′ high and 20′ long you can have a maximum window of 4’x4′, if you have more than one room it is really difficult to make the room pass the daylight and fresh air requirements…
Alright, enough fire rating speak…
Here is a topic in the Gallery on safes…. http://talonairgun.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8830&highlight=safes
Thanks two dogs 🙂
Thanks for the good info guys ❗ 😀
I’ll star looking for fire rated safe.
Cheers ❗ ❗
Be sure you get type X or type C, more info:
What is Fire Rated Gypsum?
Gypsum is approximately 21 percent by weight chemically combined water which greatly contributes to its effectiveness as a fire resistive barrier. When gypsum drywall is exposed to fire, the water is slowly released as steam, effectively retarding heat transmission.
Fire rated gypsum drywall is more fire resistant because it contains glass fiber reinforcement and other additives within its specially formulated gypsum core to help it hold up longer to a fire exposure.
Fire rated drywall is referred to as “Type X” and must be third-party certified by an independent testing and listing agency such as UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc.) to meet the fire performance requirements prescribed in the ASTM C 1396 standard specification for gypsum board products.
Type “X” fire rated gypsum drywall that is 5/8 -inch thick and installed on each side of nominal 2-inch x 4-inch wood studs spaced 16-inch o.c. or 3-5/8 inch steel studs spaced 24” o.c. has a minimum fire rating for the assembly of 1 hour, which is a typical requirement for most building codes.
Type “C” fire rated drywall is similar in composition to Type X, except that it has more glass fiber reinforcement and other ingredients in the gypsum core that makes its fire resistive properties superior to Type X. Type C gypsum board is available in 1/2-inch and 5/8-inch thicknesses.
In residential homes, installation of fire rated drywall is required by state and local building codes on interior and exterior walls near furnaces and utility rooms. Fire rated drywall can also be installed in a basement or other places where a wood stove might be used or around the opening of a fireplace. Fire rated drywall is typically found on garage walls and ceilings that are adjacent to the main living area of the home.
For commercial buildings, fire rated gypsum drywall is specified for most of the building walls and ceilings to meet building code requirements for fire partitions and assemblies. These fire rated partitions and assemblies provide life safety for the buildings occupants.
Good info—fishin_rod—about how to insulate a non fire rated safe. I will hit Home Depot later on to get some.
I have a fireproof browning for the good stuff and a tin one for ammo and other misc. I agree with hiding them I built a wall around mine so you cannot see it until you stand right in front of it. The browning safes will not be carried away very easy especially when full. You would need a torch to try to get in it an axe would be a waste of time
Depends on your price range and number of guns you need to store.
I have a browning safe and Unless you pay alot of money, most safes under $2000 are made of sheet metal and you can get in them pretty quick with an axe / saw.
The main reason I bought my safe was to lock up the guns (safe from kids). My kids (17, 12, and 5 years old) have been raised around guns and know how to use and handle a firearm, but they have friends that come over and that scares me. This is was the main reason to have my guns locked up.
The other reason, was just in case my house caught fire. I would look into a fire rating of atleast 45 minutes / 30 minutes min. I work as a firefighter and I get sick every time I bust open a non fire rated safe, after a fire. People have lost most everything they had already and then you pop open their safe for them, and all that is left are the actions and barrrels. Because of the heat these are no longer usable.
The reason for a 45min safe is that it normally takes 30 minutes for a fire to destroy a house and burn it to the ground.
If you can not afford a fire rated safe, you can insulate a regular safe. Just cut you some 5/8″ type x sheetrock / gypsum board. install it inside the safe and use atleast 2 layers.
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Good point! That was the one thing I was leery about with mine, but since mine is not “heirloom quality” I got it anyway with the electronic pad. One thing it has (I’m not sure if all the digital pad ones have it) is a override key access should the electronic pad fail. It is hidden behind a panel and not obvious. For the money, I did good with this harbor freight special as it is not sheet metal like many of the cheaper ones. It is 1/4″ steel.
I am going to construct a fire box around it so I don’t take away any of the interior space. I’ll post pics when this project comes up on my long project list.