Need Gun Safe Advice

[Luke]

Never thought I would need one, but my Luger collection is growing; and I am looking for a gun safe.


It seems there is a broad spectrum of products, and I am having a hard time with the selection process. This is the kind of product which is difficult to return if it is unsatisfactory.


Would like to hear your experiences with safe manufacturers.

Who makes a good one? Which ones are inadequate. ETC


Thanks for any advice you can provide.


Luke

[Russ]

get the biggest one.... that way you dont run out of room for a wile.

[Hugh]

Luke,


I have a Browning, and I believe it is one of the best for looks and protection, but there are others out there that are equally good. Rick brings up a lot of good points, especially in looks and where the safe will be located, as you pay for looks. Be sure that it has a top quality lock, and that the bolts are hardened and extend from the door on all four sides. Definitely get one BIGGER than you think you need, as I outgrew mine in 5 years.

If you are handy with your hands, you can buy one without the interior racks and shelves a little cheaper, as I did, and design & build your own. I was able to get 1/3 more guns in mine by putting in my own interior. I built the racks/shelves of 3/8" plywood and covered them with auto carpet from an auto supply store.

[Doug]

I have three Liberty fireproof safes. They are very well constructed and have a nice exterior finish. I paid a bit more for the fire rating 15 minutes at 1500 degrees. You have to think about fire protection as well as theft. Also keep in mind the where your going to put them. I had enough room for a large safe but it would not fit down the stairs to the basement. One last thing you need to get a Golden rod dehumidifier and spend the extra $$ for the electronic pad instead of the tumbler lock.

[Johnny Peppers]

Gun safes are a lot like video equipment in that there are just a few makers, but a lot of different names. Browning sells an excellent safe in many different sizes and storage combinations, and has a good fire rating. I have a Fort Knox and have been very pleased with it. You can go to the website of A.G.English at www.agenglish.com to view the combinations offered by Fort Knox. There are a few small manufacturers who make some really nice safes and then there are some that make a really bad safe when compared to the others, but the main objective is to get your valuables locked up where they can't be carried off with no effort.

I am not sure what the laws are in other states, but where I live if your stolen property is found at a pawn shop it is recovered by the police and it is up to the pawn shop owner to try and recover his loss from the thief. The same is true is an individual is found with your property. You don't have to pay him to get your property back, but he has to have a good explaination as to how he came into possession of it.

Excellent advice, many thigs I would not have considered!


thanks!


Ed

[Big Norm]

This is important stuff. It should raise the attention of all gun guys. I know that I am wrapping up my business and this summer I will be formally retired. So this summer I will be seriously looking for a safe. I just wish that there was an easier way of looking up this excellent discussion for when I start my shopping. Maybe a write up in General Information. Keep talking people, I am watching what you say closely.


I guess that the only concern that I have at the moment is carpeting. Somewhere in the back of my brain it seems like I remember a concern about the material in some carpeting. Some material seems to facilitate rusting. I don't have a question. Its just that I have this warning going off in my head. I have seen many guns at gun shows that looked beautiful on the table. But when I turned them over to the other side, they were all rusted up.


Basements and attics are not a good idea either. There always seems to be a certain amount of dampness in basements and attics will always have humidity there too. he police always recommend these two places because bad guys don't want to be caught there. But its not so good for guns.


I have also been warned about hanging guns on the doors by installing peg board. Not a good idea because sometimes the guns will fall off by accident. Looks good but could put a dent or scratch on a mint treasure. Also, the constant opening and closing of the doors could be detrimental to the finish of the gun hanging on a hook or a peg.


One thing that I saw that looked neat was a series of drawers that looked like an old draftsman drawers for drawings. The drawers were shallow and allowed a good display of our treasured guns.


Sorry for my length. But I really think that this is something important.

Big Norm

[John Sabato]

at the top of the main discussion board page. Just look for Gun Safe and you will find it. This forum's software archives all posts unless Dok deletes them intentionally for a Forum Decorum Infraction...


You can also hang pistols on steel dowling just undersize from the barrel bore. Just insert them in the backboard of the safe at an angle that provides good retention when the pistol is suspended... You can hang a lot of pistols up this way in a small space... especially if they all all the same type (e.g. Lugers). I don't recommend any other type of dowling except steel because other types of metals may cause a chemical reaction with the barrel and wood might hold moisture causing pitting in the barrel if you don't keep your safe dry enough. I can't say that I would trust plastic to be durable enough and they might break with time and stress...


-John

Hello,


My contents were covered by my home insurance policies with jewelry and replacement riders. One has to be concerned with what the insurance will do for you in case of loss. Proof of ownership is a key point(invoice, bill of sale, etc). Most of my stuff was devalued by the insurance folks for various reasons. I had to have a gunsmith that wrote for Precision Shooting help me on the "value"(technical type letter explaining the replacement cost of the gun) of a custom Sako with a custom stock(borderless checkering); really just bought it for the magnificent stock & worksmanship, but she is gone now, never seen it since. So in my hindsite; try to understand just what your insurance will do in case of a loss. We can get insurance poor and have to use our best judgement at the time and environment.

Hugh has a good point with size, if I would have had more room in the first safe or owned another safe at that time,I would still have that magnificent Sako.


When I store my pistols(always in a safe) I use the $4 zippered gun show cases and stack like cordwood. I use Breakfree on most of the guns. However the nickeled Python's(no breakfree on these) after some storage time in the zippered cases showed a fogginess on the nickel finish . It comes off easily, but I have since utilized an old sock to place the nickled gun in and then place the works in the zippered case. My socks can get close to artillery size The additional sock barrier did away with the fogginess of the nickel during storage. My blued or new manufactured Lugers never have had a problem directly in the zippered case. FWIW


Regards,


Rick W.

[Big Norm]

Thanks John. I just learned something new about this forum. I have previously been making files for stuff that I thought was important and storing it in a file in my word processor. Needless to say, that folder is getting quite large. This saves me a lot of trouble.

Big Norm

[Johnny Peppers]

Robert's Arms Specialties makes kraft storage boxes in a variety of sizes for pistols. With the box you also get a pressure sensitive label for all information on the gun. They stack much smaller and neater than the zippered cases, and no pressure is put on the pistol. I use them with a sheet of VPI paper from Brownells and have never had a problem. The size LA (Large Auto) fits the 4" Luger perfectly and measures only 9X6X1.5 inches.

I think I would use a good quality brass?...or, some other metal that is softer than the steel in the barrel. I would be concerned about scratching the bore!

[Dan Clemons]

According to Liberty, they are the #1 selling safe maker in America. You may want to take a look at their Website www.libertysafe.com. I recommend you get their brochure at 1-800-247-5625. It explains everything with pictures. Mine so bolted into floor. I also purchased their padded gun rack, which stores 8 handguns barrels up. Expensive but NICE! I bought the 12 cubic foot residential model for less than $1,000 delivered and installed with the gun rack. I have the electronic key pad and really like it!


We also have two secret hiding places to keep things you rarely need access to. Access is somewhat difficult and guns were hard to retrieve. My wife keeps her silverware and jewelry in the safe. I keep irreplaceable computer disk backups in the safe as well. You will find more uses than just guns.


My only recommendation is to look around for the ideal spot to place it before you buy.


Dan Clemons

There is a Frountier Safe Co in Fort Wayne, IN that makes a safe under their name as well as for others as a supplier. They offer safes with and without the high priced auto type finish which reduces the cost of the safe. How many people need a show piece safe finish. I bought mine just for the protection. Will be glad to supply more info if anybody is interested.

Neil

[Heinz]

Norm, Carpet used to have formaldehyde residue in new carpet. Formaldehyde would break down to formic acid and cause corrosion. It has been eliminated from carpet for home and office use because formaldehyde causes respiratory sensitization (asthma like response)in some people. I do not know what they replaced it with. And it would not be unlikely for formaldehyde bearing carpet to be sold off cheap for non-home uses like guess what. You could air it out, or if you really want to neutralize it I have a formula somewhere I could dig out.

[Luke]

[Wombat]

Just make a room 'safe' and humidity controlled. Then, vault the room shut. Like, a door-vault. Don't all men want a room full of guns and treasure anyways?

[Big Norm]

I think there was made a good point about unlike metals causing a chemical/elecrical reaction. But I understand your point on wanting something softer to put into the barrel. I thought about this lately and I wonder if buying a metal rod and squeezing a plastic tube over it would do the job. That might give the desired results of the solidity of a metal rod and the anti abrasion protection of the plastic.

Big Norm

[John Sabato]