The gun threads tonight reminded me that I need to seriously consider getting some type of storage cabinet or gun safe set up in the house.

By rough count, between shotguns and rifles, somewhere between 15 to 20 long guns stuck in various places around the house.

Besides the obvious clutter, most of these guns I picked up back in the early 90's out in WA state, at pawn shops, monthly gun shows at the county fairgrounds, etc. At the time, I only paid roughly $200 to $400 for any of them. Couple weeks ago, I went on the Cabelas website to see what these guns were fetching nowadays.

Just about scared the crap out of me - nearly half of these guns are up in the four-figure range by Cabelas' prices.

That clinched it. If nothing else, I need proper storage for them to protect their condition and value.

Any recommendations as to type, brand, price, underfloor support to handle the weight, firesafe or not, etc?

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Just about any will work, Cabelas does seem to have a nice selection.

When I build my house I'm going to build a room.

Pour some 8in walls, drop a slab of steel on the top, and buy a nice door.

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A safe that size is going to be pricey. After checking a bit, I've seen a 28 gun safe. Right, as long as you're storing mostly hand guns.

Fire safe for sure.

Mine (Browing, on sale at $800 as I recall) was said to be 12 or 14 rifle capable. As you see, that won't work. I had six on one side, I scratched the stock on one wile trying to get another out.

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84 CD

I have a nice Browning safe, and just as toomany MBZ said, make sure it's got a fire rating. Also, stick with an mechanical dial over a digital keypad, I just don't trust those things.

Never got around to it. Most of mine, at least the ones that don't get a lot of use are in a big old china cabinet thing with locking doors but glass fronts. Others in closets, drawers, boxes here and there all over. Once in a while I find a gun I didn't know existed in some old trunk.

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If you have a tractor supply near you I would check out thiers. Cannon is the name brand, I am looking at a wide body model of theirs. IIRC it has a 48 long gun capacity. THat way all the rifles and shotguns can have one side with the pistols,wifes diamond that she never wears, and some cash on the shelves on opposite side. Price wise they were $1k-$1500 for the BIG one. 1500 degree 45 min fire protection,10(?) 1 inch steel bolts for the door. A real solid safe. I want a browning but for the price differnce i cant justify it.

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Is humidity control going to be an issue?

^ Depends more on your location.

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83 SD

84 CD

It's always nice to have a humidity stick in your safe, IMO. It's not always totally necessary, but it's better to have it and not need it. Location is the big one, but it can also depend on what you're keeping in there, black guns with lots of plastic and aluminum or antiques garnished with ivory and wood?

In a former life, I dealt with home gun safes routinely. Rules of thumb:

- Nobody ever bought a safe that was too large.

- Judge quality of safes of the same size by weight.

- Electronic locks are convenient and have cool features, i.e. temporary access codes, hour of access limitations, etc. However, they are nowhere near as reliable as mechanical locks. They will eventually fail, possibly requiring an expensive visit from a locksmith. If you get an e-lock - you might consider keeping any primary defense weapons elsewhere.

- If you are planning on storing indoors - make sure your floor will support it. Larger safes often require additional support.

- Consider placing the safe on a poured concrete pedestal of 6-8" if the situation allows it, i.e. garage or slab floor. This not only makes access to the items on the floor of the safe easier, but it helps reduce the risk from minor flooding.

- Fireproofing is nothing other than sheetrock. If you want a longer rating, simply add more to the safe walls/floors.

- Always, always use humidity control. Two rods (for redundancy) and a large box of desiccant cost less than some boxes of ammo. If you've got items that are worth enough to protect with a safe, it's simply retarded to ignore this extremely minor expense.

- If placing a safe on concrete, either directly or via the pedestal suggestion above - use a vapor barrier. The bottom of the safe will eventually rust out if you don't.

- If bolting a safe down, don't waste your time doing so at the edges. A long prybar combined with a long sawzall blade, will cut through such bolts like butter. If you want to bolt a safe down (typically a good idea), do so in the middle of the safe.

- For larger safes - hire a professional to move/install if not included with the purchase price. The damage they can do to you and your home isn't worth the risk of saving a few $$.

All good points.
Costco sells a large gun safe.

Also with this economy I'm sure you can locate a used mechanical lock safe.

I've seen large safes at estate sales and they go cheap cuz you have to have it hauled out.

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1979 300D 220 K miles
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1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
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1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

One additional thought: a few smaller ones may be better than one giant one, particularly if security is the issue. You can hide smaller ones behind false panels in closets, etc., and what isn't seen isn't attacked. At one time I built a false panel in a headboard to hide a couple of long guns and a pistol; you don't need much "security" when no one knows it's there.

Also research what you're buying. With the advent of cheap and lightweight power tools and cutting wheels, you might be surprised what can be hacked open without a great deal of effort. At that point sheer weight and securing it to a concrete pad are meaningless.

A friend of mine had a top of the line Browning, at least that is the way he described it. He came home one day to find his back door, a sliding glass one, unlocked. He pushed it open just a bit and heard someone making a lot of noise inside.

This was about twenty years ago, so he walked across the alley and asked a neighbor to call the police. They were there in about two minutes, went in and arrested three guys.

His safe was a mess. They had hit it with sledges and tried to cut through it with a saws-all. They had beat the lock dial off. They did not manage to get it.

The cops had the guys in their cars and they asked my friend if he wanted to talk to them. So he asked them how long they had been at it.

Three hours and they had gotten nowhere. By the way, he had the safe bolted to the floor through the inside of the safe. They told him they normally just took the entire safe.

The weird thing that came out later was that they had paid for the information about him having a safe. A petty crook had broken in, seen the safe, and called them about it. Then that crook left. He would have been paid later, after the guns were cashed out.

My friend bought another Browning.

try these guys.Interlocking break down gun safe | Zanotti Armor® i like that they come apart and can be moved pretty much by one person.

I'm surprised that these burglars kept at it for three whole noisy hours.

That is certainly not the manner of burglars. Thaey want a quick in and out
because of the risk of getting caught or shot !

Safes are a deterrent only. It buys time. Many big awesome looking safes can be compromised very quickly by the savvy.

Put it in perspective.

Yeah a safe is a GOOD idea.

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1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD