Advice on gun safe wanted!

hunter91

well lads,

I need to get a gun safe capable of holding 5 or 6 guns (3 rifles and 2 shotguns in the house at the minute, and im thinking of getting another shotgun) and am wondering whats good? where to go? whats good value? and do all safes meet the gardas requirements???

Not all the guns are mine by the way and maybe getting a second smaller safe would do the job but like the idea of getting one that would hold them all if possible for not crazy money...

So any ideas welcome, cheers

Cass

I've three gun safes the last one being the Buffalo River 6 gun safe. It has plenty of room, can actually store 6 scopes rifle (unlike some that claim to be 6 gun, but won't hold them), has multiple locking bars, is padded on the floor and where the guns rest, comes with an open storage area on top, and on one side has a "cut away" section where a tall rifle or rifle with a mod on can easily fit in.

They are not overly cheap at around €320 - €370 new. They conform to the necessary security standards, and have pre-drilled holes for mounting to a wall.

My other safes are as tall, and have a lockable compartment, but are a little too shallow meaning i have to turn a scoped rifle sideways to make it fit comfortably.

deerhunter1

hunter91 wrote: »

well lads,

I need to get a gun safe capable of holding 5 or 6 guns (3 rifles and 2 shotguns in the house at the minute, and im thinking of getting another shotgun) and am wondering whats good? where to go? whats good value? and do all safes meet the gardas requirements???

Not all the guns are mine by the way and maybe getting a second smaller safe would do the job but like the idea of getting one that would hold them all if possible for not crazy money...

So any ideas welcome, cheers

would not put all my eggs in one basket so to speak,get a 2nd safe easier to sell later if need to,buffalo safe are fairly good

hunter91

cheers cass,
Does anyone know what exactly are the necessary standards like is a 'warmflow' BS 7558 gun cabinet good enough??

Them buffalo river ones look good alright and don't mind paying for something will actually hold 6 scoped guns like you said cos i know how lots don't practically hold what they quote...

Sports den in navan sell them for 325 or 350 delivered which doesnt seem too bad but does anyone know of anywhere better or other safes for decent money or even a second hand one but i know big second hand safes are rare enough..

Cass

hunter91 wrote: »

cheers cass,
Does anyone know what exactly are the necessary standards like is a 'warmflow' BS 7558 gun cabinet good enough??

I tried finding this out a few years back, when the regs were first initiated, but the only source was a UK site, and they wanted £100 or so for the specs. I didn't need them that badly.

It had something to do with locking points, steel thickness, grade of steel, welded/folded steel, etc. I don't pretend to know or understand them all.

Most safes sold meet this requirement. While safes can be bought in dealers, and hardware shops i would stick with either a gun dealer or recognised brand to avoid having some "tin foil replica" as a safe that would fail an inspection.

................ i know how lots don't practically hold what they quote...

My other safes are a 4 gun and 6 gun one. Both are orientated towards non scoped rifles or shotguns. So when a scopes rifle goes in it takes up 2, sometimes even 3 spots. However i use the two 6 gun ones for guns, and the 4 gun safe for ammo. So i'd agree with deerhunter1 about looking at a second safe rather than a "one size fits all".

does anyone know of anywhere better or other safes for decent money or even a second hand one .........

Other than naming dealers i know that stock safes, not really. As for second hand larger safes, they will be hard got as lads that buy them are usig them as there "last buy" safe.


Hopefully someone will be along that may be able to point you in the right direction or place a wanted advert for one.

warehouse1

you would probably be better off saving up and getting a good strong gun safe. because you have alot of guns.

sfakiaman

Since not all the guns are yours it might be better to have two safes, that way there can be no question of unauthorised access to each others guns. You could bolt the two together to make a very secure storage area.

deeksofdoom

There was a guy on here last year who had his guns stolen. I think he had a buffalo river safe i think the prized the door open with a claw hammer.

Is there a lip on the door of those safes that could allow it to be opened easily?

Cass

I cannot speak for all the Buffalo River models, but mine has none.

The corners, and doors are all "folded", not welded, and if something was used to try and pry the door open there is no surface which would allow for a solid prying point. Meaning a crow bar, hammer, etc. would not have anything to lever off.

The depth is over an inch so there is also no hope of slipping such a prying device into the gap, and catching the inside of the door. The door has a locking bar top and bottom, and three from the door into the main body. These bars are 3/4" to an inch thick so if by some miracle you could get a solid grip with a tool for levering, you would need the Hulk doing the prying. It would be easier to try and go from the hinge side, but as they are mounted inside the safe there is no access to them. Plus they are welded to the main body, and as strong as the locks.

Compare this to my old safe (that i got rid of) which uses a "chubb" style lock at the top and bottom, and it's easy to see the difference in quality. I topped off all my safes with 25mm angle iron to cover any gaps between the safe and walls so prying off the wall is not going to happen either.

juice1304

I have a buffalo river deep 6 gun too it was my main safe for a while but i reckon i could get into it in under five minutes I now only use it for ammo and to make it harder to attack my big one. They are of better quality than most of the tin cans being sold but i did'nt feel safe with it. I bought another safe with a 7mm hardend steel plate door which weighs about 400lbs and have the other safe wedged in beside it so it is going nowhere it is three times as wide as the 6 gun:D. I would still like a better one though I may import one next year.
My advise on safes is to spend as much as you can afford and then some, i don't understand why people spend thousands on guns, scopes and all the nicknacks to go with them and then put them in something that could be opened with a tin opener.
My safes are also hooked up to my monitored alarm. I feel pretty good about my security because i know they would'nt be able to get into my main safe as it is wedged into the corner and even if they managed to disconnect the alarm in time etc.. they still have to take the other safe off the wall before they can attack the main one and then they would have to carry the big safe down two flights of stairs, there would need to be atleast three of them to do it.

Cass

Completely agree. For the price the Buffalo are a good safe, but there are better. However the price can go upwards of €2,000. Plus the logistics.

I seen a great safe a few years ago in a dealers. Was €1,800 and bomb proof. Problem was the size and weight of it made it impossible for me to get it into the gun room of my house. I'd have to take off doors, etc. and even then it'd be a maybe.

Instead i put the money into CCTV, alarms, wireless backup, and a host of other security features i won't put up on a public forum. End result, i have no fear of anyone getting at my firearms.

Remember all you can do is try make it as hard as possible. That's why they are called security measures, and not guaranteed measures.

warehouse1

what dealers stock good strong gun safes. I was looking at a rottner safari gun safe on www.allsafes.ie for €850 its double walled.