Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Recommendation for Gun Safe.

1. Get a safe twice as large as you think you need. Seriously.

2. Do NOT get an electronic lock.

3. Secure it to the floor/wall FIRMLY.

On the subject of fire rating and materials used to retard fire in a safe . . . . be careful with safes that are coming out of China. Chinese manufactured safes use drywall as a fire retardant. Unfortunately, Chinese drywall contain quite a bit off formaldehyde (sp). If/when exposed to fire or heated, the formaldehyde begins to 'off gas'. The 'off gas' is toxic and will coat firearms with a residue that will almost immediate begin to cause corrosion - aka rust.

Get the highest one you can find!! Maybe two!

Thanks again fella's.

A safe, not bolted in, is just a heavy purse. Fire rating is not going to matter on the side secured.

Check with a safe dealer that can make deals. Semi local to me is a liberty / browning dealer. Stocks over 150 safes.

I bought a liberty back during the summer. He’s a dealer and said liberty had to move safes because Gander MTn was one of their biggest buyers and were going under. So they had a good sale going.

I spent an hour in the showroom with them explaining the pros and cons of each model. Fire ratings. Metal thickness. Locks. Etc.

They also repair and service safes. So mention x brand and they can tell you this is the most common problems they see, instead of a blanket “they’re junk” reply.

Another vote for Sturdy. Its not within the $500 budget though....

They build a great no nonsense product right here in America

a safe should NOT come with pre drilled holes for bolting. you should drill your own exactly where you need them. I wouldn't set a safe directly on concrete either,it will rust in most cases if you do.buy a rubber mat,door mat or something like that insulate it from moisture. or put 4 plastic blocks under it to let it dry out .best place to put one is in a closet where you can't get to the sides or top. a real thief will never try to get in the door. the doors are built really well . safes with external hinges will open farther than 90deg ,safes with internal hinges will not go past 90deg.

yes,buy one twice as big as you need it to be,then call it a home safe and claim it on your taxes. you can do that.

If I was going to buy a fireproof safe it would be a Browning. If you have a large collection of guns, or plan to build one, invest in a high end browning like a ProSteel Silver (extra wide) for $3,999 retail (65 gun)

Well he texted me last night and said he had finally decided on one. Browning FMJ 23. He got it from Academy Sports with a $200.00 off coupon and a $50.00 rebate which best I can tell would have cost him around $550.00 plus tax. Thanks for everyone's comments and recommendations.

Browning FMJ 23







twofish