Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Safes

Needing another storage unit for things of value. Just started looking around. Found a couple on the used market that look ok. Haven't hit any local retailers yet.

What's the current status of safes as far as quality rankings/reviews?

I will be looking for a fairly decent sized safe, and looking for quality. Do not want electronic access. I do want heavy.

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I have a Liberty 64 gun safe which I like. Its big and heavy and not a piece of furniture. Painted flat grey. I have the electronic lock and wouldn't have otherwise.

We have a Liberty 25gun here at the office which is out in the open and seen by people and so we got the shiny black version. Electronic again so its usable by the staff. Super happy with both.

I've seen a few places with Brownings on the floor for sale lately but otherwise not alot out there.

When I got mine I didn't know if I would like the electronic but glad I did, don't need glasses to read numbers and can open it in the dark.

Like my Champion. It’s as solid as I’ve seen.

Plus1 on the Liberty safe and I also went electronic.

It’s not necessarily the brand. Look at the specs, thickness of metal in door, in walls, number/size of locking lugs, etc.

Mine are Champion Triumph series. They are in a different league than the typical "major retailer" safes found at Tractor supply, Bass pro etc. Major retailer safes are more like a lockable cabinet.

Agreed! The guy I buy my safes from sums it up in one word... tonnage. Cheap safes lack tonnage and good safes don't.

Sturdy safe

Have a friend that had the electronic keypad and it fritzed. Just do not want that prospect.

I agree it would be handier as one I have, the dial is fairly high and that along with glare off the dial can make it hard to see. I don't necessarily worry about speed of access. I never have all my valuable stuff locked up. Always some valuable things laying around here or there.

I have a liberty and a national security now. I guess they're both alright.

I guess the most loss is from fire, not theft. Smoke as much as heat destroys the guns. So shoot for active heat/smoke expanding seal, heat insulation, and then the safe will certainly be quality, and the theft stuff like bolts will be done. I personally think electronic locks are shady.
Liberty and Ft Knox are usually good stuff.
I also think two mediums are better than one huge safe. Bolt the 8itch down and to a wall. Try to place them on an outside wall for fire.

I have a couple of big Liberty safes. I like them

I have a Liberty 64 gun safe bought new and Fort Knox 64 gun safe bought used. Both are pretty decent safes but the Fort Knox had a plate steel door that is substantially sturdier than the Liberty.

Champion makes a nice safe also roughly comparable to Liberty model for model.

Sturdy Safes are probably the best bang for the dollar if you something nice.

All of them are American made

I like to buy American and was able to get a great price on the used Fort Knox. Overall a decent safe to keep kids and smash and grabs out and an insurance police to protect against major fire or a more planned theft is the way to go IMO.

I just bought a Browning Prosteel 49gun tall. What I don't understand about the fire ratings is why they all use different temperatures. You'll see one safe as listed 60 minutes at 1500 degrees and another rated as 75 minutes at 1400 degrees. Why aren't they standardized on a temperature? I haven't seen the contents of any safes survive a decent house fire, regardless of fire rating, but the fire rating should still be a consideration. I just wouldn't get hung up on the fire rating if a particular safe has some other features you like.

Definitely consider the taller (72") safes if you have paperwork, optics and other things you want to store besides firearms.

I think where it's installed is probably just as important as to the ratings. The front is always the thickest and most secure. Definitely bolt it to the floor so they can't tip it and get to the back. An outside corner might also be a good idea. A corner helps because now you've protected 2 sides of it.

Not only do they use different temperature ratings, the way they conduct the experiment is varies

There’s a lot of deceit in those fire ratings.

Wouldn’t count on those safes protecting your guns and other valuables in the case of a real house fire

I have a couple of smaller (24 +/- gun) Brownings. My dad and I each bought identical safes 35 years ago, I inherited his 3 years ago.

Both obviously have a dial, and neither are rated for fire. At least not that I am aware of.

I've seen enough pictures of safes with high ratings for fire that have nothing usable in them after a fire. So premier fire ratings aren't anything I pay attention to, other than they weight they add.

Where I live, I have no illusions that anything would survive in even the best of "fire proof" safes.

I was considering buying a new, bigger safe to take the place of my two smaller ones a couples years back. I don't want an electric lock, so I was gonna have to order a safe to get a dial. Tossed the idea when I decided I more needed to thin out some of my small arsenal that never gets used. They're pretty proud of the big safes anymore.

My thoughts are that a big, heavy safe that's bolted down somehow, will keep the average meth head and whatever kids you have running around the place, out. But I'm doubtful it's gonna save much of anything in case of a fire.

I'd suggest that you look at the differences between an RSC (like most "safes" that people own) and a real safe. Compare security ratings and price. And how yours will be installed, given the ratings, valuables, etc. In particular, possible attacks with fire axe, cordless cutting/grinding tools, etc. In general, I think most people are overconfident in the "safe" that they purchased, which is actually an RSC and can be defeated with simple tools.

You may decide that you need a "real" safe, or may just need an RSC like most people have. I think both are fine, but it depends on individual need.

Is there a gun safe that has a keyed locking mechanism rather than a dial or electronic keypad?

I think some of the dial safes allow to put in a key and then only dial the last number. I believe my Winchester safe is that way, although I have no idea where the key is.