Depends if you want to buy one that is fireproof rated or not. Generally speaking, if you want to store paperwork, you will want this. You can skimp a little by purchasing a $50 fireproof document safe and storing it inside a larger gun safe that has a decent rating if you like. You can check your local Home Depot/Lowe's for specials and sales, that way you won't have to pay a ton for shipping. You could pick it up yourself or have it delivered for a small fee locally. Some gun shops in your local area might also have deals. If you wanted to go for just a plain metal safe for your guns, you could settle for a non-fire rated safe. And you also have to keep in mind how many guns you have, so with more guns equals more of a price for room to store them. The basic metal safes start at around $100 and can climb to around $400 before you get into the fire rated safes.
I'm not going to post publicly who made my safe. I will say ensure you get one with locking bolts the full edge of the door. Not just one side. Any fire protection is better than none. Ensure you bolt it down- check the youtube video of a non-bolted safe. Larger gauge steel is better- the weak part in the seam between the door and body is the body. Buy one that is bigger than you think you need. Funny how those gun collections grow.
Get the manual dial instead of the key pad since they break and you might not be able to get your guns when you need them.
I had a friend who made the mistake of buying a document safe. They work great but are cement lined so if there is a fire your guns get steam cleaned. Instant rust and bluing removal.
all fire protection in home safes is done with drywall. You can put it in yourself or add more to increase fire protection. what, your guns don't have wood on them?
Not true for document safes, which can have cementitious fill between panels, or an ablative material that absorbs heat and off gasses. None of the fireproofing in any safes is good forever in a fire, there are time/temp considerations as well.
I second this. Had a digital one. Hated it. It seem to drain batteries and at the worst times. EMPs are always a concern. My new one has a classy spin dial. I like it much better.
Yup, sure do. Obviously, I was just giving the guy a full set of options out of kindness and to be complete. I didn't include a disclaimer or feel like I had to explain myself in a few thousand words, but this is the internet... Not everybody can afford a fire rated safe, and it is an option to have non-fire rated products. I own both, and I have also been trained professionally for fire prevention --something many people don't have under their belt. There is nothing wrong with a non-fire rated safe if it is heavy enough to keep the items secure. Granted, it won't protect your goods during a fire, but we all don't have fires, do we? It's kind of like insurance...if you have a lot of expensive items, you can probably afford that extra grand to buy a decent fire rated safe; but if you are "Joe Savealot" and only own a .22 rifle and a 9mm pistol, why spend the cash? Common sense applies. I cover all the bases. Your mileage may vary. Read the fine print. Don't ask too many questions when the answers are obvious, that kind of thing.
I agree with mysterymet. Mine is a keypad, have had it for 3 years, and original battery is still in it. It just doesn't give me the warm fuzzies though. Wish I had done more research..
Our original document safe is a keypad. Battery draining issues and no warm fuzzies from it. When we upgraded from a metal gun cabinet to a fully fire rated gun safe we did a little research and found one large enough to hold all our stuff with a spin dial. It works well.