Gun safes, security cameras, etc

awheelterd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Location
Kenly, NC
I need a safe at my new house and the other thread brought it to the forefront of my mind, along with a recent break in in the community. I have probably 15 or 20 long guns that need a secure home. I've read that most safes are about the same secureness until you get into the big money safes. I don't really want to speND several thousand on a safe. I'm looking more middle of the road. It will be in a closet bolted down regardless of what I get.

Second, I ran cat5 to 4 places I want cameras when I built the house and I'm about ready to put something in place. The prices are all over the place though. The trim out price from the security company was $2k with high definition cameras and a 1tb recorder. I see lorax systems for $500. Recommendations?
 
I'm a big fan of actual safes, not gun safes. But the insides are not as well suited to guns, so you will need to add some racks inside.
Real safes have a TL rating, and weigh an actual metric shit ton:
Bank Safes / Gun Safes
1947 Mosler Safe
https://charlotte.craigslist.org/for/d/denton-safe/7009039354.html
mosler safe

And this one is pretty useless for your purposes but looks cool
Mosler Safe


I have Arlo and Wyze cams at the house. The Arlos are completely wireless. I have 2 on the driveway about 250ft from the house and they work great. App is very slick and works well. Alerts are instant. Free rolling storage for 7 days, and you can buy longer. If you go with Arlo, get the Pro2 as they trigger much faster, and have better video quality. It's worth the price difference. The Wyze cams are dirt cheap, but not weatherproof, and require a power source. App is slick and you get 14 days if free rolling storage. Probably Chinese spies though because it's so cheap, so I wouldn't point it towards your house or have it inside.
 
Build it into your house. :)

we are making a space just for a walk in safe, built into the house. If you have some way to do that, it gives you room to expand your collections.

as far as cameras, I use ADS security. Aside from the power cable, they are WiFi. They have reasonable prices on equipment and installation.
 
Drakes is the winner. I can fit his DS18 perfectly in my office closet. I don't have much use for half shelves so as an all long gun safe it holds 36. Perfect for me. If it gets crowded in a few years I'll just buy another :lol:
 
I like liberty safes. Big box store prices with much higher quality.

Couldn’t go with a drake bc no UL rating and IIRC, that’s one thing my insurance company wanted in a safe.

X2 for build it into the house. Concrete block, rebar, and pour the hollows on the blocks, plus a good door. Outfit interior with shelves or whatever you need. Doubles as a safe room. Also put the hard drive for the cameras there.

I have several Samsung systems and work well for the price.

Also a couple “blink” amazon cameras that work well with app integration but I don’t think they are secure.

Also can have alarm system for safe / safe room integrated into house alarm.
 
jeepinmatt said:
'm a big fan of actual safes, not gun safes. But the insides are not as well suited to guns, so you will need to add some racks inside.
Real safes have a TL rating, and weigh an actual metric shit ton:
Click to expand...

I've been in the industry for 20 years and still cant get this through to people. They want to put $5000 dollars worth of guns in a $399 safe.

rockcity said:
Build it into your house. :)
Click to expand...

This is a great idea, as long as executed properly. A lot of people will build the walls a ceiling well, but put a steel door in place. Most "heavy" commercial steel doors are 14ga at best. Real "homeowner" style vault doors are not as expensive as you think.
 
NCJeeplover said:
I've been in the industry for 20 years and still cant get this through to people. They want to put $5000 dollars worth of guns in a $399 safe.



This is a great idea, as long as executed properly. A lot of people will build the walls a ceiling well, but put a steel door in place. Most "heavy" commercial steel doors are 14ga at best. Real "homeowner" style vault doors are not as expensive as you think.
Click to expand...

Where does one source a vault style door?
 
X2 on Liberty Safe.
 
This, and have a supplemental air/ventilation source if you’re putting in a tight fitting vault door and doing a solid pour of sealed ceiling.


Mac5005 said:
If building it to double as a safe room, have the door open into the room. That way in event of tornado, and the house is demolished around it, you can still open door to get out.
Click to expand...
 
awheelterd said:
I need a safe at my new house and the other thread brought it to the forefront of my mind, along with a recent break in in the community. I have probably 15 or 20 long guns that need a secure home. I've read that most safes are about the same secureness until you get into the big money safes. I don't really want to speND several thousand on a safe. I'm looking more middle of the road. It will be in a closet bolted down regardless of what I get.

Second, I ran cat5 to 4 places I want cameras when I built the house and I'm about ready to put something in place. The prices are all over the place though. The trim out price from the security company was $2k with high definition cameras and a 1tb recorder. I see lorax systems for $500. Recommendations?
Click to expand...
Check out DRAKE SAFES,he is in nc and delivers...
He is at all the gun shows too
 
I have a liberty fatboy jr. Bought it at gander mtn before they went belly up. love it but running out of room. Always buy 1 or 2x more than what you need.

I really want to do a built in safe/vault but am lacking the room to do it. Just about every closet in the basement has either a water heater or the furnace in it and I have no real space to add a closet either.
 
YJJPWrangler said:
I have a liberty fatboy jr. Bought it at gander mtn before they went belly up. love it but running out of room. Always buy 1 or 2x more than what you need.

I really want to do a built in safe/vault but am lacking the room to do it. Just about every closet in the basement has either a water heater or the furnace in it and I have no real space to add a closet either.
Click to expand...


This is where you are missing out on an opportunity.

tear out the WH and install a built in safe. Then upgrade the WH to a tankless water heater. They even make them to mount outside beside the gas meter so you aren’t taking up space inside.

Your Welcome. :D
 
For $500 you're not going to get much more than a glorified heavy duty locker, that can probably be defeated with common hand tools you already have laying around waiting for potential burglar to borrow.
For a good quality genuine safe you're looking at spending in the $1000-2000 range. Just consider the value of what you're protecting and I think you'll conclude it's a good investment.

I recommend looking into Zanotti Armor safes, they are a very sturdy take-down style safe that will make it easier for you to move around when you relocate. And there's no way there getting opened up with simple hand tools.
 
I put in a Browning Prosteel safe from my LGS. Middle of the road budget-wise. Bolted to the floor with tripled up 3/4 ply underneath, screwed and glued. Large (6"-ish) backing plates on the bolts so they can't be pulled thru. Bolts peened so a determined and adventurous crook can't run the nuts off in the crawlspace. Right side of safe up against a corner wall, shelving run up to left side so can't easily/quickly get to it from the sides with a sledge and prybars.

I believe in multiple layers of protection, physical and electronic. I wanted a safe that would take long enough to find and enter that the Sheriff, neighbors, and me would have time to intervene long before I lost anything. Alarm-wise, you'd have to breach the perimeter of the house (doors and windows), motion sensors, door to the safe room (alarm trip if set to arm-away, notification to me if opened at any other time (i.e. a guest snooping where he shouldn't), and a switch mounted inside the safe itself, if you did manage to open it.

For the alarm, I did my own system. Got most everything, including monitoring package, from suretyhome.com When you DIY you can afford to put sensors everywhere you feel like, either wired or wireless. I probably have a total of 50 sensors of varying types, doors, windows, flood (at kitchen, laundry, hwh, etc), smoke, co, combustible gas, etc, etc, etc. It's not difficult at all.

I don't have a lot of faith in local or national alarm companies anymore. I won't go into detail, but they are usually "security theatre" at it's best (worst).
 
kaiser715 said:
I put in a Browning Prosteel safe from my LGS. Middle of the road budget-wise. Bolted to the floor with tripled up 3/4 ply underneath, screwed and glued. Large (6"-ish) backing plates on the bolts so they can't be pulled thru. Bolts peened so a determined and adventurous crook can't run the nuts off in the crawlspace. Right side of safe up against a corner wall, shelving run up to left side so can't easily/quickly get to it from the sides with a sledge and prybars.

I believe in multiple layers of protection, physical and electronic. I wanted a safe that would take long enough to find and enter that the Sheriff, neighbors, and me would have time to intervene long before I lost anything. Alarm-wise, you'd have to breach the perimeter of the house (doors and windows), motion sensors, door to the safe room (alarm trip if set to arm-away, notification to me if opened at any other time (i.e. a guest snooping where he shouldn't), and a switch mounted inside the safe itself, if you did manage to open it.

For the alarm, I did my own system. Got most everything, including monitoring package, from suretyhome.com When you DIY you can afford to put sensors everywhere you feel like, either wired or wireless. I probably have a total of 50 sensors of varying types, doors, windows, flood (at kitchen, laundry, hwh, etc), smoke, co, combustible gas, etc, etc, etc. It's not difficult at all.

I don't have a lot of faith in local or national alarm companies anymore. I won't go into detail, but they are usually "security theatre" at it's best (worst).
Click to expand...
You spent more on protecting your safe than the stuff in my safe is worth. I agree with @Jody Treadway the best bet is to live as us peasants with minimal valuables.
 
In all seriousness, I keep my collection of Crocs, :) , in an American made safe which is wedged into place and anchored to a concrete slab with 4 1/2" bolts. I can't have the Crocs given to me by both grandfathers disappearing.
A security system with monitoring is a must. Ours is controlled remotely and we can do system checks with our phones.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top