Any recommended gun safes? Liberty Revere 72 vs Cannon Wide Body 64??

[fnlights]

I was at my local gun shop yesterday and when I walked in, there were 4 big boxes of burnt barrels. I asked what happened and my gun guy said a client came in for him to evaluate the burnt up guns for his insurance company. The guy had 3 Cannon safes full of antique high dollar guns and a few newer ones. Right then and there, I ordered a Browning safe because I currently have my guns in a Cannon safe. I should have taken a couple of pictures to post on here to back my story up. Either way, spend the money on a Browning and don't look back. Just my .02¢ here, but guns are a investment in more ways than one.

Do the Brownings really have that much higher of a fire rating?

 

[Reelamin]

From my research, the fire rating is: X degrees for X amount of time until paper will combust inside the safe. Same information from several safe manufactures. The rating should be posted somewhere on the door.

Majority if not all labels do not cover the exact details of such claims. I have seen quite a few at work over the years, from the first call of the fire until its not burning hot. The ONLY safes that really saved the contents were older heavy safes. Not one single one with sheeting made it or saved the contents. Unless you consider the gun isn't melted or it has what looks like a stock still on it. Just my experience and as always the most critical part is location of the safe in a fire, and getting that thing cracked open immediately and pouring motor oil/diesel all over the entire gun.

 

[nickjandrews]

I was at my local gun shop yesterday and when I walked in, there were 4 big boxes of burnt barrels. I asked what happened and my gun guy said a client came in for him to evaluate the burnt up guns for his insurance company. The guy had 3 Cannon safes full of antique high dollar guns and a few newer ones. Right then and there, I ordered a Browning safe because I currently have my guns in a Cannon safe. I should have taken a couple of pictures to post on here to back my story up. Either way, spend the money on a Browning and don't look back. Just my .02¢ here, but guns are a investment in more ways than one.

I'm waiting to hear from a buddy how his fared in a recent fire, 3 Cannon safes...

 

[TimH.]

Do the Brownings really have that much higher of a fire rating?

Yes they do. Check out their website and see what you think. They are pricey but well worth it in my opinion. I use to think that most safes were made at the same place with different stickers on them but this not true. Cannon is not a bad safe but considering what I witnessed yesterday, I am not taking the chance on my guns.

 

[Pro2A]

Does anyone have a recommendation on a quality gun safe? I would like to keep it at or below $1,500 and have about 60 minutes of fire protection.

I was looking at a Liberty Revere 72 on the Tractor Supply website, but the reviews are not the greatest. They claim the metal on the door is so thin it will flex when opened and someone could get in with a crowbar (no idea if this is true or not). I was hoping someone on here would have that safe and could confirm? I am also considering the Cannon 64 gun Wide Body - again, about the same reviews as the Liberty (some great, some bad).

I was originally going to spend the extra $100 for the Liberty because it was American made, but I believe this Revere model is not? So at this point, I will consider all brands and all options - I would also like to keep it at a minimum of 48 guns.

First American Security (AMSEC) are good "safes." Liberty Fatboys are OK. Several medium sized safes spread the risk if you have a nice number of guns, rather than putting the whole collection behind one door. Anyone other than a drug addled junkie, won't even mess with the door. They will use a $30 Harbor Freight DC 4" grinder/small ox/acet gas torch to cut the top/side/back out and set the guns out. Installing safe as outlined below with the top, back, and sides well protected is the best installation. Once again, old Harley buddy, a professional locksmith, always advised, "Locks keep kids, the honest, and the terminally stupid out. The most secure safe is the safe no one finds to attempt breech." What you are looking at, and what most people term safes, are really Residential Storage Containers...not real safes. Ever see a real safe, you will understand....night and day......cutie next door versus your old lady. Security is a warm and fuzzy comfort illusion. Yeah, get a safe of the best you can afford. Then, spend whatever effort necessary to conceal it, and protect top, sides, and back panels from grinding/torching, so no one finds it to attempt breech....hidden door, false wall, etc. Behind mama's camo evening outfit in the back of the closet is not hidden. You decide depending upon your situation. Then don't go blabbing your great concealed safe merits to anyone...anyone. And, put the fear of the Gun Gods in wifey and crumb crunchers to zip their lips. If you drive a jacked up jeep or pick'emup truck with gun logos all over it, if you have a hunting hound in the back yard, if you live in camo on your front porch, etc, some one will break in to steal your guns to fund their drug habit. Next, help the thieves be successful, buy a cheap StackOn or other aluminum foil tin box "gun safe". Install it in a semi-hidden location, yeah. now is the time for behind mama's outfit, where it will be found easily. Load it with cheap *** beater guns....even lead the barrels..... watch the news for stupid *** blowing himself up going to the hospital. They will break in, motivated by your not low key gun guy image, find the tin box with the beaters, proudly tear it open, grab the beaters and flee.....never finding the good safe/guns. This approach has saved family members' good stuff on several occasions.

 

[264 Win Mag Man]

There are some interesting tricks to moving one of these without hurting yourself.
The safe company showed me them when they moved my 1500 pound safe into my old house, then out of my old house and into the new one.
FYI we pretty much built a lot of the new house around the safe due to its weight.

What safe do you have??

 

[fnlights]

I'm waiting to hear from a buddy how his fared in a recent fire, 3 Cannon safes...

Sorry to hear about that, but very curious on how the safes and contents faired

 

[Mark37082]

I chose to protect them as much as possible, schedule them on my insurance, have security alarms and cameras, installed fire suppression in my home, and hope for the best. Agree that gun safes are a deterrent only for the professionals thieves. I worried more when I was working away from home. A 120lb dog and my 45acp on my hip provide a little more peace of mind.

 

[Alibiiv]

Watch a few you tube videos. I will tell you none of the lower end safes provide the protection or fire length they claim. I have a liberty and a old none fire Browning. The browning is 3 times the thickness with a real plate door and frame. Also thick panels.
A axe or angle grinder can cut through my liberty sidewalls like it's nothing. Crooks can peel a safe faster than they can slide it and flip it into a truck. Bolt it down!!!
Edit. Mine are old school dials. Wish I would have gotten electronic on my liberty.

I'd like to let you know that I have both, and prefer the dial combination over the touchpad. The touchpad just seems flimsy to me.

 

[tvarden]

Those are some sweet looking safes

 

[tvarden]

That one is a good bit over 1500.00 but like I said you get what you pay for on safes..

 

[Alibiiv]

Here's my.02c worth on safes. I have two, they're both Brownings; considered box store I guess. The Liberty tests we're done with pry bars, there's no reason a person who wants to get into your safe could not use a battery operated , 7 inch grinder with a cutoff wheel. My safes are to keep an honest person honest and that's it. Yes there's fire protection there, but not nearly enough for my liking. One of my safes is the largest that Browning makes, could lock you mother in law or exwife in it and still have plenty of room for your guns!!! What I do have for protection of my guns is a motion detector that sits right over the safe that is monitored 24/7, that also has heat and smoke detectors that are also monitored. And yes that's a bit more than the $1500 that the OP was asking about. As the Liberty video show it took 5 minutes instead of the seconds it took to get into the box store safes, but nonetheless they were still breeched. There are numerous doorbell cameras out there or camera monitoring systems that cost pennies a day to have. To me this makes a lot of sense when one considers the safety and protection of our firearms. My safes also provide peace of mind for me knowing that they are preventing a family member or an unauthorized person from getting their hands on them. If someone wants access to your safe they will get into it. Again a safe is to only keep an honest person honest. I once saw a professional jeweler's safe breeched. That safe weighed so much that it couldn't be moved, but instead it was tipped on its side and the bottom was sledgehammered out. Also another variable that has to be addressed is how to get that Liberty or others "professional" safe into where it's to be stored. That alone can cost almost as much as the safe.

 

[Wetwrk]

This is how we are going. Room poured with the foundation. Details left to your imagination.

Yup a actual vault door costs just about the same as a safe. A hidden vault door to a real armory is pure man card. -WW

ps. Another thought to having a gun safe in the basement is maybe the firefighting flooding would protect the guns from a fire. I'd rather clean up wet guns than burnt up ones.

 

[V7750212K]

Here's my.02c worth on safes. I have two, they're both Brownings; considered box store I guess. The Liberty tests we're done with pry bars, there's no reason a person who wants to get into your safe could not use a battery operated , 7 inch grinder with a cutoff wheel. My safes are to keep an honest person honest and that's it. Yes there's fire protection there, but not nearly enough for my liking. One of my safes is the largest that Browning makes, could lock you mother in law or exwife in it and still have plenty of room for your guns!!! What I do have for protection of my guns is a motion detector that sits right over the safe that is monitored 24/7, that also has heat and smoke detectors that are also monitored. And yes that's a bit more than the $1500 that the OP was asking about. As the Liberty video show it took 5 minutes instead of the seconds it took to get into the box store safes, but nonetheless they were still breeched. There are numerous doorbell cameras out there or camera monitoring systems that cost pennies a day to have. To me this makes a lot of sense when one considers the safety and protection of our firearms. My safes also provide peace of mind for me knowing that they are preventing a family member or an unauthorized person from getting their hands on them. If someone wants access to your safe they will get into it. Again a safe is to only keep an honest person honest. I once saw a professional jeweler's safe breeched. That safe weighed so much that it couldn't be moved, but instead it was tipped on its side and the bottom was sledgehammered out. Also another variable that has to be addressed is how to get that Liberty or others "professional" safe into where it's to be stored. That alone can cost almost as much as the safe.

NO safe can stand up to a gas powered chop saw!!! As for added fire protection, I lined my safe with fire blanket. ANY heat reduction helps. Fire blanket won't burn, A ACETELYN TORCH won't burn it.