Learned my Lesson on Cheap Safes.

[DRM]

Hey DRM.. sorry it took so long to reply... it was theft, been out 2 wks came home the back door busted .. they went straight for my guns ... attacked the door with pry bars.. and extracted all of my toys... whaaaaaaaa.... LOL... I am looking at a Liberty Fat Boy Jr.

Well crap - sorry for it.

On the bright side - what have you learned? Sounds like you are looking for a better safe, can you improve it's location? Reduce angles of physical attack? What about securing the house as a whole?

[JeffL]

What safe were you using?

[Guest ForPointSix]

Hey DRM.. sorry it took so long to reply... it was theft, been out 2 wks came home the back door busted .. they went straight for my guns ... attacked the door with pry bars.. and extracted all of my toys... whaaaaaaaa.... LOL... I am looking at a Liberty Fat Boy Jr.

Sorry about the breakin but like others have said, it is probably someone you know.

If you are able to upgrade from the Jr to the FS FatBoy, then I highly recommend it. I own a FatBoy, and the ads say it will hold 64 long guns. But if you own anything bigger then 64 10/22s then you are out of luck. I can imagine the Jr is exactly the same, but smaller. Plus the FS FatBoy has the Accessory Door Panel.

[Guest adamoxtwo]

I will say that the Safe house has great products and are very knowledgeable. I did however find a great deal at Gun Safes | Gun Safe Accessories by The Official Patriot Safe Company. I paid a little more then what you are after but it was for a 1880 2 hr LEO 24 Gun safe. They have a great selection and have some specials within your price range. Got a deal in their Scratch and Dent section (if had nothing wrong with it, but someone had it delivered and when they saw it wanted a larger one. Good for me because once it leaves the factory it's considered a scratch and dent no matter what. Hope you find what you are looking for and sorry for your loss that's a tough one to swallow.

[Tnscooter63]

What safe were you using?

+1

[DRM]

Sorry about the breakin but like others have said, it is probably someone you know.

If you are able to upgrade from the Jr to the FS FatBoy, then I highly recommend it. I own a FatBoy, and the ads say it will hold 64 long guns. But if you own anything bigger then 64 10/22s then you are out of luck. I can imagine the Jr is exactly the same, but smaller. Plus the FS FatBoy has the Accessory Door Panel.

I generally divide advertised safe count by 2, and count scoped rifles as 3.

[finz50]

Bought a Liberty Franklin FR50 two years ago...best money I 've spent on firearms to date....the side panel for handguns, magazines, etc was INCREDIBLE....

[av88tor]

So lets talk about the claims made by Patriot Safe, First the claims of a two hour fire rating, the fire board thickness of the Patriot safe is half the thickness of the Browning 90 minute certified fire rated safe, so how can that be ? well it can't ! How about the made in the USA claim, well why do they get containers shipped in from China full of safes? Why do they claim that their lock is "Top Secret" well I would want my lock to be top secret if it was such a piece of junk like the Patriot lock. If you would like to see the inferior construction of the Patroit safe and how easily it can be pried open just stop by our showroom.

One thing I can tell you is if you visit us at The Safe House We will show you a top quality safe at an affordable price. AND if you ask we will explain why we don't carry cheaply made, low quality safes.

For Example we are having a sale on the Champion Triumph 25 for only $1599, (Reg $ 1799) 90 minute fire rating, 10 guage body, 2 inch double step door construction, S & G Lock.

Edited February 20, 2011 by av88tor

[mikegideon]

I generally divide advertised safe count by 2, and count scoped rifles as 3.

Scoped rifles really mess with the count.

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I did really want a Liberty, but I have been completely satisfied with the Heritage. it wasnt the most expensive nor the cheapest but seems a very good fit for what I needed. I dont remember just how many guns it was supposed to hold but since I only have a couple long guns it was not an issue.

I was able to re-model the interior a bit to leave just enough space for the few long guns that I do have and leave some room for few more while cutting some more shelving and adding to what was already there. It holds everything I needed to put in it very well and still has plenty growing room. Even with all the handguns, ammo, cameras, coin collections, important papers and other things it still looks to be less than half full.

I have not however been able to convince my wife that a gun safe has to be completely full in order to function properly;)......for some reason she does not believe me.

It is very seldom that someone is not here but is also very comforting to be able to grab up the laptops and video game consoles and pop them in there when we do all leave. Just in case someone was to get past the dogs and alarm system while we were out. About all they could grab is the TV's which I have not yet figured out how to fit in the safe.

The only thing I dread is eventually moving and finding someone to move that thing again along with the wifes upright grand piano, those two things alone are probably as heavy as everything else in the house added together.

As I said earlier it was quite the ordeal for me but now is a very comforting extra layer of protection that I already wonder how I ever did without. I DO think that it stinks that we must all live and think the way that we have to these days, but I dont see any thing getting better in those regards anytime soon.

As my gun store guy told me.....Add up the cost of replacing just a few, maybe for some just one of your favorite "tools" and you will quickly justify the cost of a good safe or "Residential Security Container" as they are most all properly called.

[Guest DanE479]

I'm going to be buying a safe soon (it sucks that I live in Illinois and so far away from the safe house), but I have also carried an insurance policy on my firearms for a long time. IT costs me $40 for $3000 of stuff a year and has a direct replacement cost and no deductible.

[RobertNashville]

I too can vouch for The Safe House...I bought my Browning almost exactly a year ago...top quality products and top quality service...what you pay is worth every penny.

I also STRONGLY recommend that you don't just depend on a safe no matter how good it is. Security for your valuables, your home, and your family should never be dependent on any one thing no matter how good that one thing is. As was said, layers and even layers upon layers is what it takes. Dogs, monitored security systems, cc cameras, neighbors that know each and look out for each other...as many of those layers as you can apply the better off you'll be!

[t-bilt]

I bought a Liberty 48 Gun Safe several years back from Southern Security Safes for $1100 bucks. It weighed over 1100 pounds (so a buck a pound??)! I found the guy listed in the back of an American Rifleman...NRA magazine I get. It was the best deal I found in the Southeast. He is located in Kingston, TN. You can google it if interested...

The thing I remember most was the guy asking me if I lived in a rural area or city. His wisdom helped me make a good decision. I live in a rural community with a little acreage. The sales guy told me that a professional never goes through the door. They know it is reinforced and is the strongest part of the safe. Additionally he said crooks typically take an axe and come down on the top of the safe with the corner or toe of the axe blade and pierce a hole in the top big enough to get a reciprocating saw with a metal blade in the hole or drill a series of holes. From there it is only an amount of time till they open the top of the safe like a can of tuna, reach in and take the contents. He said that any safe can be compromised...what you are doing is buying time by getting the thickest safe you can afford. He advised against laminated safes that had two thin layer of metal with the fire board sandwiched between. He said the thin metal was very easy to pierce. He also said very few if any crooks use a torch. It would set the house on fire and damage the goods inside

The guy sold me on a safe with 3/16" thick skin (top back and sides) the door is 3/8" with 1" bolts and a S&G lock with a 45 minute @ 1250 degree fire rating. I made sure to bolt the safe to a concrete floor in my garage with 1/2" redhead drop in anchors. You can move a safe pretty much any where you want with several pieces of 1" schedule 40 PVC pipe cut 30" long. If you can tip the safe up with a pry bar and shove the pipe under it it will roll like it's on bearings. Just keep putting the pipe pieces that comes out the back in the front or direction you want to go and you can walk it along... get to a corner or turn and it will slide / rotate on the PVC easy enough. Some of us old timers remember folks moving buildings on poles... Now you know why it needs to be bolted down. A crook will take a safe that can be moved to a safe location and take their time breaking into it.

For extra protection against fire with precious documents and memorabilia I have a sergeant fire safe inside my Liberty gun safe. Now I have no need for a safety deposit box rental at the bank.

One last observation!!! I have a very close friend that had a beautiful Browning Safe with an admirable collection including a matching engraved pair of colt SAA's and some sweet O/U shotguns. He came home to find the entire collection gone! His dilemma was that he had forgot to spin the combination! These things won't keep out the trash if you don't keep them locked...

Now lets all take a moment to hope and pray that all perps that steal a collections shoot themselves in the face while playing with our hard earned treasures...amen

Edited March 2, 2011 by t-bilt

[av88tor]

Give us a call at The Safe House, we have all of the Liberty Franklin Series in stock and ready for delivery or we can ship them to you, if needed. We also carry 6 other brands from Browning , Champion , Heritage , Big Horn , Winchester and American Security Gun Safes. Over 150 Gun Safes in stock no 6 to 8 week wait !

www.nashvillesafehouse.com or 615-255-0500

MB

[DannyH57]

Thanks for all the help guys... I bought a new Browning safe.. have heard nothing on my guns but have filed claims with insurance and a claim with the NRA so we can restock. Oh by the way the NRA has increased their coverage as of Jan 1 2011 to $2500. but you need to call them .. so git er done.

[Mike.357]

am curious what they were held in before they were stolen. did I miss that post?

[East_TN_Patriot]

am curious what they were held in before they were stolen. did I miss that post?

No, I don't think the OP ever said, but I'd like to hear what kind of safe was being used.

[Lumber_Jack]

And sadly are only a step above a wet cardboard box for keeping thieves out and your firearm safe from a house fire for very long.

I store my guns in a wet cardboard box, whats worng with that?

[Guest adamoxtwo]

Are you going to start this again?? I made the Patriot safe comment because They are a good safe made in America. I also said that the folks at the SAFE HOUSE have "great products and are very knowledgeable." They are a great safe I know a lot of people who have them and love them. Don't hate by lying about your competitors. That's just bad business

So lets talk about the claims made by Patriot Safe, First the claims of a two hour fire rating, the fire board thickness of the Patriot safe is half the thickness of the Browning 90 minute certified fire rated safe, so how can that be ? well it can't !

Most gun safe manufacturers use only low cost gypsum board for your "fire protection". We are talking about most of the popular gun safes sold in gun stores, large chain stores or bulk savings stores. 1800° Pyro-Barrier fire protection gives you twice the fire protection ever offered before. Most companies offer 1200° for 30 min. A standard house fire burns at 1100° for 27 min. That is not much in the way of protection. 1800° Pyro-Barrier plus U.L listed x-type fire rated fire board in "combination" give you an hour, up to 90 or 120 minutes of extreme fire protection, depending on which level of fire protection fits your needs.

How about the made in the USA claim, well why do they get containers shipped in from China full of safes? Why do they claim that their lock is "Top Secret" well I would want my lock to be top secret if it was such a piece of junk like the Patriot lock. If you would like to see the inferior construction of the Patroit safe and how easily it can be pried open just stop by our showroom.

hmmmmm the lock is an X-2400....you can google it nothing secret about it. and their factory is in Hutington Beach California.....so not sure where China comes from. Again I think you are referring to another safe. Simple research will get some of your ignorant comments answered

One thing I can tell you is if you visit us at The Safe House We will show you a top quality safe at an affordable price. AND if you ask we will explain why we don't carry cheaply made, low quality safes.

For Example we are having a sale on the Champion Triumph 25 for only $1599, (Reg $ 1799) 90 minute fire rating, 10 guage body, 2 inch double step door construction, S & G Lock.

Never attacked your products you carry a good line of safes. The best Value? Not sure

Edited March 29, 2011 by adamoxtwo

[deafdogdief]

The Safe House might be a bit far to drive.

Liberty is a very good brand, which you can get at Randy's Pawn in Trenton.

He also has reasonable delivery.

+1

[East_TN_Patriot]

I store my guns in a wet cardboard box, whats worng with that?

I just picked up a Liberty from Gander Mountain, but it's not built from titanium reinforced armor plate and weighs in at less than 12 tons, so I suspect there will be those out there who will call my "residential security container" a quaint way to present my firearms to thieves for their enjoyment.