Fireproof Gun Safe

[cotty16]

Talk to me fellas. What ya got? Where did you get it? What’s the fire rating on it? About how much did it cost ya?

The wife brought up getting a fireproof safe for our important documents. I figured why not kill two birds here and get a better cabinet for my guns.

 

[at1010]

I have a liberty fat boy 64
bought it at FIN Feather Fur in Ashland - free delievery as well
I cant recall fire rating
I think it cost me around $2500 - I would spend it again tomorrow if I didnt have this gun safe. I have plenty of room, keep important documents in it, etc.

Fatboy Extreme

Equipped with a 6-in-1 flex interior and wide body steel frame, the FATBOY Extreme can store up to 60 guns! Order high capacity gun safes online.

www.libertysafe.com

 

[cotty16]

I have a liberty fat boy 64
bought it at FIN Feather Fur in Ashland - free delievery as well
I cant recall fire rating
I think it cost me around $2500 - I would spend it again tomorrow if I didnt have this gun safe. I have plenty of room, keep important documents in it, etc.

Fatboy Extreme

Equipped with a 6-in-1 flex interior and wide body steel frame, the FATBOY Extreme can store up to 60 guns! Order high capacity gun safes online.

www.libertysafe.com

Says there you got 90 minutes to get your stuff out! Lol

Thanks for that info Looks like a real nice one.

 

[Ohiosam]

I have a Champion. Probably had it for close to 15 years. Don’t remember the ratings. It has a dial, not a key pad. I’m happy with it.

 

[Hedgelj]

Most gun safes are not safes they are merely RSCs or Residential Security Containers which only require they not fail with a hammer and chisel for like 15 minutes. Fire ratings are even less impressive. VERY FEW safes are actually UL rated for theft of fire rating.

I did a lot of research and have an AMSEC BF series safe. When we build our forever home I'll be getting another larger one to house what i get as family members pass away.

There are some great threads on other forums about safes but one of the best is on AR15 and is a bunch of questions and answers by a VP at AMSEC but he gives information and explanations and he admits his biases.

Questions for AMSEC TheSafeGuy - AR15.COM

Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear.

www.ar15.com

A few VERY relevant posts i screenshotted and attached

 

[Hedgelj]

The quality difference between my AMSEC BF and my father in laws and brother-in-law's liberty safes is noticeable, the comparison to my Dad's no name brand he found at a gun show is night and day.

I also have a box store bought document safe that's document fire rated that i keep important documents in inside my safe figuring the double fire rating will help.

 

[triple_duece]

Thinking out loud here so don’t kill me. If you need a place to store important documents, get a large safety deposit box at your bank. Fire ratings in safes can be difficult to explain. What temp will your paperwork burn as to compared to guns? My advice is spend as much as you can and buy double of what you think you need. There is some high end safes and it will take plenty cash to own.
So a structure fire will only burn so long before it’s just a slab. Once things burn around it or the roof opens up the heat will be half of a “fire”. Direct flame can be the difference from saving your stuff to finding ashes.

As said earlier a normal safe just keeps the small problems from happening. I have a browning safe and it serves me well. If I ever built my house I would build a secrete concrete vault.

 

[giles]

You guys have this pretty well covered already. Nice work explaining!

Also, be sure the location of said object will hold the weight.

 

[Hedgelj]

You guys have this pretty well covered already. Nice work explaining!

Also, be sure the location of said object will hold the weight.

If my poured basement doesn't hold it I've got bigger problems to deal with.

 

[brock ratcliff]

I’ve got nothing for you here. I have an 80 gun Cannon safe. I have no idea what it is rated at for temperature. I do know it will not hold 80 guns as I have it set up but there are a lot of them in there. I bought it at TSC, I think it was 1200 or maybe 1000 on sale. I suppose a good thief with a few tools could bust into it quickly, but they won’t carry that sucker off.

 

[giles]

If my poured basement doesn't hold it I've got bigger problems to deal with.

Flooding worries me about basement safes.

 

[Jackalope]

Thinking out loud here so don’t kill me. If you need a place to store important documents, get a large safety deposit box at your bank. Fire ratings in safes can be difficult to explain. What temp will your paperwork burn as to compared to guns? My advice is spend as much as you can and buy double of what you think you need. There is some high end safes and it will take plenty cash to own.
So a structure fire will only burn so long before it’s just a slab. Once things burn around it or the roof opens up the heat will be half of a “fire”. Direct flame can be the difference from saving your stuff to finding ashes.

As said earlier a normal safe just keeps the small problems from happening. I have a browning safe and it serves me well. If I ever built my house I would build a secrete concrete vault.

The only problem with safety deposit boxes is loved ones accessing them once your dead, or worse, before you're dead if your spouse has passed. Unfortunately, the bank has to have the appropriate paperwork for the other individual before your death, which means they too can access it at any time. If you assign a executor in your will, banks can be a real bitch about the paperwork they require before it can be accessed. I've even read stories of where a death certificate and will wasn't enough and the bank required a court order. I've also read stories where banks required the box to be opened in front of someone and inventoried for tax purposes.

 

[triple_duece]

The only problem with safety deposit boxes is loved ones accessing them once your dead, or worse, before you're dead if your spouse has passed. Unfortunately, the bank has to have the appropriate paperwork for the other individual before your death, which means they too can access it at any time. If you assign a executor in your will, banks can be a real bitch about the paperwork they require before it can be accessed. I've even read stories of where a death certificate and will wasn't enough and the bank required a court order. I've also read stories where banks required the box to be opened in front of someone and inventoried for tax purposes.

Banks don’t know shit. If one passes go clean the box out. Of course you have to be on the list of key holders. I’ve done it twice in 4 years. Banks only know if you tell them, none of their business why I want to get in my box.
But yes if your doing it after they been notified you are correct Joe. My mom was a banker, she told me the to do’s and donts

 

[Big_Holla]

We picked up a Cannon Safari safe a while back. Keep in mind the number of guns they say fit actually won't unless you take them apart LOL! One downfall I found with ours is the electronic key pad for combination. Ours got a short in it and kept draining the 9 volt battery. You never see panic til you cannot get into your safe when you put in a new battery and it did nothing. That was when I found it was a broken wire. My recommendation is a dial combination perhaps with a key lock or at least a key pad with a key lock.

 

[Jackalope]

Banks don’t know shit. If one passes go clean the box out. Of course you have to be on the list of key holders. I’ve done it twice in 4 years. Banks only know if you tell them, none of their business why I want to get in my box.
But yes if your doing it after they been notified you are correct Joe. My mom was a banker, she told me the to do’s and donts

Yep. That's what I was trying to say bud. For ease of access after passing you have to have an additional key holder assigned before your death. The drawback there is that key holder can access it before your death, so it better be a trusted person. If you will it to someone or assign an executor to empty it he process with the bank gets more complicated.

 

[dante322]

This...
60 minute fire rating at 1200 degrees

 

[Johnny44]

I spent around $500 if I remember correctly for a "26" Winchester gun safe from TSC. 45 minute fire rating if I remember correctly. For me it is fine. However it is NOT a 26 gun safe. I have 5 long guns in there and one side is accounted for. I don't ever anticipate having more than a dozen guns (yeah, right) but this thing won't comfortably hold a dozen. My only advice I can say about it because I am not well versed is, whatever you think you need, go bigger. That's what I did, and it's still not big enough even for my minimal collection. By the time I lock up knives, some ammo and a few other things, it's maxed out.

 

[Stressless]

I've got the browning/bridger built into my office. The key piece I went with is that's "part" of my built in office woodwork and next to a large window. On the front of the house is a local Fire Sticker that directs them to put that area out first. Didn't get to try it with a house fire in 2004 - lightening started in the attic and it only burned thru a couple ceiling areas and walls as I put in cellulose insulation instead of fiberglass and also put in all my interior walls for sound deadening AND > 10x fire burn through.

Layered defense is always preferable to a single "impenetrable" defense ... they aren't.

You can see the burn on this (2x4) where cellulose depth kept the burn rate down in my home fire. I patched the top (clean wood) above the burnt out joists.

 

[cotty16]

Great info guys!