Thread: Looking for certain safe?

Originally Posted by qpoint

Hey guys----- I'd like a safe with the following specs anyone have anything like the following:

digital
sound mutable
quiet opening

looking for something not so alerting in an SD situation.

thx

I'm reminded of an old office poster joke I saw in my earlier days:

PRICE - QUALITY - TIME

Pick any two.

The point is it's nearly impossible to get all three. If you want something done quickly yet affordable, chances are the quality is going to suck, or if you want a high quality product, it will most likely be expensive because it takes a long time to make.

To be blunt, I am not aware of a safe which can offer all three of your requirements without spending hundreds of dollars. My advice to you would be to get a Gunvault/Minivault which can be had for $100-130. The safe is rugged, audible errors can be turned off, contents can be accessed very quickly, and the safe doesn't take up a whole lot of space. There are two drawbacks:

-requires batteries to memorize access code
-when opened, door opens with a noticable amount of force, slamming into the surface on which the safe rests

You can curtail the second drawback by putting a hand in front of the door to catch it; in the end the only sound is the *click* of the latch releasing (which is relatively quiet). At this point the only drawback is renewing batteries every year or two.

I used to sell safes & they all are quiet if you open them carefully. A gun vault is not a safe. Do you need a full size safe which comes 5 & 6ft tall? I don't like digital locks because they are not as reliable as a quality manual lock like SARGENT & GREENEAF. Find a shop that sells safes & try a variety of them.
I just tried my safe to see how quiet it is. Very quiet tumbler & door opening if you don't rush.

thanks guys...

Originally Posted by literaltrance

I'm reminded of an old office poster joke I saw in my earlier days:

PRICE - QUALITY - TIME

Pick any two.

Haha, I am reminded of a similar quote deal with cars (my #1 hobby):

Fast - Reliable - Cheap... pick two.

Whast size safe? How many guns..and other type things are going in it?

I would advise against digital locks, they just are not as reliable but I understand your desire for it. You'd be better off with a safe with a combination lock though. Digi-Locks are dependent on a battery or other source of power.

Gun safes come in about every configuration you can imagine. If it's only a couple pistols and maybe your personable papers you might look at something other in a gun safe. Maybe something smaller but still gives you the security of locking up what you want and maybe think of how fireproof it is.

If it's just a want to keep my home defense weapon in it then a small locking gun box that can be bolted down might be up your alley.

Without knowing what you need the safe for it's pretty hard to help you out though.

at my house we have a small 'fireproof' safe with an electronic lock, when ever i have needed to get into the safe, it has never failed that i need to find new batteries. this isnt exactly your highest grade safe, but its still showed me that the next safe will have a dial.

Originally Posted by qpoint

looking for something not so alerting in an SD situation.

Hopefully the person or persons breaking into your house will have the courtesy to give you enough notice before they arrive so you will have enough time to get to your safe!

Some people will say that you might want to consider having your firearm closer at hand when you are at home. You want the element of surprise to be in your favor, not theirs!

Scott

Thanks Scott, but I have two children (9 and 7) great and smart kids but I take no chances about safety!

I'd be using it for one pistol, I suppose if I had a second pistol it would be in a different safe elsewhere in the house.

By the way---
most digital safes have keylock overides. That is--- in the event of battey failure (which one should be checking on a consistent basis); or failed code entry insertion of the key unlocks the safe. One need only keep that at a ready and safe location as well.

Originally Posted by scottaschultz

Hopefully the person or persons breaking into your house will have the courtesy to give you enough notice before they arrive so you will have enough time to get to your safe!

Some people will say that you might want to consider having your firearm closer at hand when you are at home. You want the element of surprise to be in your favor, not theirs!

Exactly the reason why even though I am home most of the time, I carry all day, every day. And yes, there are two children (ages 6 and 2) in the house. But since I carry in a quality holster, I don't feel they are in any danger of accidentally getting the gun.

hmmm... not my preference. but I gues that indeed "is" as "close" to you as you can get. smile.

I am not suggesting that you do not get a safe. It is an absolute must when you have children that age in the house, but a gun is no good for protection if it is not accessible the instant you need it. If you want to keep the gun(s) secure, there are lots of biometric gun vaults on the market. I don't own one, but something along the Gun Vault (yes, that's the name of the company) XJ-220659 gets pretty good reviews.

I really wouldn't sweat the noise factor. As a matter of fact, if there is a person or persons making their way through your house to your bedroom, having them hear a gun safe or vault being opened might actually be a good thing... for you!

Scott

Don't let anyone talk you out of getting a real safe. Some of us leave the safe unlocked when we're home to have quick access to it. Others are concerned about small children. Not everyone feels they need to have a gun nearby when at home. I'm one of those. I live in a very safe environment, plus I have 2 large ROTTWEILERS in my home. Many are mainly concerned if a burglary occurs and losing their gun collection. In most burglary's the safes are left untouched, unless professional burglars are involved, which is rare.

Thanks both of you----

Getting use to the whole idea that a weapon "just in case" is an adjustment for me in itself.

I've been checking out the bio-safes; I like them was only concerned about the noise; but I guess you're right Scott; might be to my advantage as well. Never thought of it that way.

With respect to SD. Do you guys keep your guns in more than one location in the house? What are your thoughts on that? I'm thinking bedroom with wife and I, and family room where we are likely to be in evening/night. Only other place is a third space in the very front of the home that we've converted into office space looks kinda like this from side:

Bedrooms 3/Back of House | Kitchen | Family Room | Living Rm. | Office, Ft. Dr.

my side door is off my kitchen (I live in a lower apartment). Upper lower apt. house.

Well it could get pretty expensive to have a gun in every room! I personally do not do this, but I know there are a lot of people who just keep their daily carry weapon on them until they retire for the evening. That way you know your gun is never far from reach.

Scott

yeah... true. I was thinking more like 2 in the house. back/front.

The one big downside of the "two guns" idea is you have two guns you need to be proficient with instead of one. Having a Beretta* with a manual safety at one end of the house and a Glock* at the other won't do you much good in a stressful situation where your response has to be automatic. This means drilling with both guns at the range for accuracy and at home (dry fire) for operation. Still could be a problem though, even with a lot of practice. It would be really bad to run for a gun and start jamming on the trigger like you picked up the Glock, only to find out too late you had the Beretta in your hand and hadn't disengaged the safety. This could be negated by having two guns of similar design like a XD9 at one end and a XD9SC the other, but you're still going to have to practice with both as they will shoot differently. You could get 2 of the exact same gun, but I couldn't see wasting money like that.

Like I said before, I just keep my gun on me all day and don't have to worry about being close to my gun. Is it a lifestyle adjustment? Absolutely. Will your wife think you're nuts? Absolutely, at first. But it is easier than worrying about gun placement and security with the kids (my non-carry guns are in my safe).


*Examples only

Thanks Todd. Very insightful. Good advice.