Thread: Big gun safe advice

Im going to upgrade my storage and looking a big safe in the 30-50gun range
Not that I need anywhere near that much space atm but I figure may as well go big then I won’t need to worry about running out of space in the future

Looking online the only shop that stocks big safes is gun city
With the Winchester Silverado line
But are they the best value for money?

Any other options available? Only need ACat I don’t think I’ll ever own anything restricted

10ft Shipping container?

Build yourself a walk-in strong room. If you need that much storage you need access and room to move in there.

Drummond and Etheridge, the John Deere dealers in Ashburton had 2 or 3 big safes for sale in there a while back, like real BIG. And I've seen a very good setup in a guys shed where he used a 10ft container, bolted to the floor. Was a tidy one, inside and out. Had his reloading bench in there, a book shelf for all his reference and magazines etc. A bench for working on his guns. And all his hunting gear on shelves or hung on hooks. Was way back in the shed, looked pretty unobtrusive and the crooks had to get past the security camera, in to a locked shed, and then in to a locked container.

I have a 16 gun fire proof job. Wish I had gone bigger. Unless they are all small opensight rifles or single barrel shotguns you can't fit anywhere near that number of firearms in there, let alone the dehumidifier that came with the safe. Digital locking is cool though, not having to go find the key from whatever "safe" place it was left in.

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

Im going to upgrade my storage and looking a big safe in the 30-50gun range
Not that I need anywhere near that much space atm but I figure may as well go big then I won’t need to worry about running out of space in the future

Looking online the only shop that stocks big safes is gun city
With the Winchester Silverado line
But are they the best value for money?

Any other options available? Only need ACat I don’t think I’ll ever own anything restricted

Last time me I looked both Rivers to Ranges and the Green shed stoked or could supply larger safes, might pay to ask as may not be displayed due to shop size or cost to keep in stock for an item that is unlikely to be turned over often.

Definitely seen a larger Spika branded safe at RtR 30+gun safe from memory

It's an option to get a local fabricator to weld up a box out of 6mm steel and hang a door on with a couple of Ross 5 lever locks

I made my own as a smaller unit and it cost, very roughly $300 per sheet of 6mm steel and I think about $100 each Ross lock

Glue Fyreline on the interior and you have a fire resistant safe

These guys might be able to do something for you
https://www.tsl.net.nz/baronets

I looked at this a few years ago. I needed endorsement rated safes though.
I ended up going with two 16-20 gun safes instead under the thought process of someone will need to get into two safes to get everything. It's also significantly easier to man handle two smaller safes than one of those big buggas.
If I did it again I'd probably look at the Legend Safes: https://legendhuntinggear.co.nz/safes/ which seem to me to be similar price to the A-Cat safes in stores of the same sizes when it comes to the bigger safes.

I think if I was going down that route, I would llook at a strong room. That way later on, if the situation changes, the room can be used for other things. It cn also be made to look like another room / cupboard or even a loo.....and if you make it the 'right size' you could convert it to a home bar for when you have guests....

Secondly, with a room, the security measures are inside the walls (reinforcing , concrete, bars . metal any eectrical cabling for lights etc... ) but you can line it with timber. MDF ply etc and that greatly helps reduce condensation issues that you get with a safe....

"Room of stout construction" with a surplus bank vault door. There are currently quite a few bank branches being decommissioned, so there are doors floating around. I have one here, 8mm skin but the frame was twisted during the removal process. This would need to be replaced, it's made from 75x50x8mm angle so not a huge job. I got half way through stripping and refitting it when plans changed slightly. Would also need a new lock, I was going to hang a digital type on it but ended up being given a 10mm-skin one that had a straight frame, much easier to use that for my room when I built it. I don't have huge numbers of firearms so don't really need a room of stout construction but it is sooo much easier when getting home to unlock the door, chuck everything in and lock it up until you have time to unpack your gear properly. As noted, if you have scoped firearms a 30-gun safe ends up being only good for about 10 if you don't want the scopes leaning on each other when the door's shut...

As pointed out on many of these style of threads in the past, if you top and tail them you can virtually double the number. And without damage to scopes, stocks, except if you're a bull in a china shop. Only issue is the ones at the back become harder to retrieve but that's just a matter of planning which ones get used the most.

Incidentally, all my recently used rifles get stored barrel down in the safe. This allows any excess solvent/gun oil to drain.

Actually, the best way to store is horizontal with the muzzle slightly lower. The oil in the barrel will meniscus nicely around the bore. Unfortunately, this type of storage can only be done in a bigger walk in type vault.

cheers for reply's a strong room is not an option i have nowhere suitable to build one and nowhere near the funds required
I've had several small safes in the past but i just found that a pain in the arse as I couldn't remember what was in what safe. etcetc

I have a perfect corner where a big safe will fit like a glove. although i can see this will be a pain in some ways Aswell like guns getting parked in and having to unload the entire safe to get something from the back. but i think by going for something way bigger than i need this issue will be less common.

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

cheers for reply's a strong room is not an option i have nowhere suitable to build one and nowhere near the funds required
I've had several small safes in the past but i just found that a pain in the arse as I couldn't remember what was in what safe. etcetc

I have a perfect corner where a big safe will fit like a glove. although i can see this will be a pain in some ways Aswell like guns getting parked in and having to unload the entire safe to get something from the back. but i think by going for something way bigger than i need this issue will be less common.

@ROKTOYs suggestion of a 10' container is a bloody good idea mate.

Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

cheers for reply's a strong room is not an option i have nowhere suitable to build one and nowhere near the funds required
I've had several small safes in the past but i just found that a pain in the arse as I couldn't remember what was in what safe. etcetc

I have a perfect corner where a big safe will fit like a glove. although i can see this will be a pain in some ways Aswell like guns getting parked in and having to unload the entire safe to get something from the back. but i think by going for something way bigger than i need this issue will be less common.

To be fair, I thought that too regarding the required funds. I priced up building a big steel safe, then looked at buying one, then what was required to build a room of stout construction. The room was by far the cheapest of the three options... I used 75x45, 18mm structural ply, fibrecement sheet for fire proofing and unaltered 65square mesh to comply with the cut resistance. While it took longer as I had to do the labour etc, it's actually cheaper than sourcing 6mm plate for a large scale safe. Shipping containers are a good idea, but have weaknesses in the design of them that I don't really like as a permanent option for storage (one of these is that they are shocking moisture traps).