Cannon vs Liberty safes

[Mark M.]

In the safe world, you get what you pay for.
Years ago, before we bought our safes, we researched and researched, most companies that manufacture safes don't give a lot of detail on how there constructed, but what we found was that most all safes that have a price point of up to1500. or so are all about the same, there made to look secure with there large bolts thick doors, but are nothing more then dry wall and sheet metal, the door jam gaps are large, perfect for a pry bar. they give an appearance of security, but in reality, the fire protection isn't a reality, and basically they just keep the kids out.
We on the other hand wanted something more, something that would actually keep our irreplaceable items, important paper ect. Safe from fire and theft
We took a good at the family owned Sturdy Safe Co. we found them to be the best value for the money spent, there quality was on par with Fort Knox safes at about half the price, heavy duty jams, ceramic wool fire protection and plate steel construction, there door jam gap is less than the thickness of a butter knife, the transparency on youtube showes there superior construction and testing.
We're not rich by any means, and putting out that money was a bit of a sacrifice, but for us, the investment was the right choice.

 

[nicholst55]

In addition to everything already posted, read the reviews of gun safes purchased at Tractor Supply. It seems like they damage them all during shipping and handling. I don't think they offer delivery and installation, either. That's a huge concern for some folks, like me. I bought my gun safe from a company that specializes in gun safes, and even builds custom ones. I paid them $350 to deliver and install it, and consider it money well spent. It literally took the guy about five minutes to unload it (Liberty Fat Boy Jr.) from the truck and position it in the garage. Obviously not his first rodeo!

 

[wkndwarrior]

Whatever you end up with, if you are really concerned about fire you should pay attention to where it is located in the house and also use a document safe/fire box inside of it for the really important stuff.

 

[Jacks Grampa]

Costco.com has free delivery. That's important for my old back. The last one I bought has a key slot hidden behind the keypad in case the electronics fail. They also hold only about half the number of guns they advertise.

 

[sksshooter]

of the 2 brands mentioned i would recommend the cannon. Liberty used to be a little higher quality and i'm sure they still produce higher quality series but the ones at tractor supply are just liberty licensed safes. the cannons have a great warranty and as was stated most of them under the $1500 range are pretty much about the same build quality. Both my dads and my house flooded in 2016. He still had the sticker from purchase on his. they have a lifetime warranty against fire, water damage or attempted breakin. they replaced both of our safes free of charge. was really nice not to have to go out and replace a safe in the middle of everything else we had going on.

 

[Charlie-NY]

Something no one mentioned:

Make certain that it is possible to actually get the safe where you want it before ordering one. I had a custom Browning safe built and intended to put it in the finished basement. Initially, a safe mover said "Yes" it would fit. But 6 months later when the safe arrived it was impossible to get it around the bend and onto the staircase safely. There were 3 guys trying to move the safe and one guy tells me that even "IF" they got it on the top step that it would be so dangerous to kick out the bottom and attempt to descend with the safe that someone was likely to get killed. That was all I had to hear. Keep in mind that I hired a safe moving company to do the job.

Ultimately, I had them transport the safe to my LGS, which the safe was originally ordered through. The guy was good enough to take the safe and sell it to another buyer down the road. I ended up having a smaller safe built, but it really doesn't meet my needs.

 

[PhilC]

Costco.com has free delivery. That's important for my old back. The last one I bought has a key slot hidden behind the keypad in case the electronics fail. They also hold only about half the number of guns they advertise.

Son called yesterday as he was considering one and told me Costco would deliver to his door free but from there it was on him.

I bought a Superior Master 60 2yrs ago It was clearance priced since it was manufactured late 2018. Free delivery included placing it in my gun room which, at 3/4 ton, was big deal. 40mi round trip, lift gate truck, 3 big guys, motorized hand truck, and a dolly to get it positioned in the recessed pocket. Got my money's worth that day.

 

[wildcatter]

The following video is what you can expect from the safes mentioned above.

Do yourself a favor and invest in a REAL safe,
This is what I would suggest,

American Gun Safes & Vault Doors! Affordably Higher Security

Sturdy Gun Safe manufactures gun safes, pistol safes and vault doors sold direct at discounted pricing. Thicker steel, real fireproofing and custom options, for less!

www.sturdysafe.com

I see one thing I would not recommend those safes for,,, outside hinges,, not good, even if it has addaquet size bolts, and all four sides need dead bolts!

The things to watch for are

does it have "Multiple bolts" on all four sides of the door, and more than a single bolt top and bottom. and the larger the dead bolts, the more, the merrier,, 1" dia. minimum

The best safes will have a 1/4" to 3/8" plate welded in around the perimeter of the opening on the inside the locking bolts protrude against, welded to the side wall and to the lip on the opening, cheaper safes are just rolled corners around the inside perimeter, creating a hollow space the dead bolt lock against, not good.

insulation helps the fire rating the higher temp rated is good, but for the longest duration is best.

As stated, It needs to be anchored to the floor!

You get what you pay for. So if money is limited, by smaller if real security is your intention.

 

[varminthunter1]

I have an acquaintance that lost his entire home. All the safes in the house failed to protect any of the belongings, a Cannon and a Liberty safe among them. As stated, if the fire is hot enough, the safe is going to get unbelievably hot inside as well. I like the idea of a sprinkler system myself.

 

[linekin]

I've seen a few guns that had been thru in a safe & hot fire. That combined with the water damage they were a rusted up mess. The heirlooms he wanted restored, the rest I'm not sure what happened to them..
Keith

 

[Emmett Dibble]

Soooo…

IMHO, YMMV, advice worth exactly what you pay for it….

Take your or any other neighborhood or area (if out in the county). Do the statistics for fire and theft…. There are WAY more thefts then fire.

You are wanting to protect for theft more then fire.

Google stories of ”fire resistant” (none of them are proof) safes and the contents after a serious fire.

Everything in the safe is damaged or destroyed to some extent.

I live in a suburb of Houston. Older neighborhood. Old (50’s) house. I have 2 very large safes. Both are ‘70-80’s old way before they started slapping Sheetrock inside and calling them “fireproof”. Both welded together with 1/4” plate steel (heavy as hell). One is an old Cannon the other Amsec. I have video surveillance of the house and gun room. That is about as good as it’s going to get.

Thieves are lazy by nature. They are not going to spend any serious time trying to get a safe open. They tend to bust open a door/window, rummage and grab stuff that resells/pawns quick and easy/get the eff out.

You want something that will be intimidating enough to stop any quick smash and grabs. If someone want to camp out in your house and cut a safe open, flop a 1000# safe/full of guns safe over on it’s side and work on prying the door open, your not going to stop them.

Old safes are heavy, thick and actually larger inside then “fire proof” ones… And they tend to be cheaper.

As I said, my opinion. It’s what I do and I do love my firearms.

 

[Rtheurer]

Tractor Supply has been the cheapest place i have found them on a Regular basis.

 

[acloco]

Of interest, this is a safe that made it thru the 2018 fire in Northern California.

The house was leveled.

NGC and NCS Help Coin Collector Impacted by Devastating Paradise Wildfire

In all, 48 NGC-graded coins were conserved, graded and reholdered after the Paradise WildFire At 6:33 a.m. on November 8, 2018, a wildfire was reported

coinweek.com

 

[nakneker]

I have a few safes in varying quality, never have liked the idea of feeling secure with a safe though and ended up pulling an extra insurance policy on everything in the man cave. We live out from town and I keep the gates to the property locked up but you never know. A determined thief is worse than a coyote with mange who hasn’t had a meal in two weeks, they will do anything to steal your stuff.

 

[69mach]

i have an 80 gun cannon and my father has a 50 or 60 some gun liberty. he got a very expensive one so i can really compare them but i’ve been happy with my cannon 80 gunner. to bad you aren’t closer, i looking to sell mine in a couple months as we built a house with a safe room.

i will say his expensive liberty is very pretty and his seargant green leaf old time dial lock is built very well but i like my quick digital.

 

[butchlambert]

I have a green Liberty 80 gun. It is bolted to the floor and wall. It hasn't been tested by thieves, fire, or flood. It is 24yrs old.

 

[Emmett Dibble]

i have an 80 gun cannon and my father has a 50 or 60 some gun liberty. he got a very expensive one so i can really compare them but i’ve been happy with my cannon 80 gunner. to bad you aren’t closer, i looking to sell mine in a couple months as we built a house with a safe room.

i will say his expensive liberty is very pretty and his seargant green leaf old time dial lock is built very well but i like my quick digital.

Both of my old safes were S&G locks. The cannon started having issues (have to dial it a couple times) and I changed them both out to S&G electronic. Did the Cannon first to make sure I like it then did the AMSEC.

It’s a very easy conversion and I took pictures and measurements while the back of the door was off of both so I know where to drill if I ever have a problem.

 

[pintopete]

I agree with others in that physical security is my top priority. So, when choosing a product, my choice will be driven by the materials and workmanship that provide the best I can afford. Fire is not high on my priority list. There are two reasons that contribute to this opinion. Structure fires are unbelievably hot. If you have never bore witness first hand, the intensity, and duration of the heat is incredible. Not much is going to survive it intact. Second is the probability. With these things in mind, I plan to purchase a Sturdy Safe. If the price is unaffordable. Take a look at their economy products. The materials used in their economy models are still thicker than others that are heavily advertised. Workmanship will be better as well. In addition, they are a family operation with other employees, made here in the US. Just my two cents.

 

[AckleymanII]

Step brother has one of those safes with a key in spin dial. He forgot to lock it. Thieves cleaned him out.

S&G spin dials on mine!