Finally Decided on a New Gun Safe

[Ledd Slinger]

I've been researching gun safes for about a year now. There's so many good safes out there, but the high quality safes usually cost a good chunk of change. I was getting ready to order a safe that was around $3K when I came across Steelwater gun safes...

I can't find anything bad about Steelwater safes on the Internet from people who own them. One fella on a forum owns 2 Liberty safes, a Cannon, and one Steelwater. He said that he feels his Steelwater is by far the best made and most solid. They really seem to be the best bang for your buck. The safe I ordered is the 51 gun model. It has a fire rating of 90 minutes at 1400 degrees, a total of 14 gear driven 1 1/2" door bolts (2 top, 2 bottom, and 5 on each side) and is equipped with a relocker and break away 5 spoke door handle. The abuse they put the safe through in the videos is pretty impressive. And at only $1600 with FREE shipping, no other manufacturers can compete with it.

Here's a summary video of the attacks they put the 39 gun safe through. You can find the in depth videos of each attack on YouTube. I think I found a clear winner. What do you all think?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LBCEEL4LvPM

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Here's the manufacturer specs.

http://www.steelwatergunsafes.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=61

 

[loneranger04]

That looks like a good value. It's far superior to mine but most gun safes are more accessible through the sides or top. It says it's 12 gauge steel and I don't know how thick that is but, with the proper power tools and enough time, any of the gun safes are able to be opened. Gun safes protect from snatch and grab thieves but a dedicated thief that has enough time will find their way in. Looks like a good deal with free delivery too.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

That looks like a good value. It's far superior to mine but most gun safes are more accessible through the sides or top. It says it's 12 gauge steel and I don't know how thick that is but, with the proper power tools and enough time, any of the gun safes are able to be opened. Gun safes protect from snatch and grab thieves but a dedicated thief that has enough time will find their way in. Looks like a good deal with free delivery too.

Yeah I think I will definitely frame it in with tight 2×6 construction. You are right that any safe can be broken into. The key is to have a safe that will take a thief a long time to accomplish it by using noisy power tools that may raise an alarm. I have close neighbors and it's not very often you hear about any thefts in my area of Montana, especially rare for anything as serious or complicated as safe cracking. The 14 1-1/2" bolts and tight door construction would be a challenging feat for anyone. Fire is my biggest threat so with a 1400 degree 90 minute rating it gives me a good piece of mind. You are lucky to find a safe with a 60 minute 1200 degree fire rating in that price range unless the security features are greatly reduced such as 1" bolts, no top/bottom bolts and may not even have a relocker.

Really think it's a heck of a deal. The savings are mostly because you are ordering directly from the manufacturer. No middle man.

 

[loneranger04]

You've done your research. Hope you never have to find out how resistant to fire and theft it is. Did you get the electronic lock or the old dial?

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Gonna go with the dial for reliability. I was looking at their safes a little closer and I think I'm gonna upgrade to the 45 gun 72"x42"x28 HD safe. It has a larger interior, more bolts, a 2 hour fire rating at 1875 degrees and is constructed of 9 gauge steel. For only $2450 with free shipping you really can't beat that deal. Then I know I will have a truly high quality safe.

Here's the specs on the one I am upgrading to. Will have to call them Monday to make the switch. http://www.steelwatergunsafes.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=vmj_naru.tpl&product_id=39&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=36

 

[jonbearman]

It sounds like they are made overseas maybe. It may not matter but from what I just read on there site under "why you should buy steelwater" you can read for yourself.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

It sounds like they are made overseas maybe. It may not matter but from what I just read on there site under "why you should buy steelwater" you can read for yourself.

They are made overseas with experienced American design, ownership, and quality control. Not gonna get into the "not made in America" debate. If it's high quality at an affordable price, that's all that matters to me. Being a Veteran and having paid US federal taxes my whole life, I've paid my dues to our country so I'll buy whatever I want, wherever I want.

 

[Tnslim]

My main problem with conventional gun safes is beating my rifles up trying to get to one in the back. This will be my next gun safe. These are not cheap but neither are my rifles.

http://www.pendletonsafes.com/

 

[kolar55]

+ a bunch on the Pendleton

 

[Jay Christopherson]

If you are looking for high-quality, no frills, direct-to-the-public sales - then maybe check out Sturdy, if you haven't already committed to a purchase.

I love the Pendleton designs and I might buy one eventually, but when I bought my last safe, I didn't have the extra cash for one.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

If you are looking for high-quality, no frills, direct-to-the-public sales - then maybe check out Sturdy, if you haven't already committed to a purchase.

I love the Pendleton designs and I might buy one eventually, but when I bought my last safe, I didn't have the extra cash for one.

Ill check Sturdy out too. Another nice thing about Steelwater is that they give Veterans and active military members a 5% discount on top of the already great price. So that $2450 safe is only actually gonna cost me $2327.50.

 

[jkohler]

Not really sure about the composit door construction my self. I would rather have a steel door

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Not really sure about the composit door construction my self. I would rather have a steel door

Read the specs on the safe again. its a compoosite door with a 1/4" steel plate on the front. What other safe offers that sort of construction at this price point??? Plus 9 gauge steel body. Most of the high dollar safes costing $4K and up only have 10 gauge body steel. Then figure in 18 1-1/2" locking bolts and 2 hr fire rating at 1875 degrees...Thats an insane amount of security regardless of price.

http://www.steelwatergunsafes.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=vmj_naru.tpl&product_id=39&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=36

 

[M-61]

Gonna go with the dial for reliability. I was looking at their safes a little closer and I think I'm gonna upgrade to the 45 gun 72"x42"x28 HD safe. It has a larger interior, more bolts, a 2 hour fire rating at 1875 degrees and is constructed of 9 gauge steel. For only $2450 with free shipping you really can't beat that deal. Then I know I will have a truly high quality safe.

Here's the specs on the one I am upgrading to. Will have to call them Monday to make the switch. http://www.steelwatergunsafes.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=vmj_naru.tpl&product_id=39&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=36

9 gauge is 5/32"

 

[LHSmith]

Accurate Shooter has an article archive....look up "Gun Safe Buyers Guide". What test organization did the fire rating? Is it UL tested for attack and how does their rating compare to others? The fire rating goes out the window if the safe falls to a lower story which usually compromises the door seal. The doors on the safes look like a fortress with those huge hinges and sixteen 1 1/2" locking bolts....but that is not the thief choice entry point.

 

[missed]

Fire suppression systems are the only guarantee on the fire aspect. I know one guy that had the 2 hour UL listed premium high dollar safe. Brush fire rolled through the place, house was gone in 15 minutes everything inside the safe was toast, all the wood burned to charcoal, paint burned off everything. over 50 guns many irreplaceable.

There are too many variables that play in the fire ratings of the safes, and many times one little thing in the system makes the fire ratings null and void. Too many combustibles, certain volatile compounds that react under heat, door seals.....you want a safe with the intumescent seals as they swell when heated, increasing the seal pressure.

I have fire sprinklers in my gun room in the shop. It was cheap insurance.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I agree. Until there is an actual standard that all safe manufacturers have to go by, you really can't guarantee the protection in a fire. I think the biggest thing to look for is the temperature rating associated with the time. The original Steelwater safe I began talking about in this thread was listed at 90 minutes in 1400 degrees. Then they have another one at 60 minutes in 1875 degrees. So would those average out to be about the same rating??? Not sure.

But most of your cheap safes give their ratings with 1200 degrees. Take the Liberty Fatboy for instance, a very popular safe, it is rated for 75 minutes...but only at 1200 degrees. So if a fire got hotter than that, im sure the time would be greatly reduced. And yet the Fat boy does not offer near the level of protection in any form compared to the Steelwater 72"x42"x28" HD but is nearly the same price.

The 1875 degrees listed with the Steelwater is one of the highest temp ratings I have seen listed with any price point in safes. And to claim 2 hrs at that temp then warranty it for life must mean it's possible. Highly unlikely a house fire would ever burn that hot and almost impossible that it would burn that long at those temps. So even if it gave me 60 minutes at 1875 degrees, it is a very high possibility that it would survive a fire with it's contents in tact

 

[DennisH]

It sounds like they are made overseas maybe. It may not matter but from what I just read on there site under "why you should buy steelwater" you can read for yourself.

They are made overseas with experienced American design, ownership, and quality control. Not gonna get into the "not made in America" debate. If it's high quality at an affordable price, that's all that matters to me. Being a Veteran and having paid US federal taxes my whole life, I've paid my dues to our country so I'll buy whatever I want, wherever I want.

I agree with your response 100%. I respect you being a Veteran. But, I believe you may have taken Jon's statement the wrong way.

I state this as I have dealt with foreign metals most of my life. Their metals are not the quality of American metals, no matter who the manufacturer is. I am not trying to get into a debate, but please ask any engineer who will tell you the truth. I am sure many members here will tell you the same.

I believe this is what Jon was trying to state to you and the other followers. I could go into more detail about the metals, but it's probably best not to.

And for the record, I "also" spend my money where ever I want. I earned it just like you. I do buy many items that come from foreign countries. Heck, not much is made here anymore, you don't have much of a choice. I just bought a new pair of RedWing boots which has a big tag inside stating: "Made in Vietnam". I was very surprised to see this.

Just stating another side. I hope everyone has a great day.

I have learned a lot from this post as I am safe shopping as well.

Dennis

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Good point on the metals. But that's speculation. We don't really know the quality that each company uses. in the attack videos, the Steel water safe took a pretty decent fall from the top of the forklift and didn't look any worse for wear.

I thinks it's definitely worth a try at the price point. Like I said, anything you can find on people owning them is nothing but positive reviews. Never know. Maybe I found a diamond in the rough...maybe it's a golden egg with a rotten yoke inside...

If you look at the similarly priced Liberty Fatboy safe, you will find tons of people who love it right along with tons of people who have had all kinds of problems. So do I spend $2350 on a Steel water with far superior features? Or do I spend $2200 on a safe like the Fatboy or other similarly priced safe and settle for inferior protection and pray I didn't get a lemon?