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Gun Safes

I have a noob question. I need a gun safe and have the perfect place for it in my basement. My stairs are short and skecthy just carrying laundry down. So, how does one get a 200-400 lb safe down there? I don't want to use friends, because if something goes wrong, someone could literally get killed.
 
I lowered one down steps by using 2x6x10 runners screwed lengthwise down the stais and then used a atv mounted winch to lower it down the stairs. If you doubt the rigidity of the stairs use 2x4s to support them from the bottom.

It was a 700# safe so the atv needed to be anchored to keep it from sliding with the safe. Fortunatly the stairs lined up with an exterior door so it was a straight shot
 
That is some genius redneck engineering there, I love it. I have a straight shot from the door to the stairs. I could even pull up a truck right in front. Just need to make friends with someone with a winch on their truck.
 
Just use a tow strap on the truck and pull fwd slowly to lower it down.
 
Just use a tow strap on the truck and pull fwd slowly to lower it down.
I don't have enough room to do that. But, I have old garage door rails that I could make a "safe" sled out of. Also, my stairs are way over built underneath, so I don't think I'd have any support issues.
 
Come-along would be the cheapest winch alternative.
 
I think I found one to suit my needs, provault Liberty. With the weight I think I can handle getting it down stairs, with lots of help. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd like to read them.
  • 12-Gun, Dimensions: 59"H x 18"W x 16"D. Weight: 247 lbs.
 
Even a 800 pound safe is not considered permenant. Make sure you bolt it down and position it in a corner so the door is harder to pry open.
 
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You can't pry a sturdy safe IMO. The levers required would weigh 200 lbs each. But you can steal it and grind it apart, so it will get bolted.
 
I will definitely bolt it down. I really doubt anyone could have the time to either open it or steal it. I have great neighbor's on all sides of me. They'd either call the cops or (maybe more likely) come investigate armed themselves.
 
I'm sort of in the same situation. Our neighborhood is still very nice.
But without a real safe there's a chance I'd become a felon in California.

If someone here steals your gun and shoots someone, or even just waves it around in public, the law can come after you as the registered owner. It's a crime here not to lock up your guns in a manner that prevents this.
 
I don't have kids, so I'm not worried about their access, but I really do fear a criminal getting to my guns. The break-ins in my neighborhood is almost always methheads looking for cash and jewelry, and of course guns.
I once had a neighbor see a stereotypical looking methhead walk down my driveway into my back yard. She stood on her back table and shucked her shotgun, yelling "I see you there!" He ran and climbed over my six foot back fence that drops another six feet into my neighbors' yard, leaving his backpack behind. I hope he hurt himself well and good.
His backpack was full of cheap cell phones and some other useless stuff.
Cops never caught him though.
 
If you buy the safe from a dealer, instead of a big box store, they will deliver it to the exact spot you want and bolt it down. Some charge for this service, but my dealer threw it in for free.

Thankfully, I didn't have any stairs to go down (basements don't work well here). My safe weighs 1450 lbs empty.
 
I'm glad to see Sturdy Safes mentioned here. I am very happy with the one I just recently purchased; a 32x24x72 (that is 6 feet tall) with the fire lining and a commercial grade combination dial lock. The shipping weight is 980#. I strongly recommend watching all the videos on their site before you buy something from a local store. As CaddmannQ says, it is a no-frills safe built out of 3/16" steel for the body and a 5/16" solid steel door. No drywall sandwiched between thin metal to make it look like its really thick. You can order a custom size and they will make it up for you. They built and delivered mine in just over 30 days (and it traveled diagonally across the entire country) and they pay the shipping. And for a few dollars more you can get one with a 4g body and a 3/8" thick door.

I hired a local moving company to put mine where I wanted it to go; I didn't want to risk injury to any friends or neighbors. I bolted it down myself and soon I will get around to putting some lights in there to help combat the humidity of South Florida.

Part of the reason Sturdy can sell so much safe for the money is that they don't spend their $$$ on advertising; you can like them on Facebook and get their news items, etc. The rest of their 'advertising' comes from word-of-mouth and posts on the forums.

Do yourself a favor and go to www.sturdysafe.com and spend a couple of hours watching all the informative videos they have on their site. You will come away with a much better understanding of what you get when you go to buy a safe. USA made by USA craftsmen at a family-owned business. And, I don't work for them.
 
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I didn't get the common carrier shipping because I live only 20 miles away.
They gave me a $300 discount & had a local guy get it with his pick-up for $100.

So rather than say the shipping is free, say the shipping is included in the price. If you pick it up yourself they discount that.

BTW I changed my combination after I got the safe, and I couldn't unlock it again. I got it reset of course, because the door was open & I had the reset key. With the door open you just twiddle the lock around until the key goes in & you can reset it.

It turned out that the first number was just half a mark off when I set the combo. These locks are pretty precise, and you need to be spot on when you set it. Even more spot-on than when opening actually. Get the marks spot on or you may find yourself thinking you'd done it right but the lock won't work.
 
BTW, when you shop for a safe, ask them to slam the door with the bolts out.
That's how you wreck the cheap ones & they won't want to do it.

Some of them have a "door coordinator" rod which prevents the door from closing with the bolts out, so that damage doesn't happen. They tend to jamb the mechanisms and I've heard of a couple locksmiths called out due to the coordinator rods hanging up.

You can slam the Sturdy Safe door all day long and all you'll do is chip the paint.
 
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