Gun Safe Haven

Protecting your gun collection and your valuables is definitely not something that you should skimp on.  If you really want optimized protection against theft, fire and flood damage, in nearly all cases, you need to shell out a bit of money.  There are, however, a few cheap gun safes on the market that give you some pretty good bang for the buck.  In this article, I’ll primarily be discussing gun safes built to house long guns.  If you’re looking for cheap handgun safes, something next to your bedside you can use for storing a pistol, you can get a super quick access biometric gun safe for less than $200.  If you just want something simple, check out the Winchester eVault series no look entry push button combo safes for less than $70.  I have a GunVault biometric safe next to my bed, and an EV400 in the guest room…just in case my guest and I need to pull a little Tango and Cash action on the burglar.

Sentry Safe

Like I said though, I want to talk about long gun safes.  If you’re looking for a cheap gun safe that’s large enough to house a dozen 30″ rifles and shotguns and solid enough to keep out your average thief, you’re going to have to dig a little…just a little.  Sentry Safe manufactures a large line of nicely sized, affordable gun safes.  Their G1455C, for instance, is loaded with some very nice features all for less than $550.  It can hold 14 long guns very efficiently within 55″x21″x17.8″ dimensions.  It’s built with solid steel plates to resist most drill attacks, hardware included for bolting it down (highly recommended), the option between an electronic keypad and a combination lock (I’d almost always take the combination dial), and three dead bolts for nice protection against pry attacks.

Sentry Safe doesn’t slouch on the aesthetics either.  The G1544C comes lined with carpet, shelving installed for added organization, a black powder finish on the body, and a chrome handle to give it some needed bling.  This sucker weighs just under 160 lbs empty, so moving it around, and finding a place for it in you home shouldn’t serve as too much of a problem with a decent appliance dolly.  It doesn’t include lights or mirrors, which are highly recommended, but those could be installed separately with relative ease.  If I were on a tight budget, I’d probably go with this model from Sentry Safe.  They offer several other models with varying features and protection, but price wise, the G1455 is a great deal.

Stack On Gun Safes

Perhaps you’d like some more bells and whistles – you may want to consider a safe from Stack On.  Stack On is the Cadillac of Cavaliers in the gun safe world.  They make a slick looking product, often included with all the eye catchers like chrome levers, drawers for organization, extra shelving, lights, electronic locks…but the theft protection leaves a little to be desired.  Please don’t let that stop you from buying one.  Really, if you’re honestly concerned with theft protection, save your money, and invest in a 750 lbs safe protected by at least 8 gauge steel.  Anything below that is going to provide relatively easy entry for a seasoned burglar.  If you have $10000 or more tied up in a gun or jewelry collection, why wouldn’t you want to spend a couple more thousand to ensure its safety?  Look, if your primary concern is organizing you shotguns, pistols rifles, and accessories in a place inaccessible to the kids, and behind a door that a common thief can’t breach, consider a Stack On.

They offer an 8 gun safe for $250, and a 10 gun, packed with all the aforementioned features for under $300.  Heck, Sports Authority has a Stack On Elite 24 gun safe on sale right now for $550, and that sucker is fire rated and sealed with five live-action locking bolts.  Stack On is all about building gun safes for cheap, and if you take them for what they are, they’re a pretty good buy.

Winchester Gun Safes

The next model I’d like to mention is really the upper echelon of cheap gun safes, as it’s really not entirely cheap.  I recommend the Winchester Tradition Series because this line provides exceptional protection for a very fair price.  It’s right on the cusp of ranking with the big boys, but it won’t cost you more than $800.  The Tradition series comes in three different models, all differentiated by size and capacity.  The T-15 is the smallest, coming in at 390 lbs and a capacity of 12 long guns.  The T-30 is the largest at 600 lbs with a capacity of 30 firearms.  Both of these are finely crafted safe, however, the middle model, the T-19 I think would appeal most to the price-minded safe buyer.

Where the T-30 will cost you in the neighborhood of $1100, the T-19 is more closely priced to it’s younger brother – if you shop a little, you can find one for $800.  It weighs 455 lbs, can store 24 long guns, has a solid steel door enclosed with 8 1 1/4″ bolts, and is lined for 30 minute fire protection.  Although fire protection on gun safes is kind of a wishy washy rating system, your valuables are in far better hands against the heat than any of the Stack On or Sentry Safe models we discussed earlier.  The Winchester Tradition Series are not only sturdy, tightly sealed steel boxes, they’re also quite beautifully crafted.  They’re coated with a powder finish, very similar to the G1544, but one of the first things you’ll notice is the monstrous three spoke vault handle right in the middle of the door.  The lock comes standard with an electronic keypad, giving this safe a real old fashioned meets the new age kind of feel.  The interior is totally convertible with loads of shelf space and an optional dehumidifier to help prevent rusting.  The T-19 is the true Cadillac of cheap gun safes.

For more information on these products, and whole gang of other safe reviews, be sure to drop by the new Gun Safe Haven ‘Gun Cabinets and Gun Safes for Sale‘ page.  I’d love to hear what you think.