Value Safes

Doing some research to make the purchase of a gun safe?  There are certainly a lot of choices out there.  In between manufacturers, steel thickness, lock option, size, and a plethora of other details to consider this can be a decision that takes weeks to months to decide.

The Hollon RSV-5924 Gun Safe should fall into one of the top choices.   These gun safes are equipped with 10 gauge steel for the body and the door.  They have 10 - 1 inch bolts that wrap the entire door for better security and has room for 22 long guns, 11 on each side of the safe.  This gun safe comes with an electronic lock that is reprogrammable to set your own code.  There are some people that are afraid to select an electronic lock on a safe based upon the idea that all electronics fail.  This is true for locks in general, whether they are electronic or the tumbler style.  However, this safe offers the perfect solution.  Behind the faceplate for the electronic lock, there is a hole for an override key.  This allows the safe to be opened if for some reason the electronics fail.  It comes with 2 German Mauer style keys.  These keys can not be replicated or duplicated, which provides some added security if someone were going to try to break into the safe.  This gun safe has also been tested and rated at 1 hour fireproof. The body of the gun safe has 1 inch total of fireproofing and the door has 1 1/2 inches.   Along with the fireproofing material it has an intumescent seal the surrounds the entire door which is designed to swell to protect smoke and water from entering the safe. This safe has external hinges which allows for fireproofing material to be placed in the areas that safes with concealed hinges generally are lacking fireproofing.

These series of safes do not have a pre-drilled dehumidifier hole.  There are a few reasons that these safes don’t have this.  This prevents a source for fire to enter your safe, making it more fireproof than a safe with a hole pre-drilled.  Also, if you run an electrical cord through that hole, you are introducing a source of electricity into your safe.  This allows for a fire to start within your safe and burn everything on the interior of the safe that you were wanting to protect. There are many rechargeable units on the market that will still protect your items from humidity but prevent a source of fire and are a great addition for a gun safe.

Doing a little research to make the purchase of a gun safe?  There are certainly a lot of choices out there.  In between manufacturers, steel thickness, lock option, size, and a plethora of other details to consider this can be a decision that takes weeks to months to decide.

On a cost per quality comparison, the Hollon RSV-5922 Gun Safe should fall into one of the top choices.   These gun safes are equipped with 10 gauge steel for the body and the door.  They have 10 - 1 inch bolts that wrap the entire door for better security and has room for 16 long guns.  This safe comes with an electronic lock that is reprogrammable to set your own code.  Now I realize that some people are afraid to select an electronic lock on a safe based upon the idea that all electronics fail.  This is true for locks in general, whether they are electronic or the tumbler style.  However, this safe offers the perfect solution.  Behind the faceplate for the electronic lock, there is a hole for an override key.  This allows the safe to be opened if for some reason the electronics fail.  It comes with 2 German Mauer style keys.  These keys can not be replicated or duplicated, which provides some added security if someone were going to try to break into the safe.  This gun safe has also been tested and rated at 1 hour fireproof. This safe has external hinges which allows for fireproofing material to be placed in the areas that safes with concealed hinges generally are lacking fireproofing.  Along with the fireproofing material it has an intumescent seal the surrounds the entire door which is designed to swell to protect smoke and water from entering the safe.

If you are in a high moisture area or are wanting to put a dehumidifier in this gun safe, you will want to keep in mind this safe does not have a pre-drilled hole for this.  There are a few reasons that these safes don’t have this.  This prevents a source for fire to enter your safe, making it more fireproof than a safe with a hole pre-drilled.  Also, if you run an electrical cord through that hole, you are introducing a source of electricity into your safe.  This allows for a fire to start within your safe and burn everything on the interior of the safe that you were wanting to protect. There are many rechargeable units on the market that will still protect your items from humidity but prevent a source of fire and are a great addition for a gun safe.

In the eighth grade, a boy in my class died from a terrible in-home accident. He and his older brother were messing around with their father’s gun which had been left out in the open. Neither of them knew that the gun was loaded. The older brother jokingly aimed the gun at his younger brother’s head and pulled the trigger.

Needless to say, a few days later my classmate died in the hospital from the wound to his head. What continues to anger me to this day is that the accident was entirely preventable. Had my classmate’s father kept his gun properly stored in a gun safe, his children would not have been able to fool around with the loaded firearm. Every gun owner, whether or not there are children in the house, should properly store their weapons.

One of the most common questions I hear is “Should I bolt down my safe?”, my immediate response is always yes.  It doesn’t matter where you live - if you are going to store something in your safe that you consider valuable - do it!  A safe is really just there to by time - if the safe can be carried out of your home how much time is it really going to by you? None!

You can go to your local hardware store and get the bolts needed to bolt it down - such as a red headed toggle bolt.  Don’t bolt your safe down with a short bolt that won’t go down into the concrete very far- this makes it far to easy to pick up and walk off with.   If you use some common sense with the purchase of your safe - you will be set.

I realize that there are times when a theft will happen even if the safe is bolted down.  If this is the case - you have done everything you could to prevent the safe from going missing.  Although unfortunate, you can at least tell yourself you did everything you could to prevent it from happening.

This article”15,000 reward offered in memorial-area armed robberies” is a great example.  The safe was not bolted down and was wheeled down the stairs with a dolly.  While they were in the home for an hour stealing items - it might have provided a better chance of the safe staying in the home had it been bolted down.

Looking for a gun safe?  It takes a lot of research and work on your part to find a good gun safe that suits your needs.  Some of it relies on the information the manufacturer gives you and some of it relies on customer service and asking the right questions. This Hollon RG-16 Repulic Series gun safe is simply amazing.  I was very skeptical about these gun safes before I saw them.  I sure heard a lot of good stuff about them - but the amount of good information I hear about safes is always ongoing.  My jaw dropped when I saw these safes.  They are absolutely a beautiful safe.  They are made very well and they are very sturdy.  The tan interior goes very well with the black exterior and looks very sharp.

I would recommend this gun safe to anyone looking for a gun safe.  It has adjustable and removable shelving on the right hand side and gun racking on the left hand side with a shelf on top.  While this safe has an electronic lock it also has an override key which can not be duplicated - so breaking in via the key hole is a very hard thing to happen.  The overall steel gauge is 3 on the door and 9 on the body - how amazing!  You don’t find steel gauge this thick on most gun safes without paying a couple thousand dollars for these.

When we look at a safe we try to think of the weak points in a safe and figure whether it is worth our money.  Instant common sense tells us that concealed hinges are a safe bet and don’t think about the cons that this poses.  If you think about the structure of the safe, as the door closes there has to be room for the hinges to fold back into as the door closes.

This is very commonly the place in which many manufacturers don’t put any fireproofing.  My father in law has  Liberty Centurion Gun Safe with the concealed hinges.  I was doing some checking on the safe and found what I was afraid of, that he had no fireproofing on that side of the safe.  This little bit of area makes the entire safe non fireproof and a waste of money if you needed it for the fire protection.  I was looking at Lowes the other day also, and found the same safe, but a newer model, with the same problem.  The thin steel that the safe is made out of is easily penetrated into the area in which the hinges are located, which also makes it fairly easy to break into.Think twice about buying a gun safe with concealed hinges - they aren’t as safe as one might think!

Owning a gun is a major responsibility, and as such, it is imperative to lock your firearms properly. There are several options for securing your guns, but gun safes are arguably the most reliable. You can find everything from small single capacity units to 41-gun capacity safes. Once you have decided on the capacity for your safe, it is important to do some research into what specifications you’ll need.

The locking mechanism is arguably the most important aspect to consider; an electronic digital lock is standard in some models and optional in others. Models are also available with heat activated door seals and dehumidifier access holes. Fireproofing should be another top priority; some have a 30-minute fire protection and some have 1-hour of fire protection at 1250ｰF.

The TRTL-30×6 series of jewelry safes from Mutual Safes are some of the most secure jewelry safes manufactured.  You should only consider purchasing one if your insurance company requires it, or if you require protection from even the most determined attack.  These safes ARE the top of the line.  Each safe comes with a lifetime warranty from Mutual Safes against fire and attack.  If one of these units cannot be repaired after an attack or fire, it will be replaced with a new one by Mutual Safes.

The TRTL-30×6 series is constructed using a layer of concrete material sandwiched between inner and outer magnesium steel hardplates.  The concrete material incorporates a matrix of nuggets and carbon fiber which enhances its tensile strength.  The material has a density of 26,000 psi.  Reinforced armor plating is used to protect the door frame and each individaul bolt chamber, making the safe resistant to even the most sophisticated attack.  TRTL stands for “Tool and Torch Resistant”, and is a UL Standard, one of the highest available.  These safes are also fireproof, having been tested in a 1750 degree F fire for a period of 2 hours, without the temperature inside the safe rising above 350 degrees F.

The TRTL-30×6 series uses a multitude of relockers that are synchronized to ensure that the safe stays locked in the event of an attack.  Locking mechanisms available are UL listed Group 1 combination dial or electronic keypad.  The series is available in 4 sizes — 30″ x 30″ x 32″, 43″ x 30″ x 32″, 67″ x 30″ x 32″ and 69″ x 44″ x 36″.  The safes weigh 2000, 2600, 3800 and 5500 lbs. respectively!  The TRTL-30×6 series is available in like-new factory reconditioned versions, at about half the cost of new units, at the following link:  TRTL-30×6 Jewelry Safes by Mutual Safes.

Mutual makes a reasonably priced line of burglary resistant, fireproof, stand-up gun safes.  All models feature a UL approved heat-activated door seal and two layers of sheetrock like insulating material.  They are fireproof rated at 1760° F for a period of 60 minutes.  Burglary resistance features include at least 4 dead bolts facing the hinge side, 1 active bolt at the top and at least 4 active bolts facing the opening side.  In addition, they utilize massive 1-inch steel locking bolts.

The lock is protected from drill-out attempts by a spring-loaded relocker and a Manganese hardened drill resistant steel plate.  These gun safes also feature two bolt-down holes at the bottom of the safe which accomodate 1/2″ bolts.  They also feature a 10 gauge steel body and door, semi-gloss black exterior with tan interior and a 5-inch thick door.  The interior features universal adjustable gun racks and shelving that can be arrange as gun racks and shelving or all shelving.  The dial locks are UL listed and the handles and locks are brass-plated.

The main difference between models is their size, and their are three models available.  The Model MS-5922 weighs 350 pounds and measures 59″ x 22″ x 16″.  It can be ordered with an optional electronic keypad locking mechanism and can hold up to 16 long guns.

Measuring 60″ x 30″ x 24″ and weighing 600 pounds, the Model MS-6030 is also available with an optional electronic keypad locking mechanism and can hold up to 22 long guns.

The Model MS-6040 measures 60″ x 40″ x 24″, weighs 800 pounds and can hold up to 40 rifles or shotguns.  It is also available with an optional electronic keypad locking mechanism.

For more information on Mutual gun safes, and details about where to buy, visit the Value Safes website.