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Is a Browning safe worth the money
- Thread starter usp45ct
- Start date
wyatt2014
NES Member
I have the Browning "Hells Canyon". Can't say enough about it. Large scoped rifles don't fit as good as you would hope but I still have nothing to complain about. IMHO they are worth the extra money.
Keep in mind that Browning doesn't actually make anything themselves anymore (except maybe firearms). Anything with the Browning label is a licensed product. It could be good, but necessarily because of the name. Read up on what makes a safe good and then decide.
usp45ct
NES Member
Curious. I have seen Green Mountsin safe has the same door system and pretty much the same specs and are made n USA. I wonder if they make the browning.
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I've had mine for about 20 years. No problems. Only regret is that I didn't buy bigger and flame retardant but I got what I thought was the best safe for the money I could afford to spend at the time ~$1000.
Safes are like tool boxes not a lot of manufactures rather a few building them to a certain level for the vendor. Be it Browning, Winchester, sentry fort Knox or what ever.
My safe a inexpensive sentry although not expensive has a stiffer steal door than my friends. Although like the videos I posted show. The inards are pretty slim. Although the mechanism that attaches to the bolts is not as flimsy as the one shown.
In the end I made it hard to get any leverage on my safe in it's location and also built a heavy wood "cabinet" around it.
I figure short of someone who really wants my guns it will slow down the common smash and grab dick head enough for them to leave it be. If a professional gun thief wants my guns God bless them it will be a small score for them.
As stated by the biggest most secure safe you can afford.
I want a larger safe but also am tossing around a new house. I might consider building a vault vs a safe.
Most of the cost of a safe is the door and locks. The sides are the weak links. Given how easy it is to cut through the side with the right tool, rather than buy expensive safes, i prefer a less expensive one and firearm insurance
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Very true, or at least build a cheaper one into an enclosure of some type to "harden" the security a bit, and slow down access. Adding a security system helps with this also. In the end, have multiple layers of security is always better than just relying on an expensive safe alone.
zork51
NES Member
I have a Liberty Residential series with 4 shelves for my pistols, but it's not for long rifles. Cabela's sells Liberty. Check out Liberty's site. There is also a guy in N.H. on Rte 101, that sells "big name" safes. I don't remember the name, but like others said, no sales tax on safes.
usp45ct
NES Member
how does a shipping shotgun box correlate to the quality of a safe? Playing devil's advocate for a second, the other shotguns of the same price range that come with a nice case means the nice case was not free, it is part of the price. So perhaps with a Citori, you get a 2500 dollar gun as opposed to a $2100 gun and a $400 case.
Place around the corner from me has been having a sale on liberties. Dependable Lock Service in Nashua...
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
+1 Security system, barking dogs, and good locks slow the thief's down and time is their enemy.
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I saw a really nice Liberty at the Shot show.
- TL30X6 (or maybe it was TL60x6, forget which)
- Dual S&G mechancal lock and electronic - the S&G is for redundancy in case the electronic lock fails
- About 4500lbs
- Retail $6995
Dave is right about the side door. Most gun safes are 10 gauge or even 12 gauge. The don't start to get difficult to breech until you get up to 7ga (3/16") or thicker and, even then, you are not in the realm of a commercial save unless you get one with a TL rating.
The RSC (Residential Security Container) most gun safes bear rating means "resistant to attack with hand tools for 5 minutes".
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[/B]A friend has a Browning Silver Series SR26. While the "on the door rifle storage" is convenient and does have a pocket allowing scope rifle storage for two rifles, it does intrude into the safe and therefore cut down the number of rifles that can fit in the normal fashion. At the moment, I think he has 13 or so rifles with room for probably 4-6 more depending on size and type. This safe has the newer adjustable shelving system and a five pistol storage system that hangs from the underside of a shelf. It has the electronic lock and built in led lighting that comes on when the safe is opened. He got it from a local dealer (he is not in Mass) for $1800 cash a couple of years ago, it is in the house, weighs about 750 lbs., is gloss black and looks nice.
[/B]
dcmdon
NES Member
Once you do that, you will learn that no "gun safe" is worth the money. Buy a used commercial or jewelers safe for similar money and get a REAL safe.
They are all over Craigslist and typically have a 1' thick solid steel door with additional aggregate protection. The only problem is they weigh 3000 - 5000 lbs.
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You can get a similar used safe for less than half of that. Although I'm impressed that it sounds like Liberty is finally making a "real" safe.
Don
Most house breaks are over in 5 or 10 minutes, a gun safe will stop the average house thief. Most gun owners I know cant afford a "real safe" and don't have the structure to support a 5,000 lb safe.
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The issue with Liberty and all other gun safes is that they have a limited TL rating; you don't usually see a TL rating on residential gun safes, only a RSC (Residential Security Container). They offer limited resistance against a tool attack (attempted burglary/robbery).
Safes that are certified as burglary-resistant bear the metal label of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
The UL’s rigorous testing is conducted by burglary experts using a variety of devices, including diamond grinding wheels, high-speed drills with pressure-applying devices, carbide-tip drills, and hand tools such as hammers and chisels. The tests are conducted under ideal laboratory conditions, unlike those a real burglar usually encounters. Security experts say it could take a typical burglar as much as three or four times longer to crack a UL-tested safe. Thus, the UL rating represents the minimum protection a safe is certified to provide.
Underwriters Laboratories uses 10 classifications or ratings for burglary-resistant safes. They are, in increasing order of protection: TL-15; Deposit Safe; TL-30; TRTL-30; TL-15X6; TL-30X6; TRTL-15X6; TRTL-30 X6; TRTL-60X6; TXTL-60X6. Each letter and number of the rating code represents a different aspect of security that the safe provides.
Burglar’s tools. TL means a safe is tool-resistant, TR means it’s torch-resistant, TRTL indicates that it’s tool- and torch-resistant, and TXTL stands for torch-, tool-, and explosives-resistant.
The highest rating is the TXTL safe, which is rated against an attack using explosives. Very few safe manufacturers made these and I believe only one manufacturer still makes them. If you have to have the ultimate in security (short of buying a bank vault from Diebold), you'll buy a Chubb. You'll also pay out the ass for it.
Extent of resistance. The numbers 15, 30, and 60 represent the number of minutes a safe will withstand a series of attacks. The longer a safe can resist a break-in, the more likely it is that burglars will flee and that police or security guards will arrive before any jewelry is stolen.
Sides of a Safe. X6 means a safe provides equal protection on all six sides (including top and bottom). When X6 isn’t listed, it means the safe provides protection only on its front face and door.
Thus, a TRTL-30X6 UL rating means a safe is certified to resist entry from torch and tools on all six sides for a half-hour. A TL-15 rating means a safe can resist physical attack from tools to its front face or door for 15 minutes. TXTL safes do not have a numerical rating.
For RSC rated safes, Browning is a good safe, as is any safe made by Amsec. Liberty Safes are good against fire and the average burglar. The higher end safes made by Liberty Safe (Lincoln, National, Presidential) have thicker bodies, as do their cousins from the National Safe Company (which was purchased a few years back by Liberty Safe Company). If you want a commercial safe that is rated for TRTL-x, you can get one that is used and reconditioned at a reasonable price and comparable to what you would pay for a residential gun safe.
Uncle Duke
Safes that are certified as burglary-resistant bear the metal label of Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
The UL’s rigorous testing is conducted by burglary experts using a variety of devices, including diamond grinding wheels, high-speed drills with pressure-applying devices, carbide-tip drills, and hand tools such as hammers and chisels. The tests are conducted under ideal laboratory conditions, unlike those a real burglar usually encounters. Security experts say it could take a typical burglar as much as three or four times longer to crack a UL-tested safe. Thus, the UL rating represents the minimum protection a safe is certified to provide.
Underwriters Laboratories uses 10 classifications or ratings for burglary-resistant safes. They are, in increasing order of protection: TL-15; Deposit Safe; TL-30; TRTL-30; TL-15X6; TL-30X6; TRTL-15X6; TRTL-30 X6; TRTL-60X6; TXTL-60X6. Each letter and number of the rating code represents a different aspect of security that the safe provides.
Burglar’s tools. TL means a safe is tool-resistant, TR means it’s torch-resistant, TRTL indicates that it’s tool- and torch-resistant, and TXTL stands for torch-, tool-, and explosives-resistant.
The highest rating is the TXTL safe, which is rated against an attack using explosives. Very few safe manufacturers made these and I believe only one manufacturer still makes them. If you have to have the ultimate in security (short of buying a bank vault from Diebold), you'll buy a Chubb. You'll also pay out the ass for it.
Extent of resistance. The numbers 15, 30, and 60 represent the number of minutes a safe will withstand a series of attacks. The longer a safe can resist a break-in, the more likely it is that burglars will flee and that police or security guards will arrive before any jewelry is stolen.
Sides of a Safe. X6 means a safe provides equal protection on all six sides (including top and bottom). When X6 isn’t listed, it means the safe provides protection only on its front face and door.
Thus, a TRTL-30X6 UL rating means a safe is certified to resist entry from torch and tools on all six sides for a half-hour. A TL-15 rating means a safe can resist physical attack from tools to its front face or door for 15 minutes. TXTL safes do not have a numerical rating.
For RSC rated safes, Browning is a good safe, as is any safe made by Amsec. Liberty Safes are good against fire and the average burglar. The higher end safes made by Liberty Safe (Lincoln, National, Presidential) have thicker bodies, as do their cousins from the National Safe Company (which was purchased a few years back by Liberty Safe Company). If you want a commercial safe that is rated for TRTL-x, you can get one that is used and reconditioned at a reasonable price and comparable to what you would pay for a residential gun safe.
Uncle Duke
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I believe the standard of what constitutes a break in for these tests is opening the door or making a 4" hole.
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Excellent info, thanks for sharing.
jaypap
NES Member
Yep +1 to Uncle Duke
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