A tall enough storage safe for muzzleloaders

[Ohio Rusty]

This question came up on another list I'm on so I thought I'd share the info here. Having a gun safe that tall enough for muzzleloaders is a dilemma so I bought one of the tall resin storage units with the door by a company named 'Suncast'. They make a tall one that is 15x20x70 inches high. These units are probably for tall garden tools, but the unit is perfect for tall muzzleloaders. It doesn't take up alot of space. The door also has a place on the handle where you can put a pad lock to keep your guns secure.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[Eric Krewson]

That would be a good unit to store your guns to keep them out of the little one's curious hands. Actual thieves would get in it in a few seconds, I learned this first hand when I chained my brand new 20 Merc outboard to a post in the barn with a huge log chain and a cut proof lock. The thieves couldn't take it on their first visit and only stole the gas tank. They came back a few days later with bolt cutters and made off with my motor.

All safe companies make tall gun safes, but they are more costly than the standard sized ones. I special ordered this one, it is tall enough to hold a Kibler SMR with a 46" barrel, just barely. I made cut outs in the shelves on both sides to accommodate the long barrels. With the cutouts it will hold 8 longrifles, dang, all the slots are full now so I guess I can't buy another rifle unless I sell one.

The tallest rifle in the second picture has a 42" barrel. When I had the Kibler it wouldn't go in the safe if I had a jag on the end of the ramrod, it was that close of a fit.

 

[Phil Coffins]

How many rifles does a thief have to take in order to justify a safe? For me just one! Not that it may have that dollar amount but because it was stolen.

 

[SOLANCO]

If I buy a safe it will be for fire protection. This is rural and crime tends more to DUI and stealing from parked cars.
A potential burglar here needs to contend with a half mile lane from the highway with zero concealment, a monitored security system, a 70 pound dog, and if I am at home an armed homeowner. And good neighbors. If country people see something unusual they want to watch til they know what it is.

 

[deerstalkert]

With the cutouts it will hold 8 longrifles, dang, all the slots are full now so I guess I can't buy another rifle unless I sell one.

The tallest rifle in the second picture has a 42" barrel. When I had the Kibler it wouldn't go in the safe if I had a jag on the end of the ramrod, it was that close of a fit.


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Eric, hold on there. step back and have another cuppa. Sell? Oh! the humanity! the answer to your problem is to buy another safe!
sell? shudder.

 

[deerstalkert]

I have two small safes. one in the bedroom and one in the garage. a thief could get into either one with a hefty Chinese screwdriver.
i was going to buy a big safe but what happened to a friend down the valley made me think again.
The friend lived on a goat track barely better than a skid trail, 3 miles from a maintained road.
thieves broke in whilst he was absent and drug a logging chain through the garage door, past the kitchen, down a hallway past the bathroom, and into the bedroom being used as a gunroom.
they hooked up the 24 gun safe, and with a big pickup of some sort, dragged that safe out of the house, destroying most of the house.
if memory serves me right it came to over 200k damage.
The first sign that something was amiss was the safe laying on the road a mile from the house, still locked. inside was a grand assortment of bent metal and kindling.
perps were never apprehended or identified.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I have two small safes. one in the bedroom and one in the garage. a thief could get into either one with a hefty Chinese screwdriver.
i was going to buy a big safe but what happened to a friend down the valley made me think again.
The friend lived on a goat track barely better than a skid trail, 3 miles from a maintained road.
thieves broke in whilst he was absent and drug a logging chain through the garage door, past the kitchen, down a hallway past the bathroom, and into the bedroom being used as a gunroom.
they hooked up the 24 gun safe, and with a big pickup of some sort, dragged that safe out of the house, destroying most of the house.
if memory serves me right it came to over 200k damage.
The first sign that something was amiss was the safe laying on the road a mile from the house, still locked. inside was a grand assortment of bent metal and kindling.
perps were never apprehended or identified.

But they didn’t get anything for the effort. I don’t reward thieves!

 

[deerstalkert]

But they didn’t get anything for the effort. I don’t reward thieves!

if i catch them i will reward them with some free lead. i hate a thief.

 

[SOLANCO]

I have two small safes. one in the bedroom and one in the garage. a thief could get into either one with a hefty Chinese screwdriver.
i was going to buy a big safe but what happened to a friend down the valley made me think again.
The friend lived on a goat track barely better than a skid trail, 3 miles from a maintained road.
thieves broke in whilst he was absent and drug a logging chain through the garage door, past the kitchen, down a hallway past the bathroom, and into the bedroom being used as a gunroom.
they hooked up the 24 gun safe, and with a big pickup of some sort, dragged that safe out of the house, destroying most of the house.
if memory serves me right it came to over 200k damage.
The first sign that something was amiss was the safe laying on the road a mile from the house, still locked. inside was a grand assortment of bent metal and kindling.
perps were never apprehended or identified.

That crime screams of local knowledge. There are people in the area who know who did it.
If you catch him invite him into the house to wait for police. Wail on him with a little league bat or buckshot once he's inside. If it's a group wait for the police inside. Hopefully at the top of a flight of steps. With unmentionable weapons.

 

[Coot]

This question came up on another list I'm on so I thought I'd share the info here. Having a gun safe that tall enough for muzzleloaders is a dilemma so I bought one of the tall resin storage units with the door by a company named 'Suncast'. They make a tall one that is 15x20x70 inches high. These units are probably for tall garden tools, but the unit is perfect for tall muzzleloaders. It doesn't take up alot of space. The door also has a place on the handle where you can put a pad lock to keep your guns secure.
Ohio Rusty ><>

I use a pair of full height (6') gym lockers, locked & bolted to the wall. I leave some fishing rods leaning against them & have some fish decals on the lockers as a disguise. Thieves are typically in a hurry & go for the obvious. A good gun safe may offer some fire protection but it advertises the presence of something valuable enough to justify a $$ safe. A good angle grinder will slice thru the sidewalls of most home safes. Watch some online videos (also showing how 2 open end wrenches are as effective as bolt cutters on padlocks) on how to get into a home safe.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

If I buy a safe it will be for fire protection ...

The BEST method for fire protection, that is actually more effective and significantly cheaper ... is to buy whatever safe you want and add sheetrock around it on the backside and outside, 5/8" rock is fire-rated for 1-hour. And as having been in the safe bizness, that is ALL they add into your safe's walls ... of which they charge $100s & $100s more for!

Placement is critical too, like for weight, but also consider a spot that is less combustible than others, even that of surrounding materials, etc. Also cut a piece or 2 of rock the size of it and brace it up against the front if/when going away for a while.

 

[sheriff john]

One of my safes holds 30 guns. Long guns just rest catty-cornered amongst others. Similar-sized safe tall enough to stand them straight was hundeds of dollars more money.

 

[SDSmlf]

For minimum fire damage a corner in basement seems to take the least damage in a fire. Any safe on a wooden floor could drop through the floor during a fire. I am not going to look up the exact ‘specification’, but that’s the reason safes are rated how far they can fall without busting open.

Saw a study that I can’t locate at the moment that showed your gun collection was at the most risk from water damage, with fire and theft far behind. Might be factors to consider.

Another thing to think about is how visible is your safe? If it’s out of sight and not located, it’s pretty difficult to break into. One of the benefits of letting everyone know what you have and how you store it on social media, not to mention letting the world know when your not home.

 

[Sam squanch]

Just buy some old junker guns and deactivate them. Weld them up so they are not functional and can’t be made to work. My co worker did just that with an Apple air tag in the stock. Then when it’s stolen, you can track the location and demand the police act on it. You have proof now.

 

[John May]

I bought the tallest Muzzleloader gunsafe I could get in the UK, made by a firm called Brattonsound. It was still too short for my Brown Bess by about 6" so a friend gave me a piece of 5" diameter steel flue pipe that will eventually be welded to the top of the cabinet. In the meantime I have removed the barrel and just keep that and the lock in the cabinet. Problem is my Firearms Enquiry Officer (UK) is convinced that the wood is also an active part of the firearm and should be put away?? It's the proverbial no win situation...

 

[ernbar]

I have two small safes. one in the bedroom and one in the garage. a thief could get into either one with a hefty Chinese screwdriver.
i was going to buy a big safe but what happened to a friend down the valley made me think again.
The friend lived on a goat track barely better than a skid trail, 3 miles from a maintained road.
thieves broke in whilst he was absent and drug a logging chain through the garage door, past the kitchen, down a hallway past the bathroom, and into the bedroom being used as a gunroom.
they hooked up the 24 gun safe, and with a big pickup of some sort, dragged that safe out of the house, destroying most of the house.
if memory serves me right it came to over 200k damage.
The first sign that something was amiss was the safe laying on the road a mile from the house, still locked. inside was a grand assortment of bent metal and kindling.
perps were never apprehended or identified.

I guessing he didn’t bolt it down to the floor?

 

[ernbar]

Do yourself a favor and get a good quality gun safe, preferably with fire protection. Shop around for sales and promotions. Find a good spot that will be out of plain sight and bolt it down to the floor/wall stud. You can also store other valuables in there besides guns so a little bigger is always better. Better to have extra storage space than not enough.

 

[Kmcmichael]

One can purchase a safe that is essentially fireproof and tall enough. My safe has 1” of special concrete sandwiched between 2 metal sheets. My Longrifles fit through a slot in one shelf and still allow for another shelf on top. The downside is expense and at 1950 pounds empty it would take some special equipment to move.
I’ve had friends make special rooms with expanded metal sheets and a safe door etc.

I would refrain from suggesting deadly force in defense of property on a public forum. Your business but things can come back to haunt one.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have my safe sitting on a floor bolted to 4X4s under the floor in the crawl space set cross ways to the joists, I bent the ends of the bolts so the nuts can't be unscrewed. The 4X4s are supported by four 15,000lb screw jacks sitting on solid concrete blocks. My safe weighs 1500#, I didn't want the floor to start sagging over time.

 

[Sam squanch]

The problem with safes is - someone can always MAKE you open it.