I was given a COSTCO membership for Christmas and have been eyeing their gun safe. The store I go to only has one model which is about 60" tall, X 21" wide. Electronic keypad and brushed stainless steel door with a spoked handwheel to open it. Here in PR it is $449.99, plus tax.

Anybody have any experience with this model and/or how it may compare to the Stack-On model of similar size? This I can get elsewhere for about $569.00 plus tax.

I realize neither of these is top-of-the-line safe, but I already out-growed have one of those and my idea is to put the cheaper rifles in this one.

Fire resistance is not a concern due to living in a concrete home.

Any opinions/advice?

It's made by Cannon. I've had one for several years and just put in the first battery change in the lock. It was easy to change and didn't loose my combination. This has been an excellent safe. It does have some fire resistance built in. These are a big heavy safe and I like mine.

Thanks, faucettb. Any other opinions anybody?
If anybody knows, how do these prices compare to stateside?
They are apparently selling well here, as a couple of weeks ago all they had was the display model (closed) and last Sunday they had five or six , plus the display model, open this time. Even my wife thought it was nice.

If fire isn't an issue then it's a matter of the quality of the lock. See if you can find out who the lock maker is, and if it's a good name brand like S&G, then it should be possible to get more feedback that way.

I'm in a similar quandry. My guns are currently stored in an oak-and-glass furniture-type gun cabinet. Pretty, but zero security and less-than-zero fire protection.

Would a Stack-on cabinet (NOT safe) be enough of an improvement to warrant spending $300 on a long gun cabinet and a pistol/ammo cabinet?

I'm not worried enough to spend four figures on a full blown safe, but I would like to improve matters a little.

Pfoxy I'd get a real safe instead of the Stack on cabinet. I don't believe that two guys and a handtruck would be able to get my safe out of where it is and into the back of a pickup truck, but my buddies stack on cabinet can just be picked up and carried away even bolted down wouldn't take to much to get it out.

I think I paid just near 600 bucks with tax for my safe at Costco and it holds 27 long guns. I don't know what it weighs, but 400 pounds feels right. That along with 4 half inch bolts in the concrete and it would be tough to get out in any quick time frame. That's not near a four digit figure for a full blown Cannon gun safe and only 300 bucks over your target figure.

I just wouldn't spend the money on the stack on cabinet's after seeing one, pretty flimsy from what I see. It doesn't take long to put 5000 dollars worth of guns and optics in a gun safe and for under 600 bucks a real safe is sure a lot of piece of mind. Check out what Costco offers you can look online.

Thanks, Bob, that's just what I needed to know. I've never been too impressed by StackOn's tool boxes, I suspected their gun "cabinets" would be more of the same.

You make a good point about spending the extra $300 and do it right, but there's another problem. I got no place to PUT a safe. One of the reasons I was looking at the cabinet is that it would fit into the 24" space I'm currently using. I'll have to look around and see if I can find a tall/narrow safe that'll fit that space.

I'd probably spend $600 or thereabouts, but 2-3 times that for a Browning safe is out of the question on my budget.

Very, very good information about safes and Home security boxes here, by someone with long term experience in security.

http://www.baitshopboyz.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14125

Enlightening, for sure. So, even spending over $1000 doesn't really buy me anything. I'd expect the Real Deal to go for 2 or 3 times that, which is so far out of my price range, I can't even see it from here.

I guess I'm back to taking my chances, aren't I.

Howdy.
I spent quite a bit of time researching safes. The Costco is not a bad safe.

NRA has an article about safes and what is considered portable by gun thiefs. I believe that the max considered portable was 600 lbs. They can send the story to you. THERE IS NO FEDERAL OR OTHER STANDARD REQUIREMENTS. THERE ARE SEVERAL MEASURING STANDARDS THAT DIFFERENT COMPANIES GO BY. There are a few places to go to look. The most helpful was Patriot Safes. They openly advertise teir "scratch and dent" safes and will email or call with returns or otherwise used safes. Most insurance companies have info on safes.

I have a safe that is not as good as some, but I am running out of room. 13 long guns is not emough. I have decided to go with the Costco, only because I am tight and need primers as well as shot and that is important, too.

What can be done is to buy a smaller fire box to hold the really important paters and store that in the safe.

I wanted to drop a comment in on this subject because I recently purchased a safe and will be taking delivery on it this week.

First a question - if you added up the cost it would be to completely replace everything you would put in a gun safe, how much would it be? Considering that many guns build a great deal of sentimental value, what would it be worth to protect that investment?

Color me crazy, but I bought a Heritage Tradition series safe, 72x30x28 and by the time I get it in the door it will be about $2500. However, the first thing to get locked up and protected is a Winchester Model 1886 in 45-90 made in 1891. Right now it's more safe than I need, but how much safe will I need in 10 years? 20 years?

I did a fair amount of research on safes to find a product that I was confident was going to be as good as I needed and not completely break the bank. If money was no issue, I would have bought a Fort Knox - they are pretty much the top of the line. Considering money was an issue, I narrowed my two brands down to Liberty and Heritage.

Incidentally, Heritage is endorsed by Gunblast.com

http://www.gunblast.com/HeritageSafes.htm

I felt that for the same price point, Heritage Tradition series offered more than the Liberty Lincoln model. The door is 5/8" steel rather than being a composite door, so security is fantastic, plus it has virtually the same if not better fire rating as the Lincoln model - 1200 degrees for 75 minutes.

It may seem like an extravagance now, but the guns that I own were my father's and some of them belonged to his father, so on top of the monetary value, which is considerable thanks to the Winchester, I look at this safe as an investment and I foresee not only adding guns to my collection which will be stored in the safe, but also using the safe for anything else of value that I want protected.

I'm in a similar quandry. My guns are currently stored in an oak-and-glass furniture-type gun cabinet. Pretty, but zero security and less-than-zero fire protection.

Would a Stack-on cabinet (NOT safe) be enough of an improvement to warrant spending $300 on a long gun cabinet and a pistol/ammo cabinet?

I'm not worried enough to spend four figures on a full blown safe, but I would like to improve matters a little.

I have one of the stack on cabinets. Not great, but its better than having the guns in soft carrying cases in the back of my closet. The cabinet is in a closet, bolted to the floor and through the wall. A fire proof safe is on the list, but not in the budget quite yet. And for $115, the stack-on 14 gun will work for now.

I'm in a similar quandry. My guns are currently stored in an oak-and-glass furniture-type gun cabinet. Pretty, but zero security and less-than-zero fire protection.

Would a Stack-on cabinet (NOT safe) be enough of an improvement to warrant spending $300 on a long gun cabinet and a pistol/ammo cabinet?

I'm not worried enough to spend four figures on a full blown safe, but I would like to improve matters a little.
Theft and fire are like so many other unplanned events - most people don't think it can happen to them, and when it does, the effects are usually devestating because the majority are unprepared for that occurance. As a side note, has anyone here seen the show "It Takes a Thief"? If not, these two "retired" burglars set up video cameras in a home, and while one guy sits with the family monitoring the video feed, the other guy shows the family how easy it is to break in, and how quickly they can make off with a lot of valuable (and sometimes irreplaceable) things. They are usually in and out inside of 12 minutes - they do it in broad daylight and they completely trash the place in the process. The end result is that the home owners, now educated to the reality of the potential to be burglarized, gets a home security makeover with the culmination of the theif trying to break in again, hopefully unsuccessfully.

I live in a very populated area, so I'm just not going to take the chance. While I would like to believe that my home will never be broken into, the reality is, the screen on my back sliding door on my deck is bent because someone tried to pry it open one day - unsuccessfully, but they did try. I have guns in the neighborhood of 100 years old, some of which belonged to my Grandfather - if they were stolen, they could never be replaced. I have a valuable Winchester lever action - again, it can never be replaced. $2500 over the course of a few decades seems like a small price to pay for that kind of security and peace of mind.

My thoughts on the matter is to simply not take the chance if I don't have to, but then again, I'm in a position where I can drop $2500 on a safe and although I can't pay for it directly out of my checking account in one lump sum, it won't take me a year or more to recover either.

Regarding Costco safes in general, I looked into them because I have a good friend with a Costco membership. They would get you where you need to go, but I didn't see that they really offered much savings past what can be found with my area Safe wholesalers (I had one for both Heritage and Liberty) and in some cases, I didn't think they offered as much for the dollar.

Well, I bought the COSTCO safe today. It took three young guys at the store to load it into my van. Somehow it only took me (56) and a buddy (50) to get it out and into my garage. Thinking and then pushing sure beats pushing before thinking! Anyhow, this thing is 300 lbs. and will be bolted to a concrete floor and wall. I'll have to drill more holes in it, as it only brought two holes in the back and two on the bottom. I think I'll drill two on one side as well. Saturday's project. I believe it is not fireproof in any way, and does not claim to be.
Of the safes in its price range, this was the heaviest I could find. I think it will work fine.
More later if there is a need.

Are you sure it isn't fire resistant? As as side note, I don't think that even the best of them claim to be fire "proof" - just varying levels of fire resistant - mine is double certified for 1200 degrees for 75 minutes. I was also wrong about something above - I posted that my door is a 5/8" solid steel plate which is incorrect - it's 3/8" - still formidable though.

How many guns will it hold? I'll tell you this, I don't regret buying mine even one bit. Yes, it was a hefty investment, but I'll own it for decades and it will protect some firearms that mean a great deal to me because they belonged to my late father and grandfather, and I am also putting other things in there I want to protect as well.

Is there a link on the Costco site that shows your safe?

Well, I bought the COSTCO safe today. It took three young guys at the store to load it into my van. Somehow it only took me (56) and a buddy (50) to get it out and into my garage. Thinking and then pushing sure beats pushing before thinking! Anyhow, this thing is 300 lbs. and will be bolted to a concrete floor and wall. I'll have to drill more holes in it, as it only brought two holes in the back and two on the bottom. I think I'll drill two on one side as well. Saturday's project. I believe it is not fireproof in any way, and does not claim to be.
Of the safes in its price range, this was the heaviest I could find. I think it will work fine.
More later if there is a need.Safes are usually insulated with sheetrock & painted unless you order one with spun glass fiber packed in an inner liner of steel used in blast furnaces which will withstand 3400 degrees for a couple of hours.

There are some really interesting claims in that BSB SportzMan post.

Can I post here?

Well, I'll try again. This is the third time I've written this only to be told I can't post.
Put the gun in the house by myself today. Bolted it down to the concrete floor. Did not hurt my back.
Door thickness .250". Wall thickness as measured through the holes .200".
Hidden hinges to the right of the door. Five locking bolts, three on the left, one top, one bottom.
I.D. 14"D X 20"W X 57"H.
.500" of sheetrock lining the inside, plus carpeting.
Brought a gun rack with 14 notches, but the guns are too close to the walls to allow for scopes. I think 8-10 guns will fit reasonably well with new rack.
Safes on Costco's web site are NOT like mine, and are more expensive. Mine is "The Protector" by SISCO, from California. Costco's Puerto Rico's specific site does not show any safes. Go figure. Overstocks, maybe?
I'm happy. The safe is in and bolted, my back doesn't hurt, my wife did not complain, and I've sold my van. All is well with the world. Now all I need to do is get more guns!

Doesn't it feel good to have you guns safely secured? :) I know that when I got my safe in the house and got the guns in it, I felt much better about the whole thing because I knew that my guns were safe from both theft and fire.

I think I found a model that is close to your safe and it looks like your safe is fire resistant to 1200 degrees for 30 minutes - that's not bad at all.

You made a wise decision in my opinion.

I already had a safe. It just happened to be full. Now I'm ready for any new additions to the collection!

The Tale of 2 Gun Enthusiasts.... My friend Pat wanted help with his 'Costco' 330lb safe and yes Luisyamaha...2 old guys can push a safe up a flight of stairs down a hallway and bolt it to the wall in a closet faster than 3 young guys can load it into my van!!!! Pat likes the safe, it looks good and feels heavy and secure, but doesn't have many guns. I liked the safe too until I brought my other 'gun' friend to see it, and his suggestion is to spend the extra $$ for a 'real' safe. (BTW he has over 40 guns and NO SAFE) Well the 'Stack-On' safes are cheesy and light weight, I just sent 2 back to the company, but the next step up really puts you way above $1000. The answer is the $349 (down from $399 last month) Costco gun safe!! It beats the **** out of the 'under the bed' NOT SAFE location they were in before. Some day when I get REALLY expensive or nostalgic weapons, a $2500 safe will need to be installed, but as soon as Stack-On gives me my money back for the 'inferior' safes it's off 2 Costco for me, and YES .... both my friends better be on hand for the moving and installing of this one as it goes into a Townhouse with 4 sets of stairs!!!!!!!!

I made a new rack which allows for 9 rifles to fit very nicely. 7 scoped and 2 not. I also installed a 12" "Golden Rod" electric de-humidifier (from Brownell's), which I highly recommend. I've had a bigger model in my other safe for many years now and it is still doing its job. The Costco safe brought a re-usable chemical de-humidifier, but in my humid tropical climate it was "wet" in about 4 days or so requiring re-activation. Pain in the azz. I only used it until I got the "Golden Rod" from Brownell's.

Hey guys,
I know a lot of you live out and away from a populace but I also firmly believe in a home security system including fire and cell back up! A cut of the phone line and they have more time to accomplish their theft. The reason for the cell back up. Most everyone around here works or doesn't speak english so it would go un-noticed. The smoke detector can get the Fire Dept here before the smoldering turns into flame. 2 big issues why I have a system. LEO response time is really good here in Fort Bend County. The Deputies do a fine job!
Greg

I use a locker I picked up for free at work. I painted it and set it up in my garage. You know the type. The kind you put your lunch and jacket in. It locks up very securely and is looks like you would put your work clothes into it. With a good lock on it, it's just fine. Try to break one open sometime.

I use a locker I picked up for free at work. I painted it and set it up in my garage. You know the type. The kind you put your lunch and jacket in. It locks up very securely and is looks like you would put your work clothes into it. With a good lock on it, it's just fine. Try to break one open sometime.......................................... ......................................

The safes you find in the “big box stores” are usually thin walled 30 minute or 1 hour fire safes. They were never engineered for burglar resistance and they do not have thick enough steel to ward off a burglar. The locks are usually cheap Korean or Chinese imports and they do not have an Underwriters Laboratory rating. Not only do they have thin metal and inferior locks, but they also have small ¼” bolts that will not hold up in the event of a burglar trying to break into it with a crowbar or pry bar. The safes from the "big box stores" are a waste of money and will not offer the protection you need.

Buy a safe from someone who sells safes for a living because they will know what they are talking about and hopefully won't sell you something imported and of inferior quality.

If you want to go inexpensive but still have something that offers you good protection, go with something like the Mutual MS6030 Gun Safe. (http://www.safeandvaultstore.com/product/mutual-ms-6030-gun-safe&item=785) It has a 1 hour fire rating tested at 1750 degrees. It also offers:

• 5" thick door lined with U.L. approved fire activated door seal
* 1 1/2 " of fire rock fire insulation with 1 Hour Fire Rating
• 1" diameter door bolts — 6 horizontal and 2 vertical - 8 bolts Total
• Lock area protected by Manganese hardplate (HRC 60 hardness)
...and spring loaded relocker
• Universal adjustable inerior options: 22 rifle slots with shelving
...or all shelves
• Two bolt down holes predrilled at the bottom
• Brass plated handle and lock

Remember no matter what safe you buy, make sure you bolt it to the floor.

I bought this Winchester at Sam's about two years ago. 60H x 21D x 30W for $561.00. I like it.

Steel has gone up about 30% since then. You might know this already but since the Olympics are being held in China, the air quality was so bad that the Olympic committee made them shut down some of their plants. Most of those were steel plants, and most of our steel is made there. It has caused severe shortages in the industry. I think after the "games" when their manufacturing picks back up, the price will go down rapidly and you'll get more for your money.
Just a thought

My 2 cents worth. I own two Browning safes. The first one I got weighed 550 lbs empty. The second is a firesafe & weighs 725 empty. While I was able to bring the first into my home by myself on a refrigerator dolly, the second one was a different story.

My point being, if you do not want someone carting off your safe in the middle of the night when you're not home, it had better be very heavy or secured to the floor or wall very well.

THE ICEMAN

Cannon is much esteemed for their safes. It's a reputable brand name.

I bought one from CostCo -- The "issue" is that it weighs some 600 lbs. You cannot move it on a heavy-duty handtruck with pneumatic tires. The tires will buckle. When this happened with us, the safe jumped off the back of the commecial van truck and landed in the driveway.

It's fortunate that it didn't land on anyone. It would have killed them.

No damage to the safe -- in a packing box and it didn't land on the keypad.

But moving a safe that weighs 600 lbs or more requires some thought and precautions.

But moving a safe that weighs 600 lbs or more requires some thought and precautions.
My safe is 900 pounds empty - when it was delivered and installed, the guys who brought it had it on a palate, and they had specialized equipment for moving it. They had a heavy duty motorized stair climber to get it up my front steps - fortunately only 3 of them, and they left it on the climber/walker until it was well inside the house, whereupon they put it on industrial sized Teflon sliders to move it into place. But here's the kicker....

My wife didn't like it where I chose to put it, so she wanted it moved. I went to Home Depot and bought the biggest Teflon sliders I could get and my son and I wrestled it into a different place about 8 feet away - it took us about 40 minutes.

And my wife didn't like it there either! :(

So, I enlisted the help of a friend of mine who is pretty strong and we once again moved that beast to it's current location in the next room over - a process that took us about an hour. I WILL NOT move it again. I told her that if she wanted it moved again, she'd have to do it herself! The Teflon sliders work, but it takes some real thought and effort to move something that big and heavy.

"I WILL NOT move it again. I told her that if she wanted it moved again, she'd have to do it herself!"
-------------------

"I got a handgun for my wife . . . and I think I probably came out ahead in the trade."


-- Mostly what I'm trying to impress upon readers in my post is that moving a gun safe can be complicated, and DANGEROUS. Just because it looks like a refrigerator doesn't mean it's going to move like one.

It doesn't matter what it weighs, bolt it down!!
My safe weighs 900# empty, and a friend and I moved it in without any problems.
We moved it on 3/4" pipe rollers. Once it is up on the rollers, a small child can push it. Over carpet we laid 3/4" plywood.
After it was in place and bolted down, I added 300 lbs of sheet lead.
BOLT IT DOWN! Also make sure it is on, or at least very close to a bearing wall or solid support under the floor. Concrete floors are best.
BTW. Most safes are top-heavy. If it starts to tip over, GET OUT OF THE WAY!! You can fix whatever it breaks, but you can't fix you. I helped a safe guy move a 15 TON safe across a bank and those were his words. For that one we used steel bars, not pipe.

Another opinion. Virtually any safe will keep the neighborhood punks out. NO SAFE wil keep a determined professional out, if he has enough time. However most of us don't have enough in a gun safe to interest a pro.
I work with Govt safes, and they are rated for fire, time to defeat the lock, and time to make a forced entry.
Some locks are SMART, and supposedly cannot be defeated or opened by an auto-dialer. These locks cost a lot more than most gun safes.

It doesn't matter what it weighs, bolt it down!!
My safe weighs 900# empty, ...After it was in place and bolted down, I added 300 lbs of sheet lead.
BOLT IT DOWN!
I think that bolting it down was probably the furthest extent you needed to go - do you really think that the 300 added pounds is going to do much? If a thief is motivated enough to tear a 900 pound safe out of the floor to get to your valuables - especially considering they probably have no idea what is inside - do you really think that the 300 additional pounds are going to make much of a difference?

To the average thief, the safe alone is enough of a deterrent since most break-ins are snatch-and-grab operations, and a thief won't waste the time or energy dealing with a safe unless it's small enough to pick up and take along - a 900 pound safe full of guns and other gear is not small enough to take along.

Adding the lead makes me feel better. OK? I had it, I put it in there.

Now 300# of lead ingots for casting... those you want to keep safe. Right? ;)

Adding the lead makes me feel better. OK? I had it, I put it in there.
That's kind of what I figured, and if it makes you feel better about it, go for it! :) The fact of the matter is, I bought the safe for two reasons:

1.) I have a very valuable collectible Winchester
2.) I feel better about the security of my guns and valuables knowing they are locked up tight in a fire resistant safe.