Small safe recommendation for a few handguns - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

jtkratzer · 12-27-2007, 07:23 PM

Just want the title says. I'm looking for recommendations for a small safe to put a few handguns in. It doesn't necessarily need to bolt down since I'm in an apartment and I doubt I'd be allowed to actually bolt it to anything. I just want the guns secured.

I'm not concerned with the speed at which the safe can open because I have a carry gun that's loaded on my nightstand.

It's for the non-carry guns more than anything else. I've seen stuff running from $45 and up.

Makes/Models? Anybody have something they hate and want to tell me not to buy?

orrminator · 12-27-2007, 07:29 PM

If speed of opening and not bolting it down are your basic requirements then you can pick up just about any safe. I used to keep mine in a Sentry Fireproof safe that I got from Wal-mart. Its key operated, can hold a couple of pistols and gives you the option of screwing it to the floor.

Rusty Shackelford · 12-27-2007, 07:30 PM

I've got a small sentry - $100 a Walmart. It's got a five digit combo and a handle key. It will bolt to the floor with two 5 inch lag bolts - In my apartment with carpeting in the closet, no ones the wiser when I moved (YMMV). I put my documents in the interior lock box and there is room for about 3 pistols with a couple of mags on the other two shelves.

jtkratzer · 12-27-2007, 07:43 PM

I have hardwood floors throughout. How did you bolt them to the floor? I'm thinking of a nut and a bolt where they have to be on opposite sides of the flooring.

What about something like this or this?

slugger6 · 12-27-2007, 07:50 PM

Last year for Christmas my wife bought me the GunVault Multi Deluxe (GV2000C-DLX) found at www.gunvault.com. I have mine bolted to a shelf in my night stand. I can have my loaded XD45 in my hand in less than five seconds. I highly recommend it for your consideration.

jtkratzer · 12-27-2007, 07:53 PM

Will it hold more than one handgun? I'd really like to find something that holds two handguns minimum. Right now and XD45c and a 5" 1911...

rykdawgg6601 · 12-27-2007, 07:53 PM

If you're going up thru the (basement into the ground-level?) flooring, I'd suggest using carriage (fender) bolts. They're the ones without a slot or x for a screwdriver fit, and have a square shoulder under the mushrom head. That way the nut/washer will be inside the safe and the shoulder will povide enough bite on the wood to secure the safe. If you don't have a basement underneath, there are several styles of drop-in anchors at the local hardware store.

slugger6 · 12-27-2007, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtkratzer

Will it hold more than one handgun? I'd really like to find something that holds two handguns minimum. Right now and XD45c and a 5" 1911...

Mine holds two guns. I have my XD9 Tactical on the top shelf and my XD45 Service on the bottom one. Both are loaded with hollow points.

**DanTheEldest** · 12-27-2007, 08:00 PM

If you don't mind doing a little modifying (drilling a few holes and installing bolts/nuts), a cheap and sturdy option would be picking up some good-sized ammo cans at your local surplus dealer, then installing a padlock hasp and padlock on each. They're already made to milspec with good steel and a weather seal, so toss in some desiccant packs, snap the padlock on, and you're good to go.

Disclaimer....I have no idea if this would actually work, but I'm a compulsive fabricator/tinkerer and it sounds like fun to try.

jtkratzer · 12-27-2007, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rykdawgg6601

If you're going up thru the (basement into the ground-level?) flooring, I'd suggest using carriage (fender) bolts. They're the ones without a slot or x for a screwdriver fit, and have a square shoulder under the mushrom head. That way the nut/washer will be inside the safe and the shoulder will povide enough bite on the wood to secure the safe. If you don't have a basement underneath, there are several styles of drop-in anchors at the local hardware store.

Yeah, the safe would go on the second floor in my bedroom closet. In the apartment, I can't really tear up the floor...I could probably mount to the wooden shelf.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slugger6

Mine holds two guns. I have my XD9 Tactical on the top shelf and my XD45 Service on the bottom one. Both are loaded with hollow points.

I like it, Cabela's has it, but I didn't think I'd need to spend $160 on a safe, but I guess you get what you pay for. There is one on their site that's a similar size for 1/3 of the price. I'm going up there next week, I guess I'll just check them out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanTheEldest

If you don't mind doing a little modifying (drilling a few holes and installing bolts/nuts), a cheap and sturdy option would be picking up some good-sized ammo cans at your local surplus dealer, then installing a padlock hasp and padlock on each. They're already made to milspec with good steel and a weather seal, so toss in some desiccant packs, snap the padlock on, and you're good to go.

Disclaimer....I have no idea if this would actually work, but I'm a compulsive fabricator/tinkerer and it sounds like fun to try.

Sounds like a good idea, but I'd like to have something that can't be cut apart (the locks).

12-27-2007, 07:23 PM	#1
jtkratzer XDTalk 15K Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lancaster Co., PA Posts: 17,542	Small safe recommendation for a few handguns Just want the title says. I'm looking for recommendations for a small safe to put a few handguns in. It doesn't necessarily need to bolt down since I'm in an apartment and I doubt I'd be allowed to actually bolt it to anything. I just want the guns secured. I'm not concerned with the speed at which the safe can open because I have a carry gun that's loaded on my nightstand. It's for the non-carry guns more than anything else. I've seen stuff running from $45 and up. Makes/Models? Anybody have something they hate and want to tell me not to buy? __________________ "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson The Gun Lounge Pennyslvania Firearms Owners Association Hockey Forum

12-27-2007, 07:29 PM	#2
orrminator XDTalk 500 Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gresham, Oregon Posts: 822	If speed of opening and not bolting it down are your basic requirements then you can pick up just about any safe. I used to keep mine in a Sentry Fireproof safe that I got from Wal-mart. Its key operated, can hold a couple of pistols and gives you the option of screwing it to the floor. __________________ ************************ Chris If it ain't broke....gimme a minute. ************************

12-27-2007, 07:43 PM	#4
jtkratzer XDTalk 15K Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lancaster Co., PA Posts: 17,542	I have hardwood floors throughout. How did you bolt them to the floor? I'm thinking of a nut and a bolt where they have to be on opposite sides of the flooring. What about something like this or this? __________________ "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson The Gun Lounge Pennyslvania Firearms Owners Association Hockey Forum

12-27-2007, 07:50 PM	#5
slugger6 XDTalk 20K Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 20,977	Last year for Christmas my wife bought me the GunVault Multi Deluxe (GV2000C-DLX) found at www.gunvault.com. I have mine bolted to a shelf in my night stand. I can have my loaded XD45 in my hand in less than five seconds. I highly recommend it for your consideration. __________________ "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us". - Ralph Waldo Emerson

12-27-2007, 07:53 PM	#6
jtkratzer XDTalk 15K Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lancaster Co., PA Posts: 17,542	Will it hold more than one handgun? I'd really like to find something that holds two handguns minimum. Right now and XD45c and a 5" 1911... __________________ "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson The Gun Lounge Pennyslvania Firearms Owners Association Hockey Forum

12-27-2007, 07:30 PM	#3
Rusty Shackelford XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Washington State Posts: 304	I've got a small sentry - $100 a Walmart. It's got a five digit combo and a handle key. It will bolt to the floor with two 5 inch lag bolts - In my apartment with carpeting in the closet, no ones the wiser when I moved (YMMV). I put my documents in the interior lock box and there is room for about 3 pistols with a couple of mags on the other two shelves.

12-27-2007, 07:53 PM	#7
rykdawgg6601 XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Las Vegas, NV Posts: 374	If you're going up thru the (basement into the ground-level?) flooring, I'd suggest using carriage (fender) bolts. They're the ones without a slot or x for a screwdriver fit, and have a square shoulder under the mushrom head. That way the nut/washer will be inside the safe and the shoulder will povide enough bite on the wood to secure the safe. If you don't have a basement underneath, there are several styles of drop-in anchors at the local hardware store.

12-27-2007, 08:00 PM	#9
DanTheEldest XDTalk 5K Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 6,499	If you don't mind doing a little modifying (drilling a few holes and installing bolts/nuts), a cheap and sturdy option would be picking up some good-sized ammo cans at your local surplus dealer, then installing a padlock hasp and padlock on each. They're already made to milspec with good steel and a weather seal, so toss in some desiccant packs, snap the padlock on, and you're good to go. Disclaimer....I have no idea if this would actually work, but I'm a compulsive fabricator/tinkerer and it sounds like fun to try. __________________ The only things more disturbing than the base ideologies of the new President are the lengths to which his supporters and apologists will go to try to convince themselves and the rest of us that he's not exactly who he says he is. The American abortion industry: helping rid the tired, huddled masses of their inconveniences and mistakes for four decades now. (But it's okay--the unborn aren't actually humans. What they are, we're not sure--but they're definitely not people.) Last edited by DanTheEldest; 12-27-2007 at 08:06 PM.

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