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Gun Safe Question

Mdsphoto

Mdsphoto

Copper BB
Guys,

My neighbor upgraded his gun safe and asked me if I wanted his old entry level Sentry safe. Everything I've read says it's a POS, but I've heard it stated that a cheap gun safe is better than no gun safe. Plus, it was free! The safe is configured strictly for long guns, of which, I only have one so I would like to build some shelves to better suit my needs.

My question is where can I get shelf clips that will fit the brackets in the safe? Are these industry standard sizes that I can get from any safe manufacturer? I contacted Sentry and they told me that no longer make safes and could not help me.


As always, your experience and recommendations are greatly appreciated.
 
Try your local Home Depot.
Pretty much standard shelf clips in my Sentry.

Yes any safe is better than tossing guns in a closet.
 
Make sure you change out the lock mechanism or change the combination.

You do not want any unauthorized people knowing the access code and where it is located. Cheap safes work best if you can bolt it down in a corner where its difficult to pry it open. Any safe is etter than nothing but placement is just as important even with a high end model.
 
Beware i think it was a Sentry model that had a flaw where the electronic lock reset was positioned in the door frame and could be hacked from the outside. There are some YT vids on it.
 
You can improve the pry resistance of that safe about 10x with a couple simple additions. If it has an electronic lock I'd put a regular lock on it.
I just don't trust them because electronics are too susceptible to moisture and temperature.

If you're crafty you can leave the electronic lock on it for show and put a second lock on the safe. Anything you do to confuse a burglar will help.
 
Thanks guys! I found the clips at Home Depot, grabbed some wood and carpet to match the interior and just need to mount them.
 
I went ammo shopping & looked at a Sentry safe today, and a StackOn safe too. The Sentry at .094" is half the thickness of a SturdySafe, and that StackOn was maybe 16 ga. or 1/3 as thick. I paid lots more, but I'm sure I'll never regret it.

My guns cost me a lot more but I never worry. When I hear that 300 lb door close with the rock solid thunk I just feel all warm and fuzzy...:D

But again, you can't beat free, and you can easily improve that safe ot trade up should you ever feel the need.

Congrats on your score!
 
Even a cheap safe is better than no safe, especially if your neighbor wants to give it to you. Hell, you won't have to go far to get it either...
 
Didja ever have to move your safe?

I bought mine (a mid-range 25-gun Colonial) a long time ago, and it was delivered and installed by the company from whom I'd bought it. Since then I've moved twice. I don't know if you guys have a better way to move a very heavy safe, but I thought I'd tell you how I moved mine.

I tried using my hand-truck...the hand-truck bent. Then I tried tipping it a bit and sliding two 3-ft lengths of heavy dowel rod under it, rolling it a foot onto a third dowel rod, picking up the back dowel and putting it in front, rolling it again...etc. Worked fine on smooth garage floor, not so well on exposed aggregate driveway...the dowel rods disintegrated. So I cut 3-ft lengths of 1-1/4" OD PVC (thin variety), with ID of 1-1/8", and drove in 3-ft lenths of 1-1/8" doweling. Even on the rough driveway, the PVC held up fine.

To get it high enough to tip into the bed of a pickup, we rolled it up an inclined piece of plywood that was resting on a 3-ton floor jack, and with two guys holding it steady, we jacked the safe up to about 19 inches off the pavement...still a little low, so we put chunks of timber under the corners, dropped it onto these blocks, and lifted the floor jack onto other blocks so we could jack it up another eight inches or so...and then tipped it onto rollers in the bed, and rolled it up to the front. We left the rollers under the safe in the pickup, used nylon straps to keep it from rolling back.

Getting it out at the new house was easier, but more dangerous - we unhooked the straps so we could roll it, but left the straps loose on the safe -- we then rolled it back to where it balanced on the tailgate, and with two guys in the truck bed holding the straps and two other guys on the ground, slowly tipped it outward, and carefully slid it off the tailgate onto a folded moving-blanket on the ground (padding to prevent denting or collapsing the corners). We figured, with a 700 pound safe, we really needed four people. We might have done it with fewer, but it was nice to have enough muscle. Then we tipped it, put the rollers under it, and rolled it into its new hidey-hole. ...And I saved those rollers for the next time. Still got 'em.
 
My safe only holds 14, but it weighs 800+ lbs. Being compact for its weight, two guys can move it OK.
 
I found a cheap moving dolly, those wood framed ones, that was rated for 1000lbs and used that to move the safe around. Looking at it I never would have thought it would really hold that much but it worked surprisingly well. The hardest part is getting the safe centered on the dolly.
 
MikeD said:
I found a cheap moving dolly, those wood framed ones, that was rated for 1000lbs and used that to move the safe around. Looking at it I never would have thought it would really hold that much but it worked surprisingly well. The hardest part is getting the safe centered on the dolly.
Click to expand...

Me and two other guys moved full sized grand piano the same way. I pushed the dolly and they directed it around corners from each side. As long as the axle is strong enough to bear the weight, the rest is all a matter of leverage...
 
Be careful of rough or unlevel surfaces. Suddenly your wheel load doubles.

I've collapsed some 450 lb rated casters that suddenly saw 900 lbs and a shock load at the same time.
 
Two guys delivered my safe (50" W x 72-1/4" H x 27-1/2" D, 1475 lbs). They used a 4-caster furniture dolly and laid down plywood to protect my floors and give them a consistent surface to roll on. They rolled it across stained concrete, carpet, & ceramic tile and made it look easy.
 
....sonofagun. You guys are all smarter than I am. Never even thought of a dolly. Could have picked one up at the big box store for $21, or from China Freight for about $12. Oh, well, the PVC rollers worked, so no worries.
 
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