My wife really wanted me to get a safe and I heard about a deal Tractor Supply was having for black Friday. We got a Cannon model TS6040. It’s supposed to be a 36 gun safe and has the following dimensions:
Exterior Width: 40 in.
Exterior Length: 25-15/16 in.
Exterior Height: 60 in.
Inner Width: 38-1/4 in.
Inner Length: 21-5/8 in.
Inner Height: 58-1/4 in.
It’s going in our bedroom closet, so it will be climate controlled. What, if anything, do I need to put in it to help with moisture control? I’ve not had any issues with the guns just being in the closet. Does putting them in a safe change that?
Also, this thing has internal outlets, so that’s convenient for electronics. What’s the best light kit? Just rope style Christmas LED lights?
Man sounds like you have a keeper. I live in the Pacific Northwest and it’s always pretty humid. When I first moved here I noticed some light spots of rust on a stainless S&W 629 and kind of panicked and decided to come up with a rust preventive maintenance system. When I got a safe it didn’t change anything and I haven’t had any rust problems with guns being stored in my safe. I just kept my pre-safe regimen intact: Every 3 months everyone gets a coat of CLP/Ballisotol/Gun oil or whatever is handy at the time. If I handle or shoot a blued or bare stainless firearm it gets wiped down with a slightly oiled patch and then placed in a bore store. ARs and other parked or coated guns get an extra coat of oil if I shoot them in the rain or hose them off but not if I just dry fire them or shoot them indoors.
If I’m going out of town I’ll spray everything pretty good with Birchwood Casey Barricade and that has worked for over seven months at a stretch. I’ve never needed any sort of dehumidifier or anything special beyond oil and bore stores. I know GA is a little warmer than here in the summer but I can’t see going through the trouble of maintaining Silica packets or anything. I haven’t used one of these but I plan to when I move back to the southeast. It might be worth a try for a little added insurance:
Cheapest desiccant I can come up with is silica gel kitty litter + panty hose. Just fill up panty hose after panty hose with about a cup of kitty litter and throw it in a box at the top of the safe. If you go all out and buy the gel balls that change color, you can see when you need to change desiccant packs by what color the majority of the balls in the kitty litter are.
I’m in the market after the new year for a gunsafe and I know nothing about them. Is the brand the OP got a good one or what are the top choices out there?
For rust prevention, I like breakfree collector. I had a slight rust issue with my 870 which it stopped completely. I haven’t tried every product out there, but I am sold on this one.
OP: My dad just told me about a dessicant unit that after it’s absorbed as much moisture as it can, you plug it into the wall to “cook” it dry again, then reuse. A little nicer than just a can, but still easy for a garage/closet application where you might otherwise have to run an extension cord for a goldenrod. I’ll repost if I can find more info on it, unless someone else knows?
Don’t forget to bolt the safe to the floor AND the wall. It’s easy to do and doesn’t hurt anything. Perhaps you’ll never have a break-in, but except for the montrous half-tonners, gun safes are really easy to move.
LRB45: Yes. I like the Cannon safes and would buy the best deal I could find on one.
Outstanding !!! I always try and tell my friends that do the Hide in the closet route a Story of My cousin losing all his weapons due to a break in .make sure you bolt the Bad boy down good .
with the weapons we own a Safe is just a good investment and it will help on your insurance and give you peace of mind .
The silica dessicant pellets out of a quality baby diaper will absorb huge amounts of moisture before needing a change or drying out.
Exponentially more than cat litter actually.
If you don’t want to tear one apart, just pierce some holes in the outside so airflow can pass through and lay it out on a shelf.
Works very well when laid on the floorbards of a car being stored over winter too BTW.
Ha! Never thought of that but you’re right… have had a couple of the kids’ diapers over the years get run through the wash on accident. They come out the size of a grapefruit!
Most of the inexpensive gun “safes” out there are imported and are pretty comparable. It’s a rare home burglar that would get into any of them, if you make sure and bolt it down. I worked several burglaries where they took the whole friggin gun safe. Even one where they used the guy’s own reefer dolly, that was sitting right next to it in the garage. Dumbass…
If you have a Costco near you, they have some pretty screaming deals if you pick it up yourself, and it’s hard to beat their return policy. And definitely go with a Golden Rod or similar device in it.
Isn’t that the truth. Half at best. The capacities they claim are ridiculous. Optics, levers, bolts, etc., will keep you from being able to use every slot. Your whole collection would have to be unscoped single shot .22’s.
Yup. The rope LED lights are what some of the manufacturers use in their light kits. And if your safe doesn’t have one of the door kits with the velcro pockets and straps to hold stuff, I’d get one. I bought two safes earlier in the year with them. Been really handy for holding additional stuff, mags, etc.
