[The Reaper]

I have had AMSEC and Liberty, and hung out in a local gun store that carried most brands. Done a little research on barrier penetration as well.

While you get what you pay for, at some point, you are paying for flash.

The AMSEC is a budget solution, while will keep the neighborhood kids from getting into it with a screwdriver. The Liberty higher ends are very nice and well made, but a locksmith or a team with saws, torches, drills, jacks, comealongs, etc. will be in most portable safes in short order. With little training, I could empty most home safes with tools I could carry in alone in less than five minutes.

Hell, the right team can crack a bank vault.

You should be looking for layered security. Good locks, an alarm system, video surveillance, a dog, hiding/disguising the safe, an armed family member, all make up part of the defensive system. Delay, delay, delay. You need to figure out what you are protecting, the threat you are protecting it from, and how long you need to stall them before a response arrives.

Unless you are specifically a target, you just need to be harder than your neighbors. Most criminals will skip the hard target for the easy one next door.

Fire protection is a bonus, and will help with some attacks. Thicker is better, but it takes up interior volume. Most is gypsum board.

I have used dehumidifier rods, but most safes will be fine with a small incandescent lamp left on inside (and not touching anything). I never seem to dry out dessicant packs quickly enough. Best solution is to keep your weapons cleaned and oiled.

Agree on the cubic footage for determining capacity. I suspect that once you have outgrown two safes, you need to consider building a vault. Four inch block, filled or not, is less than ten minutes of sledgehammer work to walk through. And anything under #5 rebar can be cut with manual bolt cutters.

HTH.

TR