Fortress 24 gun safe from Lowes. Any opinions?

[Tennjed]

noticed Lowes has a Fortress 24 gun safe on sale for $437.  Can't really find much about them online.  Seems to be made by Heritage.  Anyone know much about them? It does NOT have an electronic lock, which I think is a plus> The lowes website list the weight at 204 pounds which is incorrect.  I stopped by and looked at them in person and if I remember correctly it was 370lbs, it was definitely more than 204lbs just by shaking it

 

[URL="http://www.lowes.com/pd_533651-57013-FS24B_0__?productId=50086814&Ntt=gun+safe&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dgun%2Bsafe&facetInfo="]http://www.lowes.com/pd_533651-57013-FS24B_0__?productId=50086814&Ntt=gun+safe&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dgun%2Bsafe&facetInfo=[/URL]

 

ETA.  I found this listing for it (same sku#FS24b)that list the weight at 470 lbs

[URL="http://www.autoweaponsus.com/detail.php?source=brands&product=41413"]http://www.autoweaponsus.com/detail.php?source=brands&product=41413[/URL]

[TripleDigitRide]

I don't have any experience with that specific safe, but I don't think you could go wrong for the money. 

[Hozzie]

Don't know much about them specifically, but it falls into the same category as many other "retail" safe's in my opinion.  As long as you understand what you are getting and not getting, the price seems very good for what it is at $437.  It will give you some protection from a smash and grab and some light protection from Fire, but it certainly wouldn't take someone who know's what they are doing that long to get it open.  I am by no means saying it is bad, it is just what most all other safes in the same category are, a deterrent and good way to keep the guns from kids.  If that fits the bill for you and it is the best you can afford for what you need, I say go for it.

 

If you have things of more value that you are also wanting to put in it, I would try to save up for a bit better safe overall.  If you just need something to basically keep your guns from kids, this would do just fine.  Depending where you live, don't expect it to give great fire protection if the fire department is too far away.  Again, it's all relative to what you need.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Hozzie

[Luke E.]

 If you have a TSC (Tractor Supply Company) near by check out the safes there. They may not be the best Donald Trump's money could buy but the Cannon that I bought has a decent fire rating and I have been quite pleased with it. I caught it on sale for $500 but I don't think it costs much more than that normally. If you kept an eye out for one of their X amount off when you spend Y amount coupons you could pick it up for $500 or possibly less is you caught it right. I can't say 100% which would be better than the other but I saw and handled the exact safe you're talking about while in Lowes a few weeks back because I have been thinking about picking up a second safe but I decided that when the time came I would just scoop up another like the one I have because IMO it is a better safe for fairly close to the same money.

[motowfo]

i agree with all that has been said.  It all depends on what you are purchasing the safe for.  The safe I bought is rated for 75 minutes at 1500 degrees with lifetime warranty and I will admit that I paid more than 473 bucks for it.  My purpose in having a safe was not only for safely storing my firearms but additionally we have a few other papers ane things we wanted to have in it for fire protection.  Living in the country, 20 minutes of fire protection would probably result in melted scorched and destroyed things inside a lesser fire rated safe.

 

Best of luck with your decision as it's a very personal choice and the price ranges are all over the board!

[Fourtyfive]

Any safe beats no safe if it's your first. I agree with checking out TSC and our supporting vendors here on TGO.

[TNMTBik3r]

I have a Winchester 24 gun safe from TSC. It fit my needs. The few safes Lowes had at the time were not what I wanted.

[DaveTN]

It appears this is 100% American Made.
http://www.heritagesafe.com/quality-fortress-gun-safes.html

http://www.fortresssafe.com/
It is made by Heritage and appears to be a good buy. The 24 isn’t listed on their website so maybe it’s because it’s a discontinued model?

I’d be interested in it, but when I click on store availability the five stores around me all say "currently unavailable".

[Dane]

The cannon safe is rated at 30 minutes at 1200 degrees and runs $549 regular price. The Winchester safe is rated at 30 minutes at 1400 degrees and is on sale right now for $649 (reg $699). Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Parker's Safes]

Any safe is better than no safe! Seems like a good deal if that's what your budget allows. I would recommend bolting it to the floor. Usually there are 4 pre-drilled holes in the bottom. Just get it level and then pre-drill right through those holes. Anchoring your safe adds another layer of security. I bolt down even really heavy safes because; If I can bring them in, a bad guy or two can take them out. Anchoring is pretty simple and you'll be glad you did it. If you have any questions, you can reach me at through the info below.

[Capbyrd]

noticed Lowes has a Fortress 24 gun safe on sale for $437.  Can't really find much about them online.  Seems to be made by Heritage.  Anyone know much about them? It does NOT have an electronic lock, which I think is a plus> The lowes website list the weight at 204 pounds which is incorrect.  I stopped by and looked at them in person and if I remember correctly it was 370lbs, it was definitely more than 204lbs just by shaking it

 

[URL="http://www.lowes.com/pd_533651-57013-FS24B_0__?productId=50086814&Ntt=gun+safe&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dgun%2Bsafe&facetInfo="]http://www.lowes.com/pd_533651-57013-FS24B_0__?productId=50086814&Ntt=gun+safe&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dgun%2Bsafe&facetInfo=[/URL]

 

ETA.  I found this listing for it (same sku#FS24b)that list the weight at 470 lbs

[URL="http://www.autoweaponsus.com/detail.php?source=brands&product=41413"]http://www.autoweaponsus.com/detail.php?source=brands&product=41413[/URL]

 

 

If you are going to get something from lowes, go to the post office and get a change of address form.  There are always lowes coupons in them.  

[tbenedict]

I wish I could find one around here.

[frankmako]

I would first check what size and fire rating that you need. Remember you cannot have a too big of a safe. You want the longest fire rating you can get. But remember a good safe will cost you money. We have a good vendor here on our site. Parker's Safe and Vault would be my next call when I have figured out what I needed. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

[av88tor]

If you need a safe in the Knoxville area check out our new location off of Alcoa Hwy.  We have the largest selection of gun safes in the Knoxville area.  

 

Our address is :

 

3525 Castle Lane

Alcoa,TN 37701

 

865-983-9100

 

Website : knoxvillesafehouse.com

[av88tor]

As for the Fortress safe which is / was manufactured by Heritage Safe : Heritage started manufacturing gun safes back in the early 90's and they were the first safe brand that I carried when I started my safe business back in 93.  We sold their safes when their serial numbers were 3 digits long, so early on.  Flash forward many years and Heritage didn't grow with the industry and got into financial trouble, for a brief period they partnered up with Champion safe to produce some of their products and Heritage used their plant to produce overflow from Champion, well that partnership didn't work out and they split ways a few years ago. After that failed attempt Heritage limped along until the end of last year trying to find a market niche to get back in the gun safe game. Again, that didn't work and the owner of the company was replaced and the company is being run by new management.  As for the safe that they build now, its nothing like the old well built safe of by gone years , The NEW Fortress line is NOT a U.S. made product, it is imported from over sea's. The website still listed the Fortress as being made in the U.S. but that was the older models that were indeed U.S. made.  I used to sell the original Fortress line from Heritage, it was a good safe, unfortunately the NEW Fortress IS NOT the same safe that it used to be.  

Edited March 15, 2014 by av88tor

[DaveTN]

The NEW Fortress line is NOT a U.S. made product, it is imported from over sea's. The website still listed the Fortress as being made in the U.S. but that was the older models that were indeed U.S. made.

What happens when people that think they are buying an American Made safe find out their claims of being American Made are fraudulent?

[av88tor]

Dave,

 

I've battled that for years in the safe business and unfortunately you can say anything on the internet and unless its just downright fraud its hard to do anything.  There are "internet" safe companies that are blatantly lying about the origins , fire ratings , metal thickness  and security of their safes and its an uphill battle to expose them.  What I do at my company is sell good quality products and tell my customers what kind of security to expect from the safe that they purchase.   I have gotten into a few "heated" discussions with a few posters in the past and it is always comes down to them getting upset when I expose poor qualities and features of the brand they are defending.  One of my favorite movie quotes is Jack Nicolson saying   " you can't handle the truth"   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FnO3igOkOk   that is what happens sometimes, people can't handle the truth.