my youngest son wants to find a small reasonably priced rifle safe , to use at his rented property while hes at school getting his masters, that he can bolt into a closet, it only needs to fit two AR style rifles and have a number key pad lock, in his estimation, but Id sure like it to have at least moderate security and fit at least 4 rifles, and while hes looking at flimsy security cabinets I,m hoping to upgrade it a bit even if I need to kick in the cost difference, but try to keep it under $450-$500 if thats possible, he has permission to bolt it too the floor and wall.
in my experience, a gun safe has been alot like how you described building your own shop... you get one so big and immediately grow into the space. that being said.... keeping the cost low without sacrificing the security (both from theft and fire) isnt always easy. Ive got a big ass safe from Stack-On and i like it alot, other than changing the battery, the lock and eletric keypad have worked really well for me. heres one at the home depot that fits the description of you seem to be after...
that looks to be a good option, considering the limitations hes putting on the purchase, and use, obviously its not high security and I would never personally consider that,for my personal use.
but for the limited application, he wants , and limited to that price cap,it may be a good choice, thank you
this is a newer version of the stack on safe that i have, if i recall correctly it has the same fire/flood rating as this and the door storage but i guess theres new features that came out in 2014... i got this one for 850 bucks on the last day of a gun show, it was a display piece there so i was able to talk the guy down, i think the retail on them is right around $1000... ive since combined the guns i dont use on a daily basis with my moms collection at her house, so all of the gear is there for the zombie apocalypse, at home i dont use a safe anymore for the two pistols my wife and i carry and the 12ga. for home defense i recently got.
