I have a total of 6 safes that run the total range of price, as well as degree of protection. My Liberty is a top of the line safe with fire protection, as well as automotive type finish. Next is a bare bones Cannon that affords good protection without the fancy features. Also I have 2 Stack-On Models that are bolted to the wall, and also afford good protection.
This is the high end Liberty, showing the inside along with some vinyl covered dish racks my wife obtained from Wal-Mart which I used as pistol racks. They are covered in soft vinyl, and won't damage or scratch any guns placed in them.
This is the lower end Cannon showing it's contents. It offers good protection for a lot of guns at low cost.
These are a couple of Stack-On Models I got on sale. They are fair protection for some of my lower cost arms.
This is one of those Greenlee "On Site" Job Tool Boxes you see for sale at Home Depot and Lowe's that are used extensively at construction sites to store expensive tools in when the contractors are away. It works very well as a gun safe. It has recessed wells for padlocks so you cannot get to them with bolt cutters, or a torch. It also serves as a nice display table for my .50 Caliber Bushmaster .50 BMG rifle when I'm home. I have since purchased a second similar type. I keep the bottom of both lined with 25 pound bags of shot. Several hundred pounds. It gives me a nice place to store it, offers some padding on the bottom, and will quickly administer a double hernia to anyone who tries to lift them.
What I like about the Greenlee Safe is it stores the long guns horizontally and doesn't let the oil run down the bores into the action. These are sold at Home Depot, as well as Lowe's and come in a variety of sizes and different shapes. They are also made by Knaack and other manufacturers. If you like working with wood, and are creative, you could easily make some felt covered, wooden racks to store your weapons in.
These afford good, solid protection at a fair price. I get sick of paying $2,000.00+ for a iron box to keep guns in. These are simply more creative choices out there that serve the purpose.
Don't get caught up in paying a lot for "fire protection". That is a load of crap safe manufacturers try to sell you because it is a high profit item. All "Fire Protection" consists of is a layer of common Sheetrock. It is cheap and easy to install. Insurance statistics show most home burglaries are committed by kids under the age of 16. Most are in the home for less than 2 minutes. "Smash & Grab" type of hits. Any type of safe will protect you from that.
Also remember that no safe is waterproof. Water is the biggest destroyer of property in homes today. In that regard not one single safe in New Orleans protected it's owner. Shop wisely and you will do well. I'm lucky in that my wife doesn't work, and I do only 3 days a week. All of that time someone is home, so I don't worry too much. For those that leave their homes vacant for long periods of time, you might want to up the grade of protection you may require.
The main thing to remember is that thieves look for easy opportunity. Sure anyone with some tools and enough time can break into anything. Most thieves do not bring tools, and spend very little time when burglarizing cookie cutter suburban homes. "Pros", as they are often called, case homes and prepare their burglaries much better. They know how to get around alarm systems, and when to strike. The penalty for breaking into a $250,000.00 home is the same as it is for burglarizing a $900,000.00 one. No safe will protect you from that. Fortunately middle class citizens aren't often the victims of professional burglars. Most are young kids, or dopers desperate for a quick buck.
It is also advisable to make your home look the same when you are home or not. For example I'm the only home owner on my block that parks both of my vehicles in my garage. All of my neighbors have their garages packed with crap, and park their cars in the driveways. On the weekend my block looks like a used car lot. During the week, an abandoned ghost town. These people might just as well put up a sign telling people when they are not home.
Other things you can do is leave lights on in alternating rooms at night, and keep a TV playing in a dark room. The changing light pattern reflecting off the walls from the picture, along with the sound is a dead give away someone is present. I never answer the front door unless I'm expecting someone, or a delivery. 95% of the time it is just a solicitor anyway, or else someone taking a "survey", and wanting money in the process.
My wife and I pretty much keep to ourselves and are not social butterflies. The less people know about you, the better off you are. I just had a supervisor at work have his home burglarized last week. Not to stereotype, but he's a black guy who loves to brag to most anyone who will listen about everything he's got. They are always having people over to show off their new big screen TV, her jewelry, name it. He also takes care of foster kids from time to time. He has a side entrance door to his garage that a couple of kids kicked in unnoticed, and that was that. They were in. He had no security doors on any of his outside entrance doors. He claims to have lost around $25,000.00 worth of belongings. The kids were local, and most likely knew what was in the home before they broke in. Silence is golden when making small talk with the neighbors. The less talk the better. Especially involving guns.
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