Before you put anything valuable in a basement, go ask your local fire chief what happens to a basement in a house fire.
Ed

Basements etc
 

Don't have to ask the fire chief. That is what I did. There is a 4"drain in the basement area of the room. Drains to the ditch behind the house. BTW if the room was upstairs and we had a fire they would get burned up instead of drowned anyway. I am doing this mainly for security from thieves anyway. I am building a powder magazine now in the field behind the house. Wanta keep the powder I have there....rather than the house. Just a building with 4 refridgerators in it to store powder in. Actually legal too in most all states. 100 lbs per fridge. But ya gotta cut the cord off.:p

Ed,

I think we have already gone through this. The house is going to have a sprinkler system and an ADT alarm system. I am hoping that there will not be any fires, but I'll install a drain in the floor like skeet did. I'm going to have another room in the basement for my aquariums with a drain in the floor, so why not one in the gun room. Even though the gun room will have a vault door to it, I'm still going to keep the guns in their individual safes. The safes are supposed to become air tight once they are heated, so hopefully that will cover the issue too. If I really start to worry about it, I'll get some insurance on the collection, but I seriously doubt I am going to worry that much about it just yet (i.e., my daughter just turned 1, so I have several years before she becomes careless and starts playing with matches).

Buckhunter,

I am looking at the vault door from Browning. If you purchase it before they pour your foundation and basement walls, you can ask them to pour it right in place and make a room with 4 cement walls and a vault door. The door looks almost like a regular 6 panel door except for the keypad or dial on it. I think my wife and I have finally decided on a plan that we like. Now, we just need to find a lot we like and a builder we can afford.

Fabs, If you are going through the expense of 4 cement walls, consider a cement ceiling as well. You will then have a great storm shelter/safe room (great for re-sale value) as well as a very, very secure gun room. Add battery back-up lighting, a fresh air vent and a panic button for the alarm system, and you are in business! And, don't forget the dehumidifier for the guns.

Hey Contenderizer
 

I like the idea of battery backup lighting. Think I will add that to mine. I may even put some solar cells up on the roof to charge battery power. Already have the cement ceiling and fresh air vent. Now you have my mind(such as it is) working. Got a couple of other ideas now

I will have to do some more thinking on this and I'll have to talk to the builder about it once we decide who we are going with. Thanks for the ideas. I'll probably also do some additional research on safe rooms.

I was actually thinking about using a windmill for electricity, but who knows how that will go over.

Hey Fabs
 

They have small windmill chargers that you could mount right to the roof. I just bought one(used for cheap) a couple of weeks ago. Haven't put it up yet. Have to get 3 or 4 deep cycle batteries. Going to use it for power in an outbuilding etc. Have a well on the place that has a solar powered pump(all in the barn) and not hooked up with no batteries. Haven't needed it but want to try to see how much water it will pump. It is mainly for watering cows. Don't even know if the panel charges. But I'm gonna find out. We are really dry here.

Back to the original subject matter of this post for just a minute....

When I get ready for that new 22 bolt action, I am leaning toward the new Weatherby Mark XXII. The original Mark XXII was a semi-auto, but the latest version (newly released) is a bolt gun.

It's a joint venture between Weatherby and Anschutz, with a traditional Weatherby stock (beautiful) and Anschutz action and barrel. All of the reviews have been very good, and the gun has been proven capable of shooting 1/2" groups at 50 yds. About $850 should do it, plus scope.

Thanks for all of your input.

Best 22 LR
 

In bolt actions, I have an old Winchester 52 that is a tack driver, but a little heavy even though it has the light target barrel. Next is a Ruger 77/22 that is a very accurate rifle. I wish it had a barrel that was a tad heavier. It likes Stingers but I usually shoot Winchester Power Points. (P-dog control). And since I gave two CZ452s to my grandsons, I have found they are very accurate. I am a bolt action fan, more of a sniper than spray and pray.:D