Nicholas
Are you currently looking to buy a gun safe but aren’t sure where to start?
If so, this article will serve as an important resource for you.
We are living in tumultuous times amidst massive social unrest, an economic recession, and grave uncertainty about what the future holds. This has resulted in a massive firearms and ammunition shortage, to the point that the ammo shelves at sporting goods stores are mostly barren across the entire country.
The value of most firearms has also skyrocketed far beyond their normal cost as demand increases. There are now more gun owners in the United States than ever before.
As a result of this unique situation, protecting your firearms and ammunition from theft or a house fire is more critical than ever. Not only could losing your guns to thieves or a fire be quite devastating financially (or even emotionally if you have any sentimental value for your firearms), at the present time it will also be very difficult to replace everything.
This is why having a quality gun safe is so important.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the top considerations to keep in mind for buying a gun safe, and then we’ll outline and discuss our choices for the best gun safes that you can buy in 2021.
Considerations
Here are the top considerations to keep in mind before buying a gun safe:
Size
The first consideration to keep in mind is the size of the safe. Plain and simple, your safe needs to be large enough to hold each of the firearms you need it to.
Each safe manufacturer will clearly indicate how many long guns the safe is meant to hold. As a general rule of thumb, go with a safe rated to hold one or two more guns than it is rated to hold.
This is because even if you do manage to fit in all of the firearms your safe is rated for, they would be held in very close proximity together, and this will increase the odds that they become scratched.
Type
There are many different types of safes. Some are designed to hold one or two handguns only and to be quickly opened in the event of a home defense situation. Others are designed to hold long guns only, while others are designed to hold long guns in addition to shelves for handguns, ammunition, magazines, or other valuables.
Construction
This is the whole reason for purchasing a gun safe in the first place. As a golden rule, make sure that your gun safe has a thickness of at least 5/16-inches and be built with 8 gauge steel or more.
This will ensure that the safe can resist hits from sledge hammers as well as fire. On that note, pay attention to the fire rating of the safe as well. As a golden rule, you should go with a safe designed to withstand a house fire for at least one hour. This is because it takes, on average, forty minutes for a house fire to be put under control once the fire department arrives.
That extra twenty minutes gives you a bit of an extra cushion, but of course, the longer the fire rating the better.
Locking Mechanism
There are many different kinds of locking mechanisms available for gun safes. The most common are key locks, electronic keypads, biometric, and combination lock.
The best kind of safe to go with will be one what comes with a combination lock with both electronic and biometric options. What’s important is that you are able to open the safe quickly in the event of an emergency. To this end, make sure that the biometric system of your
Extra Features
Last but not least, ideally look for a safe with the following extra features:
- Adjustable shelves or lock boxes for holding extra items (such as handguns, magazines, ammunition, and so on) – this is also useful for organizational purposes
- Alarms or monitoring systems if someone with unauthorized access is trying to access the safe
- Lifetime warranty from the manufacturer
- Fabric-covered shelves so your firearms will not get scratched
The Best Gun Safes
Here are some of our choices for the best gun safes on the market for 2020:
Barska Quick Access Biometric Rifle Safe
The Barska Quick Access Biometric Rifle Safe is a very thin safe designed to hold rifles and shotguns. At fifty two inches tall, it can carry up to four long guns, in addition to a top shelf for storing ammunition, cleaning items, and any other accessories or valuables you can fit.
The body is built out of 14 gauge steel with a total weight of 62 pounds. Three deadbolts will keep the door shut to protect the firearms and equipment that you keep stored inside.
Barska Biometric Safe
The Barska Biometric Safe is a handgun safe designed to be kept on your nightstand, on the wall, or on the floor. Its biometric system can store up to thirty unique fingerprints, and the batteries should last for over a year.
It weighs just 13 pounds, so it is very easy to maneuver around your house as needed. As an added benefit, the Barska Biometric also comes certified by the DOJ.
Paragon 7750 Electronic Wall Safe
The Paragon 7750 Electronic Wall Safe is designed to be bolted between studs your wall. There are shelves built into the safe for organizing handguns, ammunition, and other valuable items you may want to keep in there such as money, jewelry, passports, or important documents.
While the 7750 does not have a biometric option, it can be easily accessed by simply punching in a unique passcode for emergency home defense scenarios. The door is tamper resistant, and the body of the safe is built out of eleven gauge steel.
FCH Electronic Rifle Gun Safe
If you want a quality gun safe for storing long guns and handguns that won’t break your bank, you will want to take a close look at the FCH Electronic Rifle Gun Safe. This safe is secured with a programmable security code, and there is an additional lock box inside the safe as well for storing additional items.
There is enough room inside the FCH for storing up to five long guns, plus the lock box can be used for storing handguns, ammunition, magazines, cleaning equipment, or other valuable items. For added security, you can bolt down the FCH down to your floor so criminals or home intruders can’t run off with it.
Liberty Safe and Security Fat Boy Junior 48 Gun Safe
As the name clearly suggests, the Liberty Safe and Security Fat Boy Junior 48 Gun Safe is designed to carry up to a grand total of 48 long guns. If you have a rather large gun collection and need a safe for holding everything, the Liberty Safe and Security Fat Boy is a decent option.
The Liberty weighs up to seven hundred and sixty pounds, so make sure you have other willing people to help you transport it. The Liberty Safe and Security has a grand total of twelve bolts to prevent the safe from being opened, and it’s fire resistant for up to two hours.
Conclusion
If anything, owning a quality gun safe is even more important now than it was in years previously. In this guide, we’ve covered a variety of different types of safes from pistol safes to wall safes to long gun safes. Any one of the safes that we have covered will be a quality option, but if you would like to continue your search beyond our recommendations, you can always refer to our buyer’s guide as well.
