If you own a gun or willing to buying one, proper security for it is the first thing to take into consideration and gun safes are exactly what you need to accomplish that. When you are looking to purchase a gun safe, you need to look at different things to identify the best for your guns.
There are some major things which make a gun safe superior.
In this post, We will talk about five most important features a gun safe must possess.
#1 Sufficient Space For Your Guns
Bigger safe is better for storing different things in it. It is also up to you to think what would be the best size of your safe according to your need and budget. If you own a small firearm like a handgun and have no plans for another, then you probably don’t need a much bigger safe.
However, if you are a hunter and have different sizes of arms and ammunition to store, then a large gun safe is highly recommended. There will be enough space for other accessories like scope, parts for your gun, etc. to store in a large safe.
We also recommend getting a safe which is a little bigger than what you need because safe isn’t something we replace every year.
#2 Secure Lock
The locking system is no doubt an important thing in a gun safe. Gun safes come with different types of locks like bio-metric (fingerprint recognition), dial locks and digital keypad. The bio-metric lock is very quick and easy but you need to pick one with an enhanced battery life or one that supports external battery backup.
It takes time in dial locks for giving the right combination. You have to input the combination in digital keypad lock to open the safe. It also needs batteries to work and same point for external battery applies here as well.
#3 Weight
The weight of the gun safe is another important thing to look after while buying. It will be hard to move or steal if the gun safe is heavier and made tough.
Another option is to mount the safe to the floor through bolts if it is not much heavy. Either way it ensures security.
But before you go grab the heaviest safe in the market, a word of caution, be sure to consult an architect to make sure that your house supports the weight of the safe. This step is essential if you are planning to keep the safe on second floor.
Besides if you change houses frequently, these heavy safes will be a burden for you.
#4 Thickness of Steel
The thickness of gun safe ensures safety from lawbreakers to drilling it. Plates on gun safe are of different gauges. The smaller the gauge, the thicker the steel. By the thickness of steel, a gun safe is more secure.
A quality gun safe should use a minimum of 11 gauge steel in the body of the safe. Here’s an excellent article on safety of gun safes from The Safe House Nashville.
#5 Fire Protection
Fire safety cannot and shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to gun safes. You should check about the fire rating while buying.
The rating is defined as X amount of Minutes at Y amount of Fahrenheit. You should pick the gun safe which can hold fire for about 60 minutes, if not longer.
Unfortunately, a safe which is built to protect your valuables from fire won’t be able do a good job when it comes to protection from burglary. So its wise to invest in a safe which is fire safe and burglar rated.
Conclusion
Well, I just covered some of the most important features to look for while purchasing a gun safe (or any safe for that matter). These features make a gun safe reliable.
Hope this article has helped you get some tips on choosing a gun safe for your needs. If you are looking for recommended brands, then you cannot go wrong with Steelwater, Cannon and Barska gun safes.
Thank you for your tips on choosing a gun safe. I especially appreciate your comments on having a secure lock and the types of locks you can have. I would want a safe with a lock that is both reliable as well as quick to open. I will keep this in mind while I search for a new gun safe!
Hi Zidane, thank you for your comment. As for myself, I prefer electronic locks because it’s easy to access my firearm quickly in cases of emergency and secure enough. I would love to hear your take on this.
I like how you say that you would want to mount your gun safe to the floor or wall. It would be good to secure it in this way for added security. My husband has been looking into getting a handgun recently, so if he does he’ll also have to get a gun safe to ensure that it is safely used.
Thanks for leaving a comment, Gloria. Yeah, it’s a wise decision to get a safe along with it.
Bio-metric locks look really cool, thanks for letting me know that they will need an enhanced battery life. It’s probably a good idea to be prepared and know where to get the battery replaced. I will be looking into locksmith services for replacing the battery to a digital lock.
Thank you for your comment, Leviticus. It is also advisable to pick a safe with an option for external battery backup in case the inbuilt battery malfunctions or dies.
Thank you for your tips on choosing a gun safe. I think best thing is not having a gun.
I beg to differ. I feel that it’s not about what a gun can do, it’s about what needs to be done with a gun.
Thanks for helping me understand that we should check the fire rating before buying one. As you said, this will ensure that this will also protect the insides of the safe from fire and not just from criminals. I will keep that in mind especially that there will be guns inside it, so it will give us peace of mind that it will not explode when we might have a fire in our house.
Thanks for highlighting that Bio-metric locks require an enhanced battery. My stepfather wants to buy a gun, and I wnt to help him find a safe for it. We will keep looking for more safes until he buys the gun.
That’s a good idea to make sure you have a secure lock. I would think that would stop your kids from messing with the guns. I’ll have to make sure to get a safe with a good lock if I get one.
I always forget about how the weight of the safe is really important. My family is going to buy a few guns soon so that we can be protected at home and also hunt if we need to. Gun safety is important so I’ll be sure to teach my family everything I know.
It’s interesting to learn that a quality gun safe has an 11 gauge steel body for the material used. My wife and I are wanting to get a used gun to protect our home and we were wondering what kind of safe we can put it in to protect it against our kids. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should get an 11 gauge steel body for our used gun safe.
It was cool that you talked about the thickness of the safe to make sure no one can get in it. My uncle wants to buy a gun because he moved back to his old neighborhood, and he wants to get a safe for the gun. I will pass him the article so he can get an idea of what to look for in the safe and look for a weapon that will fit in.
I love that you touched on making sure the locking mechanisms are in place so that the guns are locked away properly. My brother is trying to get a new gun soon so that he can go hunting with his family. He needs to make sure that he knows how to handle and store the firearm so that everyone is safe.
It makes sense to get a thicker safe if you don’t want people drilling into it. My spouse and I are thinking about getting a few firearms so that we can defend ourselves. We need to take some classes so that we are trained properly when handling the firearm.