Having a gun at home means being more cautious about where you keep it. The kids shouldn't easily find it, but it should be a place you can easily reach out for when an intruder enters your home.
What you need is the best safe for guns, but how do you know which one to buy? Learn more in detail below!
Why Do You Need a Safe For Your Guns?
Your guns are some of the most valuable objects in your home. As many of us are wondering whether we need to worry about looting, we thought it would be a good idea to talk about gun safes and what they can provide.
Not only will they be helpful for the coming months, but they’re a great thing to have around your home anyway, especially if you have kids.
You need a gun safe for a few reasons:
- It protects your firearms from burglars, who could use them against you in the worst-case scenario.
- The safe prevents kids or those who aren’t practiced with guns from reaching them.
- It can protect your guns and ammunition in the event of a house fire.
Gun safes are dedicated to protecting firearms and ammunition, so they're often sized and organized for this purpose. Tall safes are for rifles, while handgun-sized safes that look like briefcases exist as well.
They can come in several different types and sizes depending on your needs.
Electronic vs Mechanical: Which Is the Best Safe for Guns?
Electronic gun safes are newer and come with several major advantages. For instance, electronic gun safes allow you to open the safe more quickly and are theoretically much safer. Many electronic gun safes are essentially uncrackable, even by expert thieves.
Electronic gun safes are also easier to open in the night when it's dark; this could be helpful in the event of a home intrusion.
However, electronic gun safes can also be disadvantageous, as you need to change the batteries every six months to a year and if you forget, you could be locked out of your own safe!
Mechanical gun safes have been around for much longer (since the 1800s, actually). They’re what most people think about when they imagine a gun safe, and they don’t use any parts that require batteries. Thus, their lifespan is a little longer.
However, they take a little longer to open and could theoretically be cracked by a master thief.
Ultimately, you’ll have to choose which of the two you want for your firearm collection.
Biometric Gun Safe: It Is a Good Choice?
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Some newer safes are biometric, which require your thumbprint to open. These could be very worthwhile, though they have the same battery limitations that regular electronic safes do. Still, they’re arguably the most secure of all safes since there’s no “combination” to be locked.
They’re also super fast to open if you need to access your guns quickly.
Other Factors to Think About
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Size/Dimensions
Make sure to consider the overall dimensions of the gun safe interior before purchasing one.
For instance, if you plan to put the gun safe in your bedroom, consider how much space you want the safe to take up relative to your other furniture and available floor space.
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Weight
Don't forget to consider the overall gun safe weight. You'll have to put the safe in your home, after all!
Get something you can move relatively easily if you don't have a dolly or another moving assistant.
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Storage Capacity
You need at least a few inches of clearance at the top and bottom for your rifles.
It’s also often a good idea to get a gun safe that includes several shelves or pockets for organizing your ammunition in case you need to retrieve something in a hurry.
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Fire Rating
Top-tier gun safes will also be fire-rated, which means they can resist a house fire for some minutes or hours before the guns inside are affected by the heat.
We’d always recommend going with a fire-rated safe if possible, as it adds extra protection for some of the most valuable things in your home.
When shopping for the best safe for your guns, keep these factors to consider in mind. Gun safes are not exactly cheap, and you shouldn't pick a cheap price tag over quality, either.
These safes are for keeping your guns safe, so pick one that's worth every penny and one you'll have peace of mind with!
Up Next:
- DIY Gun Safes: How To Hide Your Weapons In Plain Sight
- Gun Storage | How To Hide Your Gun Safe
- How To Choose The Best Gun Safes For Your Home
