Recommended Products - Safes

So you've purchased or built firearms, and now you may be wondering what to do about storing them in a responsible manner. Let's discuss some considerations to make in deciding how to store firearms in your home. I'm going to go over the decision making process in deciding on storage, and I will have recommendations based on safes I currently own and use as well. As always, some links may be affiliate links with Opticsplanet, but please remember that my recommendations are based on products I purchased and tested myself. By the way, you can save 5% on Opticplanet with the code SAS5! They also offer free shipping, and shipping is fast on in stock products.

Questions you should process through in making storage decisions:

• Do you have children in the home, or that visit (nieces, nephews, grandkids)?

  • Yes

    • I would highly recommend having firearms kept in safes. We'll discuss more in depth later.

    • There are traditional safes, as well as quick access safes that can help you feel comfortable having firearms in the house.

    • Please remember that kids are naturally curious, and being curious without supervision around firearms can be deadly.

    • Also remember that for teenagers, the greatest cause of death is suicide. A student who went to my school took his own life, and that was 20 years ago. Today mental health is an even bigger problem!

  • No
    

    • Are you comfortable having firearms in drawers, range bags, cases? If so, go for it!

    • Some folks still like to have firearms in safes for theft protection and safety. Again, there are quick access safes that can still allow you to get to your firearm rapidly.

    • In my view, your home is your castle, and it's up to you to best establish a home protection plan for you and your loved ones.

Safe Types

• Fire Protection/Gun Vault Types

• These style safes are like the kinds you might see on display in Cabela's or other shops. They are normally very large, very heavy, and can hold a lot (20+) of firearms. These will typically have a fire protection rating too, based on how long and how hot they can protect the contents of the safe in a fire. Some companies even make vault doors you can install to make a whole room into a vault!
  

• Pros to Fire Protection/Gun Vault Types:

  • Fire Protection

  • A ton of internal room for storing guns, ammo, valuables, important documents, etc.

  • Can be hard for thieves to steal

  • I mean, they look pretty cool right?

• Cons to Fire Protection/Gun Vault Types:

  • They are expensive (think thousands of dollars typically)

  • They are huge and heavy

  • Most are not typically set up for quick access, and are designed around storing collections

• I do not currently own any of this type, as my house is too small to have such a large safe in it. I dream of setting up a whole vault room one day, but we'll need a spare room to make that happen :)

• Gun Locker Types:
  

• Gun locker type safes can sometimes look like vaults, but they lack fire protection and the weight associated with vaults. Think back to your school locker. A gun locker (or sometimes called cabinet) is exactly that... A wooden or metal box that limits access to firearms. These will also typically hold much less firearms, ammo, and other items than the vault style will. These are much cheaper as well, and typically are small enough to be hidden in closets, under beds (depending on the design), and in other nooks in your home.

• Pros of Gun Locker Types:

  • Cheaper than vaults

  • Smaller and easier to conceal within the home

  • Can sometimes hold several long guns (rifles, shotguns, etc.)

  • Some have internal shelves/storage for important items

  • Lightweight

• Cons of Gun Locker Types:

  • Most of the cheaper options do not have quick access functions

  • No fire protection

  • If not bolted down or secured, they can more easily be stolen compared to vaults

• Handgun Chests/Safes:
  

• Handgun style safes come in a lot of different sizes, ranging from accommodating just a single handgun, to handling up to 4 with accessories like the Vaultek NMXi pictured to the left. They also have a lot of variance in their features, and most have some sort of quick access technology. A nearly standard feature anymore is the use of a code that can be typed quickly, but some safes also have biometrics, bluetooth connectivity, WiFi, and a host of other options. Of course, the more features, the higher the price tag, so you'll need to make sure you think about what you need your safe to do for you. I own and use the Vaultek pictured above daily, as that is where my wife and I store our daily carry handguns. Since it is in the main part of the house where our children play, I opted for the Vaultek NMXi for all the features, even though it's price point is higher than a lot of the gun lockers available on the market. I'll discuss the Vaultek's features more specifically later.

• I'm not going to due a pros and cons for handgun safes, as they really can't be compared to the other two typed previously discussed. They are much more specialized, and have a tremendous amount of design variance compared to vault and gun locker style safes. The important thing to make sure of is do your research on what is available, and what features are important to you.
  

Important Features to Me When Considering Safes

Let me take a moment to share with you what I look for in safes, in hopes that it will help you have a framework to use as well. Currently I have a small house, so I won't be discussing vaults. I hope to own one in the future to house my hopefully growing collection, but currently it's just not feasible. Without further ado, let's get into important features:

• Tamper Detection-IMPORTANT

  • Tamper detection is a feature that many handgun safes have (and some electronic gun lockers) that will tell the user in some way whether an incorrect pass code has been attempted. This can either be done via bluetooth or WiFi, or by pressing certain buttons together on the safe to get feedback. With children, I love this feature because it helps me know when I need to have another conversation with them about gun safety (they are way too little right now, but I like to plan ahead).

  • One of my favorite features of the Vaultek NMXi pictured above is that I get Tamper Detection alerts on my phone wherever I am due to the safe's connection with WiFi. Most of the time it just means that someone bumped or hit the safe, but every now and then my 4 year old likes to play with the buttons. When I get an alert, I immediately have a conversation with him about how he is not to touch the safe at all. Since having the conversations over the past year, he never touches the safe anymore.

• Biometrics-Not Important

  • Biometrics is the ability for a safe to be set up to scan a fingerprint and immediately unlock.

  • My opinion on biometrics is that the technology is not reliable enough to be counted on. My fingerprints almost never work, even when continuously reprogramming them in. I use the passcode feature almost exclusively, and practice to the point that my fingers tap the code in quickly without even thinking. It's maybe a half second slower than when biometrics work, but I just can't rely on the biometrics

• RFiD- Important if available
  

• Some safes have RFiD capability, and I love to use that feature when I can find it. I have a Hornady RAPiD AR Gunlocker that has this feature, and I love how reliable it is. I have the bracelet and a few of the stickers set up as quick access.
  

• RFiD capability can be used with the supplied stickers on phones, there are wristbands you can wear, keychains, etc. It is a very reliable quick access technology, and I hope more companies experiment with it.

• WiFi- Important depending on placement of safe

  • WiFi is a great feature to have on the safe to get information. My Vaultek NMXi gives me via Vaultek app:

    • Safe Opened notifications

    • Tamper Detection

    • Battery alerts

    • History Log

    • Access to detailed settings

    • Safe temperature

    • Safe humidity

  • WiFi would be a little less important to me if the safe was put away and concealed, but our Vaultek NMXi sits in a main room of the house that is high traffic. Therefore, having the alerts and detailed setting options helps to prioritize the things I need the safe to do to protect my family.

I hope the information above helps you to decide on whether to get a safe, and what type fits your level of need. Below id a gallery of safes I recommend. Make sure to use code SAS5 at checkout to save 5%!