How to Select the Right Gun Safe for Your Needs

If you have firearms of any kind, a gun safe is a wise home security investment. Not only can a safe protect children from getting their hands on deadly weapons, but it also keeps burglars from getting them. Perhaps the most horrible thing that could happen to a gun owner would be for a burglar to get in, find your gun, and use your own weapon on you or members of your family. A solid gun safe can ensure this never happens.

What should you look for, though, when selecting a gun safe? Do you need the most expensive model, or is it okay to buy a less costly one? How big should a gun safe be? Does it need to be able to be bolted to the floor?

Let’s take a look at some of the considerations you have when shopping for a gun safe.

Locks

You want to select a safe with a UL listed combination lock instead of a key lock. (If a child or burglar finds the key, you might as well not have a safe at all!) Combination locks are either manually rotated or electronically operated via a keypad. Both ways work fine, but some of the key locks integrated into manually operated combination locks are designed to keep the dial from being rotated. This adds another degree of security.

Bolts

Bolts are important, as their job is to keep the door of the safe from being pried open. Look for a safe with lock bolts on each side of a recessed door (these will keep the door from being forced open, even if the safe has exterior hinges and someone is able to cut them off or otherwise destroy them).

Look for a safe with a minimum of seven (7) bolts. Three should be on each side of the door and one on the top. A safe with additional bolts can be even more secure, but diminishing returns apply here, so doubling the bolts doesn’t necessarily double the security. If you want added security, though, by all means look for a premium gun safe with bolts at the corners and the bottom of the door as well as the sides and the top.

When it comes to bolt size, most safes come with one (1) inch diameter bolts. Bolt size isn’t particularly important, but a sturdy thickness gives one the impression that they are immune to saws.

Another bolt option is shape. Square and round bolts are commonly seen and both are equally effective.

Steel Thickness

Perhaps more important than bolts is the thickness of the door and walls of your safe or gun safe. The minimum thickness for a residential safe is 12 gauge steel. This may not stand up to an extremely motivated burglar, but it generally offers adequate security against most urban break-ins.

In a rural area, however, (where thieves have more time and need worry less about the neighbors hearing) a sturdier safe is in order. Look for a steel thickness of at least 3/16th inches. This will thwart most attacks with heavy duty tools.

Additional Gun Safe Features

While no safe is impregnable, the goal is to slow a burglar down so much that the risk of detection is too great, and they dare not stick around to thwart the safe. Addition features are often added to further deter burglars. Many of these are not necessary for basic security purposes, but if you live in a rural area, you may want to look into additional features.

Examples of additional features:

  • drill defectors
  • a recessed door
  • hidden hinges
  • positive locking systems
  • centrally placed door handle (this disguises the direction of the door swing)
  • clutch drive/shear pin mechanism on the door (slips or shears if excessive force is applied)
  • quality Sargeant & Greenleaf combination dial