Picking the Best Gun Safe for Your Firearms
1. Browning Droptine E-Lock 23-Gun Safe - Editor's Pick
Browning makes amazing firearms that have achieved legendary status. They have done the same with their firearm safes, too. The Droptine E-Lock 23-gun safe uses what Browning calls a Force Deflector locking system that has a re-locker and hardened steel pins. What that means is, the locking mechanism of the safe detects when attempts to pry the safe open are occurring, and the safe helps prevent it. The E-Lock combination is easily programmable so you can set it to what you can remember easily. The 12-gauge steel body has a fully reinforced frame with a one-inch, formed door, and seven one-inch locking bolts.
When it comes to fire, one of the main reasons many of us own a safe, the Droptine gun safe is rated for 30-minutes of fire protection at 1,400°F. That gives you peace of mind for your firearms and other valuables you store in the safe.
The Droptine has adjustable shelving and a gun rack on the door back for long guns allows maximum use of space. A raised floor protects contents from humidity.
2. ProVault Flex Loaded 24-Gun Safe by Liberty - $849.97 - Save $150.02
The ProVault Flex Loaded 24-Gun Safe by Liberty uses a 3-in-1 interior Flex shelving system giving you the option of setting the safe up to hold up to 24 long-guns, or you can add shelving on the left or right side to make room for storage of your guns and accessories and/or valuables. The installed door panel gives you additional handgun and valuables storage space.
This beast of a safe is robotically welded using 2-piece, 14-gauge steel construction that virtually eliminates someone from prying both sides and the top for exceptional security. Ten, Military-style locking bars and a UL-listed and EMP-resistant SecuRam electronic lock give you the security that you are looking for while still allowing you to access the safe when you need to. Tough external hinges let the door open 180° for access to everything inside.
There is a serious, one-inch thick door with a Palusol door seal that expands when exposed to heat and multiple fireboard layers gives this safe a 30-minute fire rating at 1,200°F.
3. Cannon 30-gun Safe - $549.99 - Hot Buy!
Our friends at Tractor Supply Company have an amazing deal going on for this Cannon 30 Gun Safe at just $549.99. It is fire-resistant for 30 minutes at 1,200-degrees and is equipped with a Triple FIN fire seal.
This gun safe also features a solid steel unibody design with an internal hinge that provides protection against pry attacks. It uses a 14-gauge steel door and body with four steel live-action locking bolts that are one inch in diameter and are four inches long for great security.
This safe holds up to 26 long guns and four pistols in the door, with additional pockets for accessories and valuables. It has a fixed shelf and four that are adjustable for a customizable interior. It has a digital lock with a backup for your benefit.
4. Liberty Revere 30-Gun Safe - Just $799.99
The Liberty Safe Revere 30-Gun Safe is made with 10 military-style locking bars with an internal hard plate and re-locker to give you a level of security not found in other safes in this price range. It uses Liberty’s TopLit SecuRam electronic lock that is easily programmable and fast, reliable access.
The safe has fire protection certified for 40 minutes at 1,200-degrees with a heat-activated Palusol door seal that expands up to seven times its size and includes an additional smoke seal. It also has an internal hard plate to protect lock against drill attacks and an external re-locker for extra punch protection
5. Cabela's Classic Series E-Lock 25-Gun Safe by Liberty - $999.88 - Save $400.11!
Looking for a smoking good deal on a fire safe for your firearms and valuables? Take a serious look at the Cabela’s Classic Series E-Lock 25-Gun Safe by Liberty. It holds up to 25 long guns, depending on the adaptable shelving layout, and it includes an interior door panel that gives you additional handgun, accessories and valuables storage. It comes with Liberty calls the SecuRam top-lit, electronic lock with a 3-point chrome handle that gives you a secure lock and easy access for you. The safe is constructed using 12-gauge steel for the body and four-inch hardened steel locking bolts. It has 11 layers of fireboard along with a Palusol heat-expanding door seal to provide a whopping 60 minutes of fire protection at 1,200°F. That kind of fire rating makes it a great safe for use in the basements of larger homes, which can have longer burn times in fires.
What to look for in fire ratings
Fire rated gun safes have a special seal around the door and a lining inside the walls of the safe. Not every safe is the same and there are different ratings for how long the seal and liner will withstand the temperature before failing. The average house fire burns at 1,100 degree Fahrenheit. A safe will have three lines of defense. The steel outer hull of the safe will not melt, as the fires often do not get hot enough to melt steel. The seal material, usually Palusol, expands in heat to seal out the damaging temperatures for a measured length of time. The inner liner insulates the interior of the safe and protects the contents. The thing to keep in mind is that these layers of protection can only last for so long, so if the fire burns for longer than the safe can endure, or the temperature is hotter than the safe is rated for, there isn’t much that can be done.
You will want to look for a safe that will withstand a minimum of 30 minutes at 1,200 degrees. Longer is better, but that’s the minimum I would suggest. A friend had a total-loss house fire and his safe which was in the basement, held up longer than the rating, but the guns inside still had damage, albeit lighter damage.
Understanding capacity in gun safes
When you see a gun safe that claims it will hold 30 firearms, you need to understand a couple things. You’re not likely to be able to cram 30 scoped rifles into the safe. When looking at sizing, think of a basic shotgun for an example of size. For every scoped rifle, you can subtract two from the total.
Handguns can be hung from the door, or in a pistol rack on a shelf, so they don’t count toward the total. Most all gun safes are adaptable with how you configure the interior, too.
The best rul when considering a gun safe is to always go bigger than the amount of guns you currently own. This gives you more room to set the safe up as you’d like it. Plus, it gives you a reason to buy more guns, as if you needed one.
Looking at the differences in price points
One of the things you’ll notice right away when you look at different gun safes is the variations in prices between safes that, at least on paper, seem to be very similar in size and capacity. One safe will say it holds 30 guns and costs $550, and another that holds the same amount will cost twice as much. The reasons tend to be things that are harder to see.
Construction and security is a big issue and is the main thing that varies the costs. Additional locking bolts require a more complex mechanism, which drives up the cost. The more locking bolts, the harder the safe is to pry open. These safes often have a thicker gauge steel and additional protections from things like drilling out the lock by using thick plates that are harder to drill through. Security comes at a cost.
Fire ratings vary between gun safes, as I discussed above. Some lower cost safes will have a lower fire rating than their more expensive counterparts. If you’re not as worried about fire ratings, then this may not be an issue and it may be a way to save some money.
What do safe fire ratings mean?
A safe’s fire rating is based on how long the safe can protect the contents at a set temperature. A common example is 30 minutes at 1,200 degrees.
Why do some safes cost more than others?
Capacity aside, different companies use different materials in two key areas of the safe construction that affect cost – Fire proofing and locking bolts.
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