5 Best Gun Safe Reviews – Buyer Guide 2021

Owning a gun involves heavy responsibility. You need to constantly make sure that your guns remain out of reach of children and those who are not qualified or experienced enough to handle a firearm, as well as burglars.

Keeping your gun in a drawer by your bedside is not the best of ideas; it is nothing but an accident that is waiting to happen. This is where a gun safe comes in handy.

We have compiled a list on the best gun safe reviews that cater to different categories of firearms.

Product Name	Type	Size	Weight	View on Amazon
Sentry Safe QAP1BE	Biometric	6.6 x 9.7 x 2.2″	12	Check Price
Gunvault Speedvault SVB500	Biometric	6.5 x 3.5 x 13	7	Check Price
GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe	Biometric	15.9 x 13.6 x 3.6	7.2	Check Price
Fort Knox Original Handgun Safe	Combo Lock	12.5 x 10.8 x 4.2	21.4	Check Price
GunVault NV200 NanoVault 200	Key Lock	9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5	3 pounds	Check Price
Gunvault Mini vault Handgun Safe	Key Lock	13 x 8.5 x 5.5	9	Check Price
Browning PV500 Biometric Pistol Vault	Biometric	4.5 x 14.5 x 11	6	Check Price
Stack-On PDS-1500 Drawer Safe with Electronic Lock	Electronic Lock	12 x 8.75 x 4.5	12.8	Check Price
Paragon Lock & Safe – 8 Rifle Safe Cabinet	Key Lock	19.8 x 12.5 x 55	106.3	Check Price
Barska Large Biometric Rifle Safe	Biometric	8.6 x 9.8 x 52.17	67	Check Price
Steelwater Standard Duty 16 Safe	Electronic Lock	59 x 28 x 18	425 lbs	Check Price
Winchester Ranger Deluxe 19-11-E Gun Safe	Mechanical Lock	60 X 28 X 23	520 lbs	Check Price
Steelwater Extreme Duty 45 Long Gun	Mechanical Lock	72” x 42” x 27 5/8	888 lbs	Check Price
Stack-On GCDB-924 10-Gun Double-Door Steel Security Cabinet	Double-Bitted Lock	13.5 x 32 x 55.1	116.07	Check Price
First Alert 2092DF Digital Lock	Digital Lock	19.6 x 17.5 x 18	93	Check Price
SentrySafe SFW123GDC Electronic Fire Safe	Electronic Lock	17.8 x 16.3 x 19.3	1	Check Price

Here are some buyers’ tips.

How to Choose the Best Gun Safe

It can be tricky to pick one gun safe from a market that is as huge and competitive.

However, it is easy to weed out incompatible options, which can be an easy start.

There are a few parameters that will be universally applicable and effective when it comes to sorting from a bunch of options that appear equally good.

Let’s go through some of the basic ones, and you can deduce some as we go through the list below.

Locking Mechanism and Security

A Gun Safe is meant to restrict access to your guns, making them available only to you. This makes the locking mechanism the most important thing to consider when choosing a gun safe.

A traditional lock and key mechanism isn’t favored by many, since it is easy to pick through.

A combination lock (the kind you have in lockers in high schools) open slowly and you need some concentration, at least the first few times.

But they don’t demand much maintenance, don’t consume electricity and really last.

A little rarer to find are the keypad lockers, which require you to enter your PIN to give you access to the contents inside.

However, they might have a silly drawback; if the coloring comes off of the buttons with use, your PIN number will be really easy to guess through for a burglar.

The other common kind these days is the biometric gun safe, which scans your fingerprints to open the lock for you. They are a bit more expensive, but they are harder to pick through.

However, the locking mechanism isn’t all there is to security.

The hinges and sealing should be proper as well, to prevent someone getting them to pry open using a crowbar.

Size

If you’re looking to install a big, bulky gun safe, it is best to call a professional from the company or the store to install it for you.

Also, big sizes are more conspicuous and understandably harder to hide, unless you have lots of space between your walls and a really colossal painting to place over the door. Bigger might not always be better.

When selecting the ideal size for your gun safe, make sure to consider the size of your guns and the space you plan to place the gun safe in.

If you want a gun safe for a cabinet in your work table, a smaller gun safe is obviously to be preferred.

But if you want to hide your rifle, a small safe won’t do, and buying a longer or larger safe becomes a necessity.

Construction Details

How well a safe is built can be gauged by the thickness of the metal and the reviews a safe receives online.

Bigger safes with thicker steel, however, get heavier, and might not be great to place on the first or second floors, especially if you have wooden flooring.

If you live on the first or second floors, make sure that you place your heavy safe on concrete and not wood flooring, preferring to keep it in a corner, closer to the skeleton of the building for added protection.

Also, the welds employed can make or mar a safe. Stitch welds are obviously unwelcome; they are by far the easiest to open with just a crowbar.

Hazard Safety

Use of plastic in the inner lining or as filler is the first thing to watch out. Plastic is extremely susceptible to fire, as everyone knows.

Next, floods make basements very unsafe to keep guns.

Stairs are very unsafe in case of a fire, so placing your gun safe under the stairs or on the wall that lies along the stairs is not a good idea.

Also, make sure the safe you buy is well galvanised and painted, to prevent damage due to moisture that may be seeping through the walls.

#1. Sentry Safe QAP1BE: Best Gun Safe With Biometric Lock

The Sentry Safe QAP1BE Biometric Quick Access Pistol Safe comes in a unique form factor that is highly portable, while boasting of a hardware design that functions as quietly as possible accompanied by a pry resistant lid to prevent unwanted access.

Specially designed with home defense as the main priority, it sports enough storage space to stash your pistol inside for quick and easy access.

This translates to positioning the gun in an at-the-ready position, allowing you to gain access to it with a single hand in one deft move.

What is it that we like most about the Sentry Safe QAP1BE Biometric Quick Access Pistol Safe ?

A slew of features that definitely far outweigh its drawbacks.

The integrated biometric lock would be a step up in securing the pistol within, since only authorized users will be given access to the contents within.

To further expand the versatility of the Sentry Safe QAP1BE Biometric Quick Access Safe, it can store multiple fingerprints.

This feature allows more than a single authorized user to be programmed, and if the user feels that a biometric lock is too advanced for his or her age to learn how to use, the traditional PIN code entry system is also part of the deal.

This secondary method is further augmented by a key-based backup lock just in case the electronic lock fails in the event of a drained battery.

We also appreciate the fact that the Sentry Safe QAP1BE Biometric Quick Access Safe works quietly courtesy of a compression gas strut and zero audible feedback electronic lock system.

This enables owners to obtain their handgun without making any additional noise, which is important when you need to defend yourself against an unknown intruder where any noise generated would increase the risk of your surroundings.

Sporting a compact form factor of 3.2 x 12.0 x 9.9 niches while tipping the scales at approximately 12 pounds in a solid steel design with pre-drilled anchor holes for added convenience, it is far more difficult to pinpoint any weakness within and without.

It is best suited for those with just one pistol around the home, since the small capacity does not allow it to stash away more than a solitary gun.

A lack in size would also make it far easier to steal, assuming the thief finds the time and has the right tools to remove screws used to anchor it in.

We found the Sentry Safe QAP1BE Biometric Quick Access Pistol Safe to be the perfect addition to anyone who would like to store a sole pistol for tactical use, where it can be easily accessed in the event of an emergency without having to compromise on security and safety.

Pros:

• Multiple level security measures with adequate memory for different fingerprints and a quiet performance makes this a unique proposition for a handgun safe that is easily accessible and yet highly secure.

Cons:

• The Gunvault Speedvault SVB500 lacks fire resistance or waterproofing of any kind.

#2. Gunvault Speedvault SVB500: The Fastest Accessible Handgun Safe

The Gunvault Speedvault SVB500 is unique in a sense where it boasts of a special design that makes it especially easy to mount it to a wall, or even have it tucked away safely under a desk.

This makes it easy to secure your handgun without sacrificing its accessibility.

Each purchase of the Gunvault Speedvault SVB500 comes with a full mounting kit, with the body itself using 18 gauge steel for its construction for increased durability.

Capable of holding a sole firearm in an upright position, the interior will boast of protective foam padding for additional protection during storage.

The Gunvault Speedvault SVB500 comes with precise fittings that is virtually impossible to pry open with standard issue hand-operated tools.

It relies on either a keypad combination or biometric locking mechanism. The former will boast of a quartet of buttons, delivering up to a possible 12 million combinations.

This will surely slow down anyone who would like to spend time through brute force entry when trying to guess the right PIN.

As for the biometric version of the Gunvault Speedvault SVB500, it has enough memory to stash away a maximum of 120 individual fingerprints.

This unprecedented level of flexibility enables authorized users to include multiple fingerprints which will make it a snap to access the firearm in the event of an emergency.

Pros:

• A special, low profile installation option with a choice of security options make, accompanied by a durable design and fully padded interior offers ease-of-use and security at the same time.

Cons:

• Extremely limited capacity and small size that makes it easier to get carted away.

#3. GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe: Charges your smartphone as a bonus

While we would place security high on our list where gun safes are concerned, we also understand that such safes will also need to move along with the times.

Enter the GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe, which might be small in stature but it offers plenty of ‘bite’ in terms of features.

For starters, the GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe is a thing of beauty to behold, making it difficult to think that it actually holds a handgun when one opens up its door.

In fact, it has been shaped to look more like a futuristic kind of wireless router or some other digital device at first glance.

Opening it up, the GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe will have enough space within to keep your pistol safe and secure.

While we understand that anything of this size is all too easy to be stolen, it is a nice touch from GunBox to include built-in smart GPS technology that is able to keep track of its location even if someone decided to take off with this without the owner being any wiser for it.

Not only that, it is even able to send a message to the owner at any time the GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe undergoes an attempt of forced entry or being tampered with.

This will alert the owner to take the necessary actions, and will certainly provide concerned parents with added peace of mind if there are children around the home.

Best of all is the pair of USB ports which enables the GunBox Biometric Hand Gun Safe to double up as a portable power bank to charge not only smartphones, but other compatible devices.

Pros:

• A small and highly portable handgun safe that comes with not just one, but two USB ports in order to charge up power hungry smartphones and other compatible gadgets — what is there not to like about it. Its the best gun safe for beginners.

Cons:

• The extremely small size and lightweight form factor makes it all too easy to steal, although the integrated GPS technology might function as a deterrent.

#4. Fort Knox Original Handgun Safe: Old school pistol safe that offers the nostalgic factor

The name Fort Knox is often associated with security and gold reserves, and we absolutely love to have it on our top rated gun safe reviews. More than able to live up to its name and reputation, this safe arrives with 22 pounds of 10-gauge steel alongside dimensions of 12.5 x 9.5 x 5-inches, making it roughly the size of a regular lunchbox.

The fact that it comes with a lifetime warranty has won us over, but perhaps that has to do with it not featuring a single electronic component that could fail during crucial moments.

The Fort Knox Original Handgun Safe would be equally at ease whether it is used at home or in a car.

We had the option to mount it to the floor due to the presence of four holes located in the bottom, where a quartet of 5/16 bolts will be more than adequate to secure it. Obviously, without any bolts, we were free to bring the Fort Knox Original Handgun Safe anywhere we liked with us, coming in handy on road trips. There is adequate storage space within to stash away a couple of full-size semi-automatic pistols, without it being packed to the brim. Security comes in the form of a Simplex pushbutton mechanism, providing quick access as and when required.

Pros:

• Lifetime warranty, a reliable locking mechanism, and a highly portable design with ample storage space to spare.

Cons:

• Can be picked if given enough time, not as secure as biometric options.

#5.GunVault NV200 NanoVault 200: Great travel gun safe option for road warriors

One does not simply keep a pistol in a holster on the hip and travel through airport security checkpoints without having the right kind of documentation and authority. If one is a regular civilian who needs to travel with a firearm, there are proper procedures to follow. In the event where one embarks on a road trip within the country, then leaving a pistol on the vehicle seat while driving is not the best of ideas.

Why not place the pistol in a gun safe? Not only does it offer security against any kind of accidental access to the pistol, it is also less obvious to any onlookers who might have a streak of meanness within. The GunVault NV200 NanoVault 200 would be the best gun safe for those who are constantly on the move and would like to carry around their pistols inconspicuously.

Traveling also involves bringing other important and valuable items along, including a passport, keys to the home or office, different kinds of cards, and of course, a handgun or pistol. With the GunVault NV200 NanoVault 200, you can bring all of the above mention inside without missing a beat. This unique gun safe sports a 1.25-inch memory foam that will offer adequate protection to other valuable items placed within.

Thanks to its 18-gauge steel construction, safety is never compromised despite its apparently diminutive form factor. Each purchase of the GunVault NV200 NanoVault 200 will be accompanied by a 1,500lb security cable that allows one to fasten the NanoVault 200 to a fixed object so that its contents can be accessed easily.

Pros:

• Highly portable as the perfect traveling companion who would like to bring more than just a pistol on the trip, as it can store other important items like small valuables, credit cards, and passports within.

Cons:

• The lack of a GPS tracker might mean you can lose it easily if you’re the forgetful type.

#6. Gunvault Mini vault Handgun Safe: Audio cues with LED warning makes it easy to maintain

such as whether to go for a regular Cheeseburger or a Double Cheeseburger? We find that most people who keep a firearm at home do so mainly for protecting their family from any possible intruders.

This would most probably result in owning a small handgun, and rather than place it in an easily accessible place with low security or no security at all like a bedside drawer, we highly recommend the Gunvault Minivault Handgun Safe instead.

This is one of the best pistol safe in market because despite of its extremely small size it does not translate to compromised protection and performance. Made out of a sturdy steel build, it is strong and has adequate room for a solitary handgun.

To ensure that parents have additional peace of mind, any time the Gunvault Minivault pistol Safe is being tampered with, an audio alarm will kick in — alerting us to the fact that curious children might potentially put themselves in harm’s way, or intruders have gotten hold of the safe itself. The audio alarm is definitely useful in emergency situations, while the built-in LED will flash to warn us when it starts to run low on battery power.

The durable build quality of the Gunvault Minivault Handgun Safe makes it close to impossible to pry open, and it is slim enough to be kept in a discreet manner.

Pros:

• Small and highly portable with easy access, the integrated LED also provides advanced warning to change its battery to keep the audio alarm at the ready, always.

Cons:

• Not fireproof or drill-proof.