Owning a gun is a good security measure for today’s uncertain world. For this to be effective, though, you need immediate access to it.  Yet you also need to make sure it stays out of the wrong hands. A gun safe is essential, but not all of them are created equal. Some can be cheap or unreliable, defeating the purpose of having a gun safe in the first place.  Owning the best gun safe you can get could end up being a matter of life and death.

Yet with literally hundreds of different options available, that can seem like an impossible task. So we tried to make it easier. We spent countless hours reviewing the different options, eliminating the rip-offs and the junk. Also, we took the time to test out several safes ourselves, identifying the Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4 as the best gun safe on the market.

Its classic keypad entry requires no batteries, meaning it will work 100 percent of the time. Plus, this thing is built like a tank. You couldn’t break it open no matter how hard you tried. It might look traditional, but don’t let that fool you. This thing is incredible.

To get a safe that will never fail and will keep your gun safe no matter what, get the Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4 now.

Why You Should Trust Us

As gun owners, we appreciate the important balance between safety and security that comes with gun ownership. Improper usage can lead to a disaster quickly. We strive to avoid this in all that we do.

A lot of the stuff I know about guns I learned from my father growing up. He enjoyed teaching me, but he took safety seriously. I take the same approach.

So that’s why I spend so much time finding the best products out there. I spend hours looking over the different options, reviewing their specifications and comparing. I read reviews from fellow gun owners, and I even test some out myself.

This time gives me the chance to objectively review what’s out there and confidently choose the best, only recommending that which I would use myself.

Each product I look at is put through a careful review process, and if it doesn’t meet my high standards, it’s immediately eliminated. This led me straight to the best gun safe on the market.

Why You Need the Best Gun Safe 

There’s no doubt the world is becoming a more dangerous place. You want to protect your family should anything happens, and a gun is a good way to do this.

But most of the time, you do not need your gun out, and doing so can put people in real danger. We have all heard the terrible stories of children getting a hold of a parent’s gun. You don’t want to be in the news.

Locking your gun away in a safe is essential. It keeps it out of reach when you don’t need it. Yet it also makes sure you know exactly where it is when you do. And keeping your gun in a safe also allows you to keep ammunition nearby. This makes it easier to get yourself ready in the event of an emergency.

Also, many insurance companies do not cover the loss of guns, or they only cover a certain amount. Keeping your guns in a secure place is a good way to protect your guns from theft.

Gun safes can also double as a place to store other valuables, such as expensive jewelry or important documents.

Owning a gun safe is a virtual requirement for any gun owner. In fact, in some states, you are required by law to lock your guns away. All this makes finding the best gun safe a near necessity.

How We Conducted our Review: Finding the Best Gun Safe

Determining which is the best gun safe for you depends a little on your needs. How many guns do you own? Are you just keeping them safe? Or would you like to be able to access them quickly? Are there children in the home?

Your answers will send you in a few different directions. However, we think we have found an option that captures all the different needs. To get to this conclusion, we looked at a few different criteria and imagined a few different scenarios.

This allowed us to narrow down the list from several hundred to the top 15. From there, we tested a few out ourselves and compared the specifications. This led us to the best gun safe. We have also included a few different variants for those looking for something a bit more specific.

Here are the criteria we used to find the best gun safe available on the market:

Size

This is probably one of the most important thing to consider. When buy a gun safe, you should buy one that is bigger than the gun you currently own. Chances are you will buy another one down the road, so it’s a good idea to be prepared.

Also, safes come in different sizes depending on the size of the gun. There are safes specific for pistols and others for rifles. Gun safes for rifles usually come with space to store pistols. However, they take up a ton of space in the house.

If you don’t own a rifle and don’t plan on buying one, stick with a smaller safe.

Material

Gun safes can come in variety of different materials. The most common are made from steel, but you can also find some made from hard plastics or other alloys.

One of the best is 10 gauge steel. It is super hard, making it practically impossible to drill into. A safe made from this material has a sturdy feel to it other materials lack.

Something to consider with the material is whether or not it is fireproof or waterproof. Some safes are and this can be a huge advantage. However, this added level of protection comes with a much higher price tag.

Depending on your budget, it may be worth it, but we find it is often overkill.

Wall Mounts

While a gun safe will keep your guns secure, a burglar could still steal the safe and get away with your guns. The best way to get around this is to find something that can be mounted to the wall.

Many safes come with bolt-down holes so that you can secure it to a shelf or a desk without an issue. This extra feature is key in trying to find the best gun safe.

Locking Mechanism

This is another very important aspect of a gun safe. The way you open the safe will determine how secure it is and also how easy it will be to open. You will find the following different options available on the market:

• Standard key
• Combination dial
• Non-electronic keypad
• Electronic keypad
• Biometric (fingerprint) scanner
• Bluetooth

In theory, the most secure is a biometric lock. By using your fingerprint, this makes sure no one other than you can get into the safe. However, there are two downsides to this. First, this is still a pretty new technology and doesn’t always work great. Second, it requires power. A lot of biometric locks need batteries, so by depending on this, you run the risk of the safe not having batteries when you need it most.

The same thing can be said for electronic keypads. They work great, but you need to be sure the batteries are always fresh.

Bluetooth locks are somewhat new. They operate through your phone. While this is interesting, the technology is still pretty new. No one knows how easy these things are to hack.

Standard keys don’t need any power, but keys can be lost or stolen rather easily. It’s also not totally unthinkable that the keys could end up in the wrong hands.

So with all this technology, the best locking mechanism is still what has always worked in the past: combination dials and non-electronic keypads. This might not be as flashy or fancy as the others, but they will always work. Just make sure you remember the code!

Testing Results

Because there are so many different options out there, finding the best gun safe was a bit challenging. However, by setting up some simple requirements, we were able to eliminate those that don’t fit the bill.

Our first step was to simply look at what others had to say. Anything with a three-star or below rating on Amazon or other shopping sites were immediately thrown away.

From there were got the list down to about twenty. Then we started to eliminate certain safes based on their features.

Elimination Round 1

For example, we threw out quite a few options because they only used an electronic lock. We also eliminated some because the only backup to this was a key. It might seem silly, but having to fumble with a key in an emergency would take too much time.

We played the following scenario out: Someone enters your home and you need to get your gun. You go to the safe and find the batteries are dead. Now, you need to find the keys. Once you get them, you need to return to the safe (for safety you likely have kept them in another place). Finally, you need to use the key to open the safe.

Carrying out these steps in a moment of intense pressure presents an unnecessary risk. It’s one we wouldn’t take, so we aren’t going to recommend you to either.

We threw out a lot of gun safe options because of this. They either didn’t have an electronic option, or their override function was a key. Some of those that we threw out include the SentrySafe Pistol Safe, the Ivation Electronic Gun Drawer Safe and the VAULTEK VT20i Biometric Handgun Safe.

Elimination Round 2

Others were eliminated because they only used keys. This removes the problem of losing power, but keys are just too easy to lose. Plus, if there are children in the home, the risk of them finding the keys and getting into the safe is too great for us. A good example of this is the SnapSafe Keyed Lock Box.

Elimination Round 3

Lastly, we took a few off the list because they were too small. We mentioned earlier you should always buy a safe bigger than the gun you own. Some safes, such as the GunVault SV500, look great if you only own one gun. However, the moment you buy another gun, it will become almost useless.

The Best Gun Safe

After going through the different elimination rounds, we got the list down to 10. We then carefully examined the different specifications and even tested some out. This process brought us to our final choices for the best gun safe. Here’s what we found:

95/100—Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4 (Best Gun Safe)

This gun safe is small, but not too small. It is incredibly strong and uses a non-electronic locking mechanism. It will work 100 percent of the time and will keep your guns completely safe. To get the best gun safe available on today’s market, get the Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4. Here’s why we like it so much:  

Pros

This safe looks small, but it really isn’t. It is built for handguns, but you can fit up to three compact guns or two larger pistols. You can also store ammunition alongside the gun without any issue.

It’s made from 10-guage steel, making it extremely durable and strong. Also, with a 3/16” plate door, you can be sure no one will be drilling into this safe.

One of the big upsides of this safe is the Simplex Mechanical Lock. It does not require electricity, yet it doesn’t need keys. This means you will be able to access the safe quickly at any time. Just make sure you remember the code!

There are also four holes in the corners of the safe for you to bolt it down to a wall or shelf. The simplicity of this safe combined with its strength helps set it apart as the best gun safe you can buy.

Cons

If we had to find something to not like, it would be that it isn’t fireproof. We mentioned earlier how this costs a lot of extra money. However, for some it could be important, so it’s important to note this is not a feature of this safe.

It might also be a bit too heavy. The 10-gauge steel makes it weigh about 13 pounds. However, since you will likely bolt it down somewhere, this shouldn’t detract too much from the safe.

Overall

If you are looking for a high-quality, easy-too-access and durable gun safe to house a few small handguns, get the Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4 now.

92/100—Scout 14 Long Gun Fireproof Safe (Best Gun Safe: Large Guns)

Some of us have more guns, or we have some that are bigger than handguns. This gun safe by Scouts carries some of the same features as the best gun safe mentioned above. However, it is much larger and will hold many more guns of all different sizes.

If you need a safe capable of carrying larger guns, the best option is the Scout 14 Long Gun Fireproof Safe.

Pros

The standout feature of this safe is its size. It can hold up to 14 rifles. This should be plenty of space, unless you are real gun fanatic.

Also, this safe distinguishes itself because it is fireproof. Most safes at this price point don’t have this feature.

Much like our first choice, this safe doesn’t use any electronic options. Instead it uses a standard combination lock. The common thought is to go higher-tech, but these locks are just as impenetrable. And since they don’t need power, you can be sure they will work when you need them.

Another thing to like about this safe is that it comes with a door organizer. Here you can store any handguns or pistols you have. This safe gives you a convenient way to store all the guns you have in one safe place.

Cons

While the traditional combination lock works well, it is still a bit time consuming. It will work no matter what, but a keypad works faster and is a little easier to use. This is still better than relying on something that needs power, but it isn’t perfect.

The safe is heavy—it weighs 240 pounds. This is somewhat standard for gun safes of this size, but keep this in mind when purchasing and deciding where to put it in your home.

It only holds 14 large guns. For us, this is plenty, but for some it still might not be enough. Luckily this brand has a few larger options to choose from if this one doesn’t seem big enough.

Overall

If you have a lot of guns, or if you plan on buying more in the future, get the Scout 14 Long Gun Fireproof Safe.

78/100—Verifi Smart Safe (Best Gun Safe: Biometric)

If you are convinced modern technology is superior and want it on your gun safe, there are options out there that are much better than others. The best one we found is the Verifi Smart Safe. It uses reliable biometric scanning and battery-saving technology to help mitigate the risks of using this type of locking mechanism.

Pros

The biometric scanner on this safe is the best. It is the same one used by the FBI and therefore works far better than any other option on the market.

By using fingerprints, you can be sure no one else can get into the safe. Also, it is the quickest way to get into the safe in an emergency.

Also, it uses special technologies known as Pico and Boost Power which are supposed to conserve battery power. You can use the same batteries for years and not sacrifice functionality.

Tamper alerts let you know if someone tries to get into the safe. Also, because this safe uses Bluetooth, you can monitor user settings and unlock the safe remotely.

With all these high-tech features, you might think this safe would cost a fortune. Well, one nice thing is that despite all of this, it doesn’t cost much more than a regular safe.

Cons

The main thing we have against this safe is that it still uses batteries. No matter the technology it uses, batteries die eventually. Having them last longer makes it even more likely you forget to change them. The last thing you want when you are in an emergency is dead batteries preventing you from opening your safe.

On a similar note, there is not manual override. If the biometric scanner doesn’t work, the only way to open the safe is with your phone. This seems like a lot to do in an emergency and isn’t something we love.

Overall

For all the high-tech options, this is the best. So if you want to make the most of modern technology and keep your guns protected by the security of your fingerprints, get the Verifi Smart Safe now

Wrapping up

The near infinite number of gun safes available offering so many different features makes finding the best gun safe extremely difficult. So we set out to try and make it a bit easier. Our detailed research and careful review process has helped us find the best gun safe on the market.

After our careful analysis, we have determined the Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4 to be the best gun safe on the market. Its convenient size, reliable locking mechanism and durable material set it far apart from the competition.

If you want to get a gun safe that will protect your guns but that you can access in a moment of need, then buy the Fort Knox Personal Handgun Safe PB4 now.