Cling to Your Guns With the Right Gun Safe



Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009

by Stephen Fischer
Clearly Optics

Gun safes offer protection for you and your firearms on many levels. They can protect your firearms from theft and destruction. They can protect your guns from accidentally getting into the hands of children. And, by keeping them out of the wrong hands, they protect your right to keep and bear arms through responsible ownership.

There are many factors that enter into consideration when choosing the right gun safe. Personal preference and level of expectation and service are just a couple things to consider. When a firearm owner wishes to purchase a gun safe, however, it is a good idea for him or her to not necessarily just get the least expensive model available. The safe should make gun owners feel secure. At the same time however, if you're not securing a high value collection, top of the line could be overkill.

The two main choices when shopping for pistol safes are a local dealer or the Internet. Typically, when shopping locally, it can be what-you-see-is-what-you-get in that what dealers have on hand will most likely be all they have for selection. You will either have to choose an on-hand model or walk away empty handed. On the Internet, one can shop around for different prices, features, makes and models easily and most online stores will deliver the safe right to the buyer's door step. It may go without saying, but the World Wide Web is going to have a much greater selection than a local dealer or big box retail store.

Those who are looking specifically for handgun or pistol safes will also find a vast selection online. These will be considerably smaller than a standard gun safe, of course, because handguns are generally much smaller than a rifle or shotgun.

Features shoppers might want to look for in gun and pistol safes are biometric lock control, which can be programmed to recognize only the fingerprints that the owner selects; the size, if the gun owner wants to carry it in a purse or briefcase; and construction.

Firearms safes in general have other features to consider, such as brand, color, dimensions, fire protection level and firearm capacity. This last feature is perhaps the one with the most importance overall in the shopping process since it will most likely determine the size.

Lock type is important in speed of access of your firearms. Biometric type locks and no-eyes keypads can make access fast and easy in event of self-defense scenarios. No-eyes keypads offer nearly as fast access as biometric but tend to cost significantly less. Standard dial-type combination locks may be more economical and sometimes durable than a biometric; however, they sacrifice speed of access in those critical situations.

Level of protection is an important consideration when making your choice. As always, the question is "What is good enough" If you're protecting a valuable firearms collection you'll want to consider a more costly safe. These can not only be more difficult to break into but offer better protection from fire and moisture. If your primary concern is a grab and go thief, a moderate level of security may be more along your lines. Don't forget, though, that you've invested a lot in your binoculars, rifle scopes, laser sights, and other tactical gear. You may want to store them securely as well. If your interest is in protecting your family by not letting your firearms fall into the hands of children, an even lower level of security may be needed. Just remember that children seem to be better at accessing child-proof safety devices than adults are.

After looking over all the makes and models and coming to a final decision on a gun safe, the firearm owner's next decision will likely be where to store it. With such a variety of sizes and colors, you can have the option to camouflage it by matching it to the decor of the house or stashing it in a closet in order to provide the maximum protection by keeping it out of sight. The best way to determine where to store it is to ask your wife. After all, she'll be the one with the final say on it.

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