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Handgun Safes are an entirely new category in the last 20 years and with it have come new design ideas, tons of importers and misinformation from internet marketers writing handgun safe reviews to make a quick buck at your expense. So what should you look for when buying a handgun safe you ask? I’m here to help break down the most important features and point you in the right direction because ultimately the handgun safe you choose depends on your specific needs and budget.
Lock – Handgun Safe Reviews
The lock is the absolute most important component of any handgun safe and this is where most handgun safe reviews you read get it all wrong. They recommend the cheapest safes with unprotected, electronic solenoid locks and tubular key overrides that are far too easy to break into. Think of the lock as the engine to the car. It doesn’t matter if you have the nicest seats, radio, wheels or body if the engine doesn’t work.
In the safe industry, there are five main types of locks: Biometric, Electronic, RFID, Mechanical and UL Rated High Security.
Biometric Locks
The newest and now most popular design are biometric locks. Sadly, 90% of these biometric fingerprint scanners are still not up to the quality of what used to be on your iPhone. You see buyers want all the features but without the price tag and with safes, you always get what you pay for. In my opinion, there are only two brands using high quality biometric fingerprint scanners. Verifi uses a capacitive HID Global TouchChip sensor that is FBI certified and captures a high-resolution fingerprint image. Vaultek uses a high resolution biometric scanner that has tens of thousands of raving reviews. Overall, I don’t feel a biometric scanner is worth the money and there are better options but I also understand the appeal so if this is the style you choose, stick to one of these two brands.
Electronic Locks
These are by far the most common locks found on handgun safes. They typically feature between three and 8 buttons and hold an electronic code in the safes memory. They are quick and responsive, removing the potential errors of placing your finger on the sensor in the wrong position. Nearly all electronic locks operate a solenoid mechanism that operates a spring and a hook to release a latch. These have a decent level of security but usually come with a key override when the batteries are located on the inside of the safe. If the safe uses a tubular key override, this is something you desperately want to avoid. These low end tubular locks can be opened with BIC pens and tubular lock picks in seconds. This is what you will find on 90% of the imported Chinese junk sold on Amazon.
RFID Locks
RFID is the new kid on the block and utilizes programming a FOB to open the safe. While these are extremely quick access, I find them incredibly unsafe. Once your kid watches you swipe your key tag over the safe and sees it open one time, they will now know forever how to open your safe. Let’s say you take a quick nap and your kid grabs your keys to play with it and voila sees a handgun inside that they think is a toy. I’ll let you imagine the rest. For those without kids, this can be a very cool feature but again I just caution you to think about the ramifications. With a fingerprint scanner, electronic code or mechanical code, only you can open the safe provided someone doesn’t cut your finger off.
Mechanical Locks
Mechanical Locks are the old school style that do not use batteries or any electronics. They are reliable and designed to last forever. This style of lock is the most difficult to make and there is only one company that makes a reliable mechanical lock, Simplex by DormaKaba. American Security, Fort Knox, Titan and V-Line are currently the only companies to use the genuine Simplex lock. Shotlock and Viking use a knock-off version of it that I would not recommend for longevity. This lock has 5 push buttons with 1,081 combinations. It only takes a few hours to go through all of the combinations so while this handgun is reliable, it’s not super secure for someone who has enough time on their hands such as a teenager.
UL Rated High Security Electronic Lock
Currently there is only one company that uses a UL Rated high security electronic lock on a pistol safe. Stealth Safes built the ShadowVault handgun safe to rectify all of the short comings of every other handgun safe. They can all be picked, manipulated, drilled, pried and for the most part are way too easy to break into. But not this one. The ShadowVault uses the S&G Spartan Direct Drive UL approved high security electronic lock. These locks are traditionally found on high end full size gun safes, home safes and high security safes. After discovering the fatal weakness of the Simplex locks, they built this solution. It’s my top recommendation out of any handgun safe. Click here to read my detailed review and learn just how incredible this handgun safe is built.
Security – Handgun Safe Reviews
Handgun safes are not burglary rated like full size gun safes. They only go through testing with California Department of Justice. The test certifies the safe as a firearm safety device and is a super easy test to pass. It goes through the most basic security testing like a saw test, pull test and drop test. This testing is not adequate to certify safety and are really a catch all for all types of security devices like gun locks, key cabinets, wall safes and any device that renders a firearm un-operable. So while it doesn’t hurt to have the approval, it’s really not a certification that the safe is good quality or actually secure. So how can you be sure you are getting a good handgun safe? Here are some tips:
Adequate Steel Thickness
A good place to start with any handgun safe, is how thick is the steel? Fort Knox, American Security and Stealth build their high end handgun safes with 10 gauge steel bodies and 3/16″ steel doors, this is very thick and secure. Vaultek, GunVault, Liberty, RPNB, Sports Afield, Sentry and nearly every other Chinese importer makes their safes with 16 gauge steel which is the thickness of a penny. My recommendation is to buy from a reputable US company that uses adequate steel in their safes.
Youtube Videos
Do a quick search in Youtube for the handgun safe you are interested in and you might find a surprise. Channels like Lock Picking Lawyer and Handgun Safe Research have shown how to break in to tons of different handgun safes with paper clips, forks and even 7-eleven slurpee straws. Make sure yours is not on the list! Handgun Safe Research has also provided a list of safes that he has deemed “Approved”. You can be confident that if he hasn’t found an easy way to break into it, there isn’t one. Finally, the Stealth ShadowVault is on his list of approved safes and one of his top recommendations.
Style and Function – Handgun Safe Reviews
Another feature to consider when reading handgun safe reviews is what kind of style of handgun safe are you looking for. There are drop down doors, top opening, slide-out models, mountable safes and I’m sure many other kinds that I can’t even describe. Are you planning to use it in the car, on the nightstand, under your desk or some other place? These are important factors to consider before you start your search. If you go with a heavy duty handgun safe, are you going to bolt it down or do you want to have a handle to be able to also use in your car? Think about the different use cases and maybe you even buy more than one.
Warranty – Handgun Safe Reviews
The last feature to consider when reading handgun safe reviews is the warranty and is the company you bought it from going to honor that warranty. Nearly every handgun safe comes with only a 1 year warranty however if you try and get a hold of any of the random Chinese companies on Amazon, whose names I can’t even pronounce, to honor that warranty, you’ll face quite the uphill battle. SnapSafe and Fort Knox offer lifetime warranties on their products but with Fort Knox, you have to ship it to them for repair. Not really feasible if you are locked out of the safe and it’s bolted down. In my experience, American Security, Liberty, SnapSafe and Stealth are the easiest to deal with and provide some of the industries best warranties.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the handgun safe you choose depends on your budget and the style you need. Hopefully these handgun safe reviews point you in the right direction and help you avoid having to buy a new handgun safe every couple of years when the cheap one you originally chose stops working. My recommendation is to go with a high quality, reputable brand that builds a secure and reliable product. My absolute top pick overall is the Stealth ShadowVault. Next, my recommendation for a Biometric handgun safe is the Verifi S6000. Finally, the my recommendation for a mechanical handgun safe is the V-Line Brute XD. I don’t recommend any standard electronic or RFID handgun safes.
