Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000

Overview

High Quality gun safes under $5,000 are plentiful but which ones are truly the best? Models in this category are of premier quality with UL RSC burglary ratings, UL rated high security locks, 7 gauge steel construction with even thicker steel doors and at least 2 hour fire ratings. I’ve tested all of the safes and compiled this list of the Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000 that you can trust. All of these models are built beyond UL RSC standards, have high quality UL Rated locks, advanced security features and are sold by companies who actually honor their warranty.

Lock – Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000

First and always most important for any gun safe is the lock. All three of these gun safes from American Security, Vault Pro and Rhino feature high quality UL Rated Type 2 High Security Mechanical Locks. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories and they are an independent agency that certifies that the locks are both secure and high quality. I always recommend to purchase a UL rated lock and all three of these options are very high quality. All three models also have the option to upgrade to a UL Rated type 1 High Security Lock.

S&G Mechanical Lock

Included in the price of all three gun safes is the S&G UL Type 2 Mechanical Lock. This is one of only two mechanical locks I recommend as it is high quality, reliable and known for longevity. It uses a three number combination that rotates into the lock body on the inside of the safe. This lock is designed to last for decades and features over 1 million possible combinations. You can’t go wrong with this lock, I highly recommend it.

Hard Plate and Re-Locker

All of these locks are also protected by both a hard plate and internal spring-loaded re-locker. The Hard plate is a piece of hardened steel that absolutely destroys drill bits. The internal re-locker fires if the lock is punched through securing the bolts in place. Both of these are essential security features and included on all of these Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000. The style of hard plates used varies between 1/2″ thick hardened steel on Vault Pro and American Security as well as a ball bearing drill plate on the Rhino.

Security – Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000

When it comes to security, all three models use a variety of methods. Vault Pro and Rhino use the traditional thick steel layers to achieve security. Vault Pro uses a 1/4″ steel plate on the door and 7 gauge steel in the body while Rhino uses a 1/4″ steel plate door and 10 gauge steel in the body. Now this is where the American Security BFX Gun Safes absolutely destroy these two competitors. American Security starts with a 1/2″ steel plate door, then uses concrete composite insulation material and an additional 11 gauge inner liner. In the body they use an 11 gauge outer steel plate, the same concrete composite insulation material as the door and an additional 12 gauge inner steel liner.

Passing the UL RSC burglary test ensures the safe can withstand an attack on the door with multiple different tools for a minimum of 5 minutes each. One attacker is used in the test and both the American Security BFX and Rhino AIW Gun Safes are rated as UL RSC. This also allows it to carry insurance up to $30,000 when combined with a home burglar alarm. The Vault Pro has not been tested for UL RSC but far exceeds the security requirements.

Fire Rating – Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000

When it comes to the fire ratings of the Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000, they are all near identical but with a few key differences. Rhino has the longest rating at 130 minutes but only uses gypsum fire board for the fire insulation material. Vault Pro has a 2 hour fire rating from a combination of UL Rated fireboard and ceramic wool blanket that allows it to achieve very high temperatures. Finally, American Security BFX Gun Safes have a 2 hour ETL Verified rating due to the concrete composite material and this is by far the highest quality fire rating.

In addition, they all use intumescent door seals along the door frame that expand up to 7 times their size during a fire to keep smoke and heat from entering the safe.

Style and Function – Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000

Paint

American Security and Vault Pro both have a variety of high quality gloss color options and matching hardware. Rhino has the most unique styling in the industry with the Ironworks design. These safes look like something out of the 1800’s and no two safes are ever exactly the same.

Interior & Accessories

Both American Security and Rhino include high quality door panel organizers on their safes. Rhino has a very nice high quality leatherette interior. American Security and Vault Pro feature the standard plush carpeting material. American Security adds a very nice mirrored back wall to their safes.

Finally, all three companies include power outlets and LED light kits.

Warranty

All three companies include limited lifetime warranties on their gun safes that cover burglary, attempted burglary and fire. All three companies also include parts and labor warranties where they will pay for a locksmith or safe technician to come out to your home and repair the gun safe on site and at no cost to you. These are reliable warranties from good companies that keep their word. The key differentiator in this category is that American Security and Rhino only provide a 1 year parts and labor warranty while Vault Pro offers a lifetime parts and labor warranty on all components except the lock which carries a 1 year warranty. The longer the warranty, the more the company believes in the product. It’s really that simple.

The Bottom Line

All three of these models are easily the Top 3 Best Gun Safes Under $5,000. While they are all excellent quality products with very high levels of security, the American Security BFX gun safes stand out from the rest with the 1/2″ thick steel door, concrete composite fire and burglary protection, inner steel liners and ETL 2 hour fire protection. American Security is the oldest and longest standing safe company in the United States and the BFX is their premier product.

Is $5,000 above your budget? Check out these lists of the Top 3 Gun Safes under $1,200, the Top 3 Gun Safes under $1,600 and the Top 3 Gun Safes under $2,000.