Gun Safes
Keep Your Family and Your Firearms Safe

Gun safes should be used to safely store and protect all types of firearms and ammunition from theft and unauthorised use. Stashing firearms under the bed, in or on top of a cupboard/closet, loose in the car or any other insecure place is no longer acceptable. Even display cabinets are becoming unacceptable in some parts of the world due to their general lack of security.

All gun owners (any type of firearm) have to act responsibly and do whatever possible to keep all firearms and ammunition out of the hands of criminals and inquisitive, adventurous children, this generally means a gun safe. It is extremely dangerous and totally irresponsible to leave guns or ammunition lying around where they could be discovered by young children. Children must also be taught that neither they or any of their visiting friends should ever touch any gun without permission and the presence of an adult.

Imagine how you would feel if one of your children or a relative or friends child had been killed or injured due to your irresponsible behaviour.

If you own guns or ammunition which you keep in the house, please store them securely in a gun safe. This also applies when carrying firearms in a vehicle - they should always be locked in a gun or pistol safe.

There are many gun safes available, some of good quality and also many that are practically useless, as they are easy to break into and also offer no fire resistance.

A quality gun safe should protect against both theft and fire, as some gun collections are extremely precious and valuable. Insurance payouts for any losses are often totally inadequate and a good quality fire resistant gun safe can be an extremely worthwhile investment.


Selecting a Gun Safe

What do you want the safe to achieve, it should always match your personal needs?

• Do you live in a built up area or a sparsely populated part of the country?

  Burglars don't want to get caught, so would generally be put off by a safe which would require time and noise to penetrate if it was in a built up area. However this would not pose the same problem in an unpopulated part of the country.

• How long would police response take?

  These points have a strong bearing on the construction of your gun safe, a heavier construction (minimum 12gauge in built up areas and up to a 1/4 inch thick in country areas) and high security locks buy you more time and are more of a deterrent to the criminal who will hopefully leave and look for easier pickings elsewhere.

• Are you protecting against theft from determined criminals?

  High quality safes receive the UL Residential Burglary Certificate (in the USA) to show that they are able to withstand a sustained onslaught for a specified time.

• Are the guns of high value?

  In this case a more robust, more expensive construction is worhtwhile.

• Are you only protecting against access from children?
  
  In this case a rather less secure gun cabinet may suffice, providing it has a good locking system. Combination locks avoid inquisitive children gaining access by locating your carefully hidden keys.
• Are you protecting against theft and fire?

  All fire safes are fire resistant to varying degrees depending on their construction and the type of materials they are designed to protect, but they are not fire proof. All fire safes should be certified by the UL or OPL (in the USA), or by VDMA (Europe). Make sure that the certification applies to the whole safe, not just the materials used in its construction. A prized gun or pistol collection turned into a mass of molten metal and charred wood is not a pretty sight. A typical home fire reaches temperatures of between 800 and 1200 degrees F.

• Where will you install the safe?
  
  Floor loading could be a problem in some areas, (many of these safes are extremely heavy), especially if you are storing large amounts of ammunition. Preferably install the safe where it will not be seen from a window or door.
• Do you want the guns for family protection?

  In this case, as well as being secure, the loaded guns must be easily accessible if needed.

• What size gun safe will you require?

  How many guns, how much ammunition, how many accessories - rangefinders, choke tubes, slings, cleaning kits etc. will you store?

• Can the safe be securely bolted to the floor and or wall (this may not be possible in rented accomodation)?
  
  In rented accomodation small mini safes (only suitable for hand guns) can be used. These can be bolted to a piece of furniture, where they are hidden from sight but convenient for instant access

• Do check structural safety of proposed installation site
• Wherever possible bolt the safe to the floor and or walls (make sure that the safe has pre-drilled holes). This applies especially to light weight safes that could be carried away comlete with their contents.
• Don't choose a gun safe with external hinges, although they may be secure (hopefully with internal lock bolts extending into the case of the safe), they invite the thief to attack them, as he considers they are possibly a weak point.
• Look for adjustable shelves and velour or padded interiors to protect your firearms.
• Check fire rating and security rating certificates carefully
• Cheapest may prove most expensive if put to the test.
• Purchase a safe larger than you currently require - it is a fact of life that you will soon fill it and run out of space.