subject: Buying a Hand Gun Safe? Here's What You Need To Know [print this page] Buying a Hand Gun Safe? Here's What You Need To Know
Buying a Hand Gun Safe? Here's What You Need To Know
Upon first blush, it may seem a bit backward to buy a hand gun only to turn around and buy a hand gun safe. Many have debated the merits of such a move, but the truth is that law makers have been on the lark for some time now trying to crack down on gun ownership. The current author of this article lives in an "open-carry" state, thankfully, which means that citizens can walk around like the old gunslingers: guns hanging off a gun belt in plain sight. That being said, being a father and concerned with theft and accidental discharge, he also can see the wisdom in keeping hand guns and all firearms out of harm's way and out of curious little fingers. Even if you don't have children, the thought of a burglar walking away with your hard-earned pistols or other weapons and valuables is untenable.
One of the chief concerns amongst gun owners is a common-sense question: what would you do in case you needed your gun in an emergency, and your gun was locked in a safe? That's a great question, and one that everyone needs to come to terms with on their own. Owning a pistol or any firearm for protection is a 2nd Amendment Constitutional right, not a privilege, so that being the case, the question remains is it a smart idea to keep your guns in plain sight? Play it forward a minute and ask yourself if a thief were to come in and find your pistol in plain sight, or were to break in stealthily and were to find a gun kept "hidden" then someone from the family walks in the room. The situation would be that the thief is now armed with your weapon.
Keeping a gun for protection is a great idea, and keeping it in a hand gun safe is a better idea, but what about the speed of access? What about fumbling around for a key, or trying to remember the combination if you don't do well under pressure? The answer may be to simply buy a fingerprint gun safe. By keeping your pistol at the ready in a fingerprint gun safe, you will have easier access to your weapon(s) in case of emergency, with no chance of losing your access because of a mis-placed key or a forgotten combination.
Another great reason to own a hand gun safe is that you will be complying with the increasingly strict regulations coming down the pipeline. States like California have passed laws that will condemn the owner of the weapon if it's stolen or lost and then used in a crime. By buying a fingerprint gun safe, you maintain rapid access to your gun and also comply with regulations. In most states, you can't keep a loaded weapon in your front seat. If you had a hand gun safe in your console (such as is available for some SUV's and other vehicles), you could at least maintain a certain amount of protection for you and your family.
Yet another great use for a hand gun safe is if you already own a larger safe for your valuables, and don't want to buy another safe just for your hand gun. Maybe others in your family have access to the larger storage safe. Get a hand gun safe that can fit into your larger safe, that way you can safely store your gun. It all depends on what you use your pistol(s) for obviously you want to keep your gun accessible if it's for protection. A general suggestion is to buy a biometric gun safe in which you can store your pistol(s) for easy access and safety reasons.
Another concern about the fingerprint gun safe that people often ask is, "What if my wife needs to access the gun and I'm not around?" Technology has already addressed the issue, as many manufacturers are producing locks with a memory that can store several, some even dozens, of fingerprints in memory. The biometric gun safe is the best way to store your hand gun(s), in the opinion of this author.
Buying Tip: Be sure that when you buy a hand gun safe, that the locking mechanism especially for the biometric models has a manual or secondary backup. This is a concern with some of the biometric readers on the market (make sure you read plenty of customer reviews), that the reader doesn't respond on the first read or perhaps the safe wasn't as top-shelf as you thought and the reader simply won't work. In such a situation, be sure that the fingerprint gun safe you choose has a manual override of some sort (keys usually).
You also want to be sure that your hand gun safe has a thick-gauge steel, good enough to keep out a thief in the worst case scenario. You don't want a light weight safe, even if the safe will be portable. These won't keep out a determined burglar. If you plan on keeping the safe in a fixed location, then be sure it has a bolt-pattern so it can be fixed in place. Buying a fingerprint gun safe with a "security strap" isn't the same ideabut works if you're travelling and need some portable, temporary way to keep your weapon safe.
Wall Gun Safes A Great Way to Store Your Hand Gun
Adding to the security of your hand gun safe is the optional wall safe models available on the market. Not only do they keep your guns out of sight, as well as other personal effects, they can also save space by utilizing the dead space in your wall cavity. These safes can be made to look like the wall, be hidden behind a faux book case, be stored in a closet, or behind the proverbial painting.
If you do store your pistol that you intend to use for protection in a wall safe of this sort, it's best to get one that has a rapid opening time, within 3-4 second for access should do it. Some models have a fake painting that slides open, but the access may not be as rapid as you may like. Nonetheless, the genius behind this sort of hand gun safe is that you have the added protection of the safe being hidden from plain sight. A thief can't break into a safe he or she doesn't see, nor be tempted by a hidden safe they don't know about.
Typical price ranges for a wall-hidden hand gun safe is about $300. The biometric gun safe in this style ranges from $500-600.
A Couple of Short Reviews of Hand Gun Safe Choices (Biometric Gun Safe Models)
Buying a biometric gun safe is a great choice in hand gun security for reasons previously outlined. You want to be sure when you buy one that your choice of hand gun safe is easy to install. You also want to be sure that you read some reviews on the particular model, verified by other customers who bought the safe, or consumer reports.
Be sure your fingerprint scanner works quickly and accurately, and to be sure of this you should read about the FAR and FRR statistics. "FAR" refers to the "False Access" attempts, and "FRR" refers to the "False Rejection" rate. FAR would indicate the safe allowed an imposter to access the safe, FRR would be when the safe didn't open for someone who should have access.
Here are a couple of manufacturers that provide a good quality fingerprint gun safe.
First off is GunVault, which is a highly respected name in the industry of hand gun safe manufacturing. GunVault uses 4 scanners for their fingerprint gun safes, with a low FRR to FAR ratio. Their interiors are lined and padded, protecting your gun metal or jewelry. According to the manufacturer's claims, the sensor will work for a full year on the batteries (the GV1000C-DLX or "Mini" runs on 8AA batteries). There is also an alarm that warns of low battery life, and an optional power cord to plug into a wall socket is also included in their deluxe models.
If you were looking for a lightweight, portable hand gun safe with biometric technology, then the GunVault models of safes are a trusted brand. Their "MicroVault" biometric gun safe model weighs in at about 5 pounds, making it very portable and versatile as far as mounting or not mounting, as the case may be. It also includes a backup key just in case. It's considered a "laptop" safe as it's designed to be about the same size as a laptop computer. The MicroVault runs around $140 plus shipping.
Yet another type of fingerprint gun safe is the BioBox, which is another portable, laptop-style safe. This model is about $230, and runs on 4AA batteries. It has a slim design profile, and with the biometric lock, it affords you the security you're after in gun storage. This particular safe allows for about 1,000 openings with fresh batteries, which ought to be plenty for about a year's usage. A nice feature of this particular biometric gun safe is that it allows for multiple users, just in case you wanted to do so.
A third example of a fingerprint gun safe is the BioVault 2.0, or "BVSB1-B." This weighs in at $350, and allows for more than just your hand gun to be stored. This safe allows you to have 50 different fingerprint profiles stored, so if you wanted to grant that much access to your weapon, then you have the option.
This one's powered by 3 "D" size batteries, and with normal use should yield about a year's worth of opening. Fingerprints are scanned quickly less than a second! which makes this a certain contender in the field of hand gun safe devices. This model is also backed by the National Rifle Association, which is a hefty and coveted endorsement to say the least!
These were but 3 examples of fine biometric gun safes available for your pistol storage, but there are other fine manufacturers on the market. To name a few: AMSEC makes a decent model, as does Canon, Sentry, Fort Knox, Adesco, Stack-On, Patriot, Brown Safe Mfg. , and Liberty are other great names in the industry.
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