Are you on the hunt for the best safe for your rifles and shotguns? I tested the most popular options on Amazon, and ranked my top picks. Here are some helpful reviews.
FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. VAULTEK RS800i - Heavy-Duty and Biometric
Highlight: Connects to the internet to send info to your phone.
Helpful review: This gun safe is a transformer! Many safes on the market are set to hold AR platforms, handguns, rifles, and pistols in their layout. The Vaultex RS800i will fit whatever you need it to fit. I have a massive safe envy over my neighbor's new Vaultex and have placed my order for a new or another safe just before writing this article.
My buddy called me to come see this gun safe, so as a red-blooded American, I had to get right over there. The Vaultex RS800i is made from heavy steel. It is not as tough as the fireproof, super safes, but it also does not need a safe moving company to move it from the truck to the house either. The manual tells me that the steel is 14-gauge carbon steel. This will not be easy to bend with a pry bar by the criminal aspect. The lining is pretty much the same as the felt gun-safe liner. The actual difference maker for the insides of this safe is the customizability.
I can't find the name of the customizable rack system, so I will call it the mounting system. The Vaultex comes with one on the inside of the back wall and again on the inside of the door. What this can do is hold the movable, customizable accessories racks. The safe came with two shelves and some magazine holders. The accessories attach to the "holes" to mount very solidly. My buddy has his ARs in the safe and puts the rifle holder mount about one-third of the way up the back; it even has a spring-loaded function, which is very cool. He then put two layers or levels of shelves from the top down.
One shelf layer holds his handguns, and the other holds ammo boxes. He has installed two AR magazine holders on the door rack. The safe is not deep enough to use the door-mounted magazine holders and rifles with magazines inserted in the same space. The fix for that is to move the door-mounted holder so it does not run into the magazines in the rifles. Just to make it extra fluffy and awesome, it has a full complement of LED lights that make it easy to see everything inside the safe, and it turns on when the door opens.
The mounting stuff is impressive but not the most fantastic part of this safe. The Vautex RS800i has a wifi connected lock and environmental monitoring system. Yes, you read that right. The internal temperature and humidity monitor sends real-time info right to the app on his phone. The locking mechanism also monitors when and by who opens the lock or if there is a combination or biometric funny business. The electronic lock has a proximity alert and will turn on as you approach the safe; the only thing I have ever had that does this is my Navigator and this safe is much less than that. The interior electronic items run on a rechargeable battery. The manual says it will last four months between chargings. If the battery dies, the world is not over. Use the key, open the lock, and charge the battery; it's easy money.
Now, let's talk about the option I am most impressed with the Bluetooth Nano Key. This is a remote biometric open button. My buddy can hold his fingerprint on the Nano Key, and from across the room, the lock will open, and the door will auto open. For a room-supporting mechanism, like a ready room for armed folks, the control room can open the door and get long guns in everyone's hands as they approach the safe.
The safe weighs in at 120 pounds, according to the owner's manual. I don't know where this scale is, or I am getting older faster than I think, but it moves around like it weighs much more. The safe can be bolted to the floor, the wall, or both. — David P. McGillivray
Get it from Amazon now: $2,149.99 & FREE Returns
2. Barska - Upgraded + DOJ-Approved
Highlight: Upgraded fingerprint reader.
Helpful review: The Barska is not actually a gun safe but a gun locker. What is the difference? A safe cannot be pried open and will have a fire rating. A locker is exactly that: secure storage, keeping fingers off the goodies by people who should not be touching the guns or whatever you put in the locker.
The Barska has a nice inside compartment, not plush like a padded room, but nice and clean. The long gun sections may not fit a full-size rifle unless the shelf is removed or not installed in the first place. I did not think to pull out the shotguns with full-length barrels to check the fit, and I am pretty sure even with the shelf removed, they will not fit. The top of the locker has a secondary lockbox built in. I don’t know what the locker inside a locker is good for, but if a client needs that, I will happily suggest this locker to them.
The shelf will need some padding or liner if you plan on storing handguns outside the holster or carry case, which comes from the manufacturer. The door also has four built-in nylon holsters to hold handguns. The built-in Nyon holsters will fit full-size Glock frames and revolvers without a hitch. The door compartment has two zipper cases to hold other items, like knives or papers. This nylon pouch system may lead to rusting if you live in a high-humidity area, so a dehydration system must be placed in the locker. The dehydrators are easy to get and find on Amazon or local shops that sell shooting sports items.
The long gun compartment is said to hold eight rifles—maybe eight 22LR guns, but full-size rifles will occupy one and a half of the gun slots. The Barska will hold eight battle rifles unless they have large scopes mounted on them, which will burn up some space. The gun slots are located across the back and down one side of the inside. With scoped rifles, the gun will occupy space inside the L formed by the gun slots.
The door is hard to pry open, or at least I suppose it is. I did not own the one I had hands-on experience with to break the door; if I did, I would not break it to see if I could. The door is secured with six bolts around the door perimeter. I am sure to break into this locker; the door will not pry away, and the bad guy will have to pry away the frame from the door. To bend this locker that much will take space and time. The locker has the ability to bolt to the wall stids or the floor joists. This can be defeated, but it will be a long and loud process. The door does not fit air or water-tight, nor does Barska claim it to be.
The bottom of the door frame is about an inch from the ground, so it could repel a light flood, but if the flood is two inches high, the guns will get wet. The safe does not have a fire rating at all, and it will damage the guns inside if the fire is closed. — Troy Russell
Get it from Amazon now: $499.99 & FREE Returns
3. Blacksmith - Swiss Fingerprint Technology
Highlight: Easy to maneuver and fits anywhere.
Helpful review: To start this review, I am going to talk about the way Blacksmith packages this gun locker. The outside of the box, or the shipping box, can show up trashed as mine did, but the inside packaging will be perfect. Unless this box gets chopped in half or run over by a tractor, the safe will be in good shape. Blacksmith uses three-inch-thick Styrofoam and hard plastic edge and corner protectors over the Styrofoam.
The Blacksmith gun locker is made from heavy steel. Heavy enough that the locker should be bolted to the wall studs or floor to prevent tipping over when the door is opened.
The locker should also be bolted to the studs for security; that is obvious. A loaded locker can be hauled away with a dolly and done person. Then that bad guy can spend the time opening the Blacksmith and make as much noise as necessary in a different place. If the Blacksmiths are not secured to the studs, it will keep your fingers off of things you want secured or untouchable. I opened mine when taking pictures for it and had the front corner of the door tip forward and bang into my safety socks (I was in my office in my defense); it was easy enough to hold the top of the locker to keep it from tipping if I remembered to do that in the first place.
The Blacksmith is a gun locker and not a true safe. There is no fire rating or heat protection; on that note, there will be zero water protection from a flood. Maybe from fire sprinklers or pipe leaks and things of that nature. The locker inside is nice, very clean, and has a removable shelf to fit longer guns if that is what you need to store.
The door has a nylon storage system installed and holds large handguns. The door also has three cut-out areas that will hold a lot of stuff or smaller handguns if left in the box or a holster. I use the door cutouts to hold ammo boxes. The door cutouts do not fit regular or standard capacity magazines too well. If I get a magazine pushed into the cutout, it takes a bit of wiggling and cussing to get it back out.
The lock is biometric or code and comes with a hidden key lock. I use the key lock right now because I have not taken the time to enter everyone's fingerprint that may need to be entered to get into the safe. The instructions to use the biometrics are clear and easy to follow; in my world, I don’t get that fired up about biometrics, except for the gun lockers at work. The door is secured by six bolts activated by turning the handle and tightly held.
I have two of these gun lockers from Blacksmith, one in my home office and one at the cabin. I plan to give my family these gun lockers for Christmas presents this year because I like this high-quality gun locker option so much. — Gary Anderson
Get it from Amazon now: $229.99 & FREE Returns
4. Steelwater - Heavy-Duty + Fireproof
Highlight: Fireproof safe.
Helpful review: This is a true gun safe, not a locker, available on Amazon. What a time to be alive. The Amazon delivery driver in the electric van is not the person to deliver this safe; that is sub-out to a freight carrier, and for a good reason: this thing is big and heavy. The weight comes from the construction materials, the overall size, and the fireproofing sheets that make this a true safe. The Steelwater gun safe is made to the highest standard, will look like furniture in your main floor rooms, and will be made tough enough that living in the garage will not scare it.
This gun safe will compete all day with other safes priced over triple the price. At about two thousand bucks, the Steelwater gun safe is a true gem of a secret that I am about to let out of the bag. The safe is made from 12-gauge steel. The top, sides, back, door, and door frame are all lined with a double layer of fireproofing material; this gives it a one-hour burn time. What that means is that if you are in a fire, this safe will keep your contents safe from harm for one hour; after that, there are no guarantees.
The door also has a fire or heat-activated seal. In a fire, the heat-activated seal will swell and block flames and smoke from entering the safe; this will also keep the water from the fire hoses out of the contents. The manufacturer states that this safe is water resistant. I am sure what that means is it will do OK in a house with leaking pipes or possibly a flood issue, but it will not hold the water out if thrown in the river or dropped off a boat into the lake.
Like most other modern safes, the lock is electronic and has a code or biometric. What is really cool is that the manufacturer says it is EMP-proof. I have no idea how to test for EMP-proof locking mechanisms, but I am sure it is a cool thing to watch, and being part of it would be even better. The locking mechanism has a double lock or re-locking device. The re-locking device is a safety stop-gap measure that will lock the safe solidly if a drilling or manipulation attempt is made. The door is secured with twenty, one-and-a-half-inch bolts two inches long; when the dial is turned, it would be faster to cut through the side of the safe than try to pry the door open.
The interior of the Steelwater gun safe is basic, not filled with Italian leather or padded wool buffers. The top shelf is double thick and made of reinforced steel to hold ammo. This shelf will never sag under the weight of boxes of ammo. The top shelf will probably hold eight boxes of every caliber rifle you put in the safe.
The door has a nylon hanging system like many affordable gun safes. The Nylon gun storage system will hold five handguns in a holster-looking pouch and five other punches for storage. The other pouches on the inside of the door are zipper-top nylon bags, for lack of a better word. These pouches are not my favorite for holding ammo, but it has a huge and solid shelf to do that work. The ouches will hold a double handful of magazines for everything in the safe. The punches are not gun-specific and will also hold money or other stuff.
The gun storage area is divided in half and holds the guns around three sides of each portion. This is great to get a high storage count; the one I am looking at states it will hold 22 long guns. The other accessory shelves must be removed to hold this many long guns.
If you have ever seen this storage style, the 22-gun claim is due to math, not practical gun storage. I am sure 12 long guns per side is an easy fit, maybe even 18, depending on the guns. 22 long guns may be a stretch unless this safe is used to store a specific long gun in a store. I can fit 22 over/under shotguns that I sell, imported from Turkey, in this safe all day long, but that gun is only about an inch and a half wide and does not have a bolt handle or scope or other optic on it out of the box.
To make this deal even better, the safe has three onboard outlets with 2 USB power plugs hard-wired in; plug in the outside hook up, and the rinsed is ready to run anything you put in there. The kit comes with a very nice LED light bar to see what is going on inside the safe, in the rifle storage area, or on the top shelf if you put the shelves on one side.
The kit also has a 450-gram desiccant dehumidifying box to keep everything dry. When I finished eyeballing and drooling over this gun safe, I had not ordered it from the store where I stood. I went on to Amazon and put in my order there, and now I have to wait a couple of weeks for it to be delivered. Now, all I have to do is find a place to put it. — Don Richards
Get it from Amazon now: $1,795.00 & FREE Returns
5. Langger V - Electronic Cabinet
Highlight: Made to secure AR platform rifles.
Helpful review: This gun locker or safe is designed to have a transformer inside. The locker has a solid, built-in small locker (safe inside a safe) for money or other valuables. The small locker has a separate key so the owner can keep stuff separate from others with access via fingerprint. It has a pistol rest and shelf. This pistol rest is the only gun locker I have seen with a dedicated pistol rack. Most gun safes or lockers have a nylon sleeve on the door, but this one uses an actual pistol rack, which is an awesome feature.
It’s deeper than most gun lockers. It will fit rifles with scopes and not just turn to the side and count that as a fit; this gun locker will fit the scoped rifle as it should. With this deeper build, I put one of these in my dad’s camp trailer to hold rifles during deer and elk season. With the gun locker mounted in a camp trailer, we did not secure it to the wall studs for fear of driving a screw right out the side of the camper. We just screwed it to the floor, and that held just fine. The barrel rests are deep and high-density foam. The gun is well supported; even while riding in the trailer behind the truck, nothing has ever moved.
We did not use the pistol rest and shelf in the trailer due to the need for more length. When we put the shotguns in the locker, we cannot use the pistol shelf. We just put the pistol rack in the home safe and use it there.
The Langger V is also welded on the inside and comes fully assembled. The lock is an electronic keypad with five steel locking bolts around the door, securely holding the safe closed. The keypad will send an alert if the wrong code is input three times. This will alert parents to kids who are curious or up to no good and other campers who are doing the same. If the batteries go dead, I can use the battery pack plugged in to activate the lock and open it to change the batteries. If all that does not work, use the supplied key and open the door.
The problem with having a key locked is that it will negate the smart lock functions, and it is possible to hide a key so well that it can't be found again, not that I have ever done it myself or anything, haha. — Augustus Lawrence
Get it from Amazon now: $229.99 & FREE Returns
6. RPNB - Heavy-Duty + Compact Pistol Section
Highlight: Will easily fit full-size rifles.
Helpful review: For a simple gun locker, that is better than most affordable options. This gun locker is built well and weighs about 120 pounds because it is made of 16-gauge carbon steel. The sales copy calls the small inner lock box an ammo locker.
Generally speaking, I don’t think storing ammo in this little box is required, but it is the only place to store anything that is not a rifle or shotgun inside the RPNB. The finish on the outside of the RPNB safe is black rocky, similar to a very low pile bed liner, and looks very nice.
The door is held secure with five bolts on the open side and the welded hinge on the other. This type of security is good for keeping hands out of the safe, but it is not a great pry-resistant option. The hinge will be much easier to pry away from the wall of the safe than the frame from around the locking bolts.
The RPNB claims it will fit five rifles with scopes. The length will fit most rifles, but if the scope is large, the door may rub the bottom of the rifle and may not fit at all, depending on the type of rifle. The RPNB is not a fireproof or fire-resistant gun safe; this is a locker to keep hands and fingers out of things they should not be touching.
If the lock keypad is attempted three times, it will turn yellow and alert the owner of attempted entry. After three attempts and the alarm rings, the lock will go to sleep for twenty seconds. The keypad will accept a code of three to eight digits of your choosing. The door lock and lever mechanisms are made of plastic, so be careful when moving them into place; you could knock the handle right off. — Ted Rarnolds
Get it from Amazon now: $299.00 & FREE Returns
7. INTERGREAT - Metal Locker
Highlight: The safe's door will actually opens to 120°.
Helpful review: The other day, I saw a client’s rifle at the range. He had me install a new, bigger scope and wanted me to get it shooting on paper for him, and who am I not to take it to the rage? It's customer service, after all.
When I was at the range, some other shooters were spending a lot of time eyeballing the new scope and rifle, and I did not feel comfortable leaving it on the bench to go down range and retrieve targets, etc. This made me put the gun in the truck, lock the doors, and do all my down-range stuff. So, I thought, what if I get a cheap gun locker/safe and bring it to the shooting range to lock stuff up when I am not at the line?
I found the Integrate gun locker for just over a hundred bucks in an Amazon search. So, I ordered and strapped it to a hand truck to take it to the range. I used the mounting holes to put an ¼ inch eye-bolt through and a bicycle-type lock to hold it to the bench or the shade cover posts. This is the best idea I have ever had.
The Intergreat gun locker for a home-based, nonmobile unit will be a lot of gun locker for not much money. The inside area is like all the rest; there is nothing much to report there. Like many others, the Intergreat has a built-in small storage box on the top. The big advantage of Intergreat is how they have put together the door storage units. The inside of the safe does not have any space to store other things, but on the door, that is a different story. It has three movable shelves holding a few boxes of ammo or pistols in a carry case and two nylon pistol holders mounted inside the door.
The keypad is basic and easy to use. It also uses biometrics to allow other shooters in your group to access the inside. The gun locker can also be opened with the key if needed. I noticed that if the sun is shining right on the fingerprint reader in my new super range security locker, it does not work well for me. When I went to the locker back home, it worked fine.
Of course, some folks will say loading guns in the locker and putting them in the back of the truck will ruin everything in there. I only use the locker to hold guns at the range. I transport the guns to and from the range in regular hard cases or even soft cases. — Kevin Yates
Get it from Amazon now: $169.99 & FREE Returns
8. Paragon - Durable 18-Gauge Solid Steel
Highlight: Very nice look.
Helpful review: The Paragon gun safe/locker is one of the few gun lockers that will hold full-size long guns right out of the box. The Paragon can fit the long guns even with the small locker in a locker at the top of the gun space. The Paragon is a slim, long gun locker that easily fits inside the bedroom closet.
Paragon sends the mounting bolts along with the locker, as many do, so the gun safe can be secured to the wall studs or the floor. The door on the Paragon is made with bolts on one side and a hidden and welded hinge on the other. This does not bode well against a crowbar IF the bad guys can get it lying on its back. If the gun locker is secured to the wall, and the bad guys are trying to work on the door in a tight space for a short time, there is a good chance they will not get inside.
The keypad is powered by four AA batteries (not included) and is easy to program. The Paragon keypad allows you to input your own code that is between three and eight numbers long. The locker has two physical keys that will open the safe if the code is forgotten or the batteries die before the owner gets them changed out.
One thing to consider with the Paragon is that the gun locker is made for full-size rifles and shotguns. A shorter platform like an AR or AK, even some shotgun shotguns, will not reach the barrel cradle foam. Not a huge deal if you're OK leaning the gun in the corner of the safe, but if you have a gun that has particular sights or don’t want to lean it in the corner, you will need to order some extra foam barrel cradles and put them lower in the safe. The foam barrel cradles can be found on Amazon or local shopping goods stores and stuck to the wall of the safe with two-sided tape, an easy and cheap fix.
The Paragon is made from 18-gauge steel walls. This is a good deterrent to entry but will not work for fireproofing. It goes without too much explanation. It will not work as waterproofing either. What the 18-guage walls will do is keep things inside the safe out of reach of those who should not be reaching them.
The gun locker is heavy, over one hundred pounds, so it will take some doing and a hand truck to get it in place, then some grunt power to put it in the closet (if that is where it will live), then you are set. Identify the wall stud locations before getting the locker in place, or plan on using the floor mounting option. The heavy door will cause the Paragon to tip forward when it swings open, so it needs to be secured one way or the other for safety. — David Margolis
Get it from Amazon now: $499.99 & FREE Returns
9. Quicktec - Deep Interior
Highlight: Deep enough to store guns with scopes.
Helpful review: The Quicktec is deep enough to store rifles with a large, mounted scope. The depth of the Quicktec impressed me the most. I thought not to use this one for gun storage but to store primers in one and powder in another.
I read the ad copy, and it says it has two movable shelves. Before I looked at the pictures to get my measurements, I hit the buy now button but needed my credit card in my wallet downstairs. In standard fashion, I closed the page before I left the desk. When I returned with my wallet and needed to spend money, I had to find the ad again, and this time, I looked at the pictures. The gun locker has two adjustable shelves ABOVE the gun rack. The gun rack is mounted about the halfway point and does not fit my needs.
The Quicktec is made from heavy-duty steel and uses a reliable digital lock. The door is secure with five bolts around it. The keypad on the lock is very attractive. I am the last person to think a good-looking keypad is important, but for some reason, I was really attracted to the looks of this lock setup. The safe is sent with two keys to fix the lost combo or dead battery issues.
The one thing about this five-gun locker is that the guns are not squashed together. There is some space between the rifles and between the scope and the back wall. Most five-gun safes are about nine inches wide and deep, but the Quicktec is over a foot wide and deep. Having more room than standard is great for shooters like me who appreciate the XXXL fit of things.
The adjustable shelves can open space from the top to the first shelf, which is about nine inches; the second shelf distance can be nearly a foot, which is a great place to hold ammo boxes. If the shelves are used, the longer guns may not fit, and that is something each shooter will need to investigate on their own. The best part about the adjustable shelves is they can be used or taken out to fit everyone's needs. — Sean Crawford
Get it from Amazon now: $279.99 & FREE Returns
10. Gearmart - 2-Year Unlimited Warranty
Highlight: The fingerprint scanner works flawlessly.
Helpful review: Gearhart has the only non-keypad lock operation. The electronics are biometric only; it will hold 125 fingerprints. This may be a great option for a department or club to give everyone access to who deserves it but keep all the unworthy out of the locker. The Gearmart does have the option to use a key if the batteries die. It also has a low-voltage alarm and a memory chip to remember all the fingerprints when changing the batteries. This honestly will be a great club or department locker.
This is not a fire or waterproof option; it is a secure option. The all-metal locker should be secured to the wall for many reasons. The locker has openings on the back and floor to screw it to the studs or joists. When opened, the door will tip the safe forward, and if this safe gets thrown on its back, the door can be pried open pretty easily. The internal gun rack is a standard foam barrel holder block with a small lock box on the top.
The biometric lock allows three attempts, after which it sounds an alarm to let folks in the area know someone is up to no good. The lock opens in two seconds, making it a fast-entry gun locker if the owner needs one. The Gearmart name loses some impact in the gun world; the safe is made of high-quality alloy steel. Using alloy steel makes cutting through with a blade or grinder harder. That is not to say it is impossible, just harder. The gun locker weighs about 92 pounds and is fully internally welded seams.
The Gearmart gun locker size is right on cue for useability. Over a foot deep and almost two feet wide, any firearm stored in this locker will not be squeezed. By not squeezing guns in a small space, they will not get scratched or ding scopes, etc. The back of the door and the floor are lined with heavy felt or carpeting to keep guns looking sharp.
It does not have a good place to store ammo boxes or magazines unless you jam them in the little lock box on the top. With the width available inside, there is a place to stack ammo boxes and put in one less rifle. Magazine storage may be an issue, or just put them in a bag and put them on the floor next to the gun. It is not fancy-looking, but it will be secure and safe. — James Levine
Get it from Amazon now: $279.99 & FREE Returns