What Gun Safe to Buy Today? A Consumer Files Review 2024

When looking for a new gun safe, the question of what gun safe to buy sits at the forefront of any search. There are many options to consider, each with its specific advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, what gun safe you buy will be determined by how it will fit your needs. With that in mind, we’ve analyzed different types of gun safes and searched for the best option for each category: the best gun safe for long guns, the best portable gun safe, the best drawer gun safe, and the best console gun safe, to help you spot the right solution for your exact needs.

Our Pick: Bighorn 6039 ELX/MLX Gun Safe

The Bighorn 6039 ELX/MLX Gun safe offers the best quality for the money on today’s market. With rock solid, heavy body construction and great fire ratings, its price point is at the industry’s best. The 33-gun-capacity 6039 is built with 11-gauge steel and boasts a 70-minute fire rating. The exterior comes in a black textured semi-gloss finish and a vault-style 5-spoke handle.

The plush interior is aligned with excellent quality and great fabric and is fully adjustable. The external hinges allow for a full 180 degrees swing radius of the door and also allow you to remove the door for ease of movement into your home.

For security, it has ten 1.5-inch chrome-plated locking bolts on all four sides of the door; a pry-resistant 5.5-inch thick capacitor; an attack-proof external hinge system; drill-resistant armor; 2 internal relockers, and a seamless continuously welded body. This best-seller gun safe is on sale on GunSafes.com, and it ships in 24 hours. Hands down, the best value for the buck.

Runner-Up: Second Amendment Gun Safe GS593625 by Blue Dot Safes

If you’re looking for the best gun safe for long guns, you can’t beat the quality in the Second Amendment gun safe series by Blue Dot Safes. This gun safe has a solid five-star rating and a fire rating of one hour at temperatures up to 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. The lined interior is plush grey carpeting and can hold up to thirty rifles and/or shotguns. There are also eight holsters on the inside of the door to hold handguns, as well as five pouches for ammo.

For those with smaller long gun collections, three removable shelves can be placed at varying heights, allowing extra storage space for handguns, ammo, gun accessories, and other valuables. There is also a fixed full-width shelf at the top of the safe that is fully carpeted.

This gun safe for long guns measures 59 inches by 36 inches by 25 inches externally, with internal measurements of 55.18 inches by 32.25 inches by 20 inches. It weighs 650 pounds, is made of heavy-duty 12 gauge steel, and comes backed by a one-year factory warranty.

Value Pick: Biometric Top-opening Safe AX11556 by Barska

With an easy-to-use biometric lock made by Barska, one of the leading manufacturers of tough sporting optics, this was an easy choice for the best gun safe for drawers. The Biometric lock can hold up to thirty fingerprints, which allows you to store prints for multiple fingers, as well as different angles of your fingers, to ensure that this safe opens quickly in emergency situations.

It has a top-opening pry-resistant door with concealed hinges that make it perfect for use in a desk drawer. The door opens via a hydraulic system, so you won’t have to scramble to lift it and hold it open to retrieve your gun. This gun safe also has a silent mode, turning off the audio indicator when a correct fingerprint is read, allowing you to unlock and open this safe with utter stealth. 

The biometric lock can be opened with no eyes, which lets you keep your attention where needed most. This combination of features makes it a great choice for home security. It measures 14.75 inches by 11.25 inches by 5 inches externally, with internal measurements of 14.5 inches by 11 inches by 2.5 inches. It weighs 21 pounds and runs on four AA batteries which should provide up to 2 years of life. It does come with two backup keys.

Also Great: Universal Console Gun Safe CV-1007 by Console Vault

Regarding console gun safes, most are custom for specific vehicle makes and models, leaving you out of luck if you have an imported or older vehicle. Many older vehicles also don’t feature a console, making searching for the best console gun safe even more difficult.

That’s why we really like this Universal Console Gun Safe that’s perfect for a vehicle that doesn’t have a center console or features a wide-open spot on the floor in between the front seats. This gun safe features pre-drilled mounting holes and are secure to factory console bolt holes. It’s made of heavy-duty 12 gauge steel and features a three-point locking system, bank vault style hinges, and a spring-loaded door to simplify retrieving your handgun. 

For greater concealment and security, this universal console gun safe has an available “cloak’ that makes the gun safe appear no different than any other after-market console, complete with cup holders and a compartment for change. This gun safe features a barrel lock and comes with two keys. It measures 7 inches wide by 11 inches long by 3.5 inches high and weighs 15 pounds.

Budget Pick: Nanovault NV200 by Gunvault

There are a lot of portable gun safes on the market, with seemingly few differences between them. Too many of them lack the security necessary for use when traveling, prying open easily with a paper clip and not meeting guidelines for airline use. But none of this concerns the NanoVault Portable Gun Safe. This portable gun safe for handguns is made of 20 gauge steel and features a no-nonsense key lock with two keys. The interior’s top and bottom are lined with one-and-a-quarter-inch memory foam to securely hold your handgun, keeping it from rattling about and getting scratched or dinged up. This gun safe will easily hold 1911-style handguns along with an extra magazine. It weighs three pounds and is backed by a one-year limited warranty against manufacturer defects, as well as a five-year exclusive full warranty against fire and burglary:

This is a great choice for a travel airline-approved gun safe, as it meets the TSA airline firearm guidelines and is slim enough to easily fit in a briefcase, backpack, drawer, or even beneath the seat of your vehicle. It comes with a 1500-pound test security cable that allows for flexible and secure mounting. External measurements are 9.5 inches by 6.5 inches by 1.8 inches.

What Gun Safe To Buy?

The next time you’re in the market for a new safe and wonder what gun to buy, we hope you consider this list and use it as a guide. We covered most of the features you can expect to find on the best gun safes out there. Ultimately, what gun safe you buy will come down to your individual needs and budget, but we hope this review gives you a good place to start.

References & Resources

• Blue Dot Safes, Official Brand Website.
• GunVault, Official Brand Website.
• Barska, Official Brand Website.
• Console Vault, Official Brand Website.