Fingerprint Gun Safe Nightstand

Responsible and safe gun storage is essential. But with such varied choice of gun safes in the market it can be difficult to determine which model is right for your specific needs. Here are several of the features that are worth considering for the first time safe owner:Dial or electronic lockThe dial locking mechanism is easily operated by entering the proper numbers, and requires minimal maintenance and stands up over time. But, the time to open the dial lock is longing than the electronic model. Plus, most of these locks don't automatically lock on closing the safe door.The electronic lock which consists of the fingerprint (biometric) or keypad lock is the quickest to open of the two and also automatically locks. However, this type of mechanism has a higher risk of failure and requires regular replacement of the batteries.

Steel StrengthEven if a safe is heavy and big, there is no guarantee that is will protect the contents against a break-in. At minimum, a gun safe should have 10-gauge steel to give the desired level of protection and resist most attempts to drill or cut. It is essential to avoid the safes with light steel (12 to 14-gauge) on the sides because in many cases this can be penetrated with an ax.WeightThe large gun safes have the potential to weigh thousands of pounds. To minimize the risk of a thief attempting to remove the safe with a moving dolly, the preferred mass for an empty unit is in the region of 750 pounds. For extra security, most of the best safes are designed to be bolted to the wall or floor surface.Fire ProtectionA further worthwhile feature of the gun safe is the ability to resist fire for a certain period of time. A house fire has the potential to reach 1000+ Fahrenheit in less than 10 minutes, which can easily start melting the standard safe. Most of the safes that come with fire protection include an extra layer of ceramic or sheetrock panels that help to keep the interior below a certain temperature for 4-6 hours.

Extra armorMany of the top-rated safes include extra armor like the relocker that activates on an attempt to drill the safe and make it significantly more difficult to get access to the safe contents. Also, a similar type of protection features is the steel plate that sits behind the locking mechanism to protect against any attempt to drill the lock.