Best Gun Safe for the Money

If you own a gun, the chances are that the thought of purchasing a gun safe has crossed your mind at one point or another. But is having a gun safe actually necessary? It’s not like you need a gun safe to have food, shelter or water, right?

While this may be true, what is a necessity is to have a safe place to store your guns and no place is better equipped to do that than a gun safe. It isn’t that some of the other methods are unsafe or don’t work, they just don’t work as well. So, before you can choose the best gun safe for the money, you need to understand what your gun safe is supposed to do for you. Here are a few reasons why a gun safe is an absolute must.

Your Guns Will Not Be Easily Accessible

There is no doubt about it; a gun safe is the ultimate way of safely storing your guns. No other method even comes close. And the best part is, it doesn’t matter what kind of gun it is, a gun safe is tops when it comes to any kind of gun storage.

One of the ways a gun safe prevents others from accessing your firearms is that they act as a type of theft deterrent. While a burglar in your home can easily make off with any lockboxes, a gun safe is not so easily taken or broken into. In fact, there are actually videos on YouTube showing you exactly how to break into lockboxes in just a matter of seconds.

When it comes to a gun safe, however, they are normally too heavy (especially if bolted down), are not easily cracked or picked and have thicker walls and door to make cutting through them tough. In fact, with a good locking mechanism, only the person with the combination is able to get in.

Finally, a gun safe is the perfect solution when young children are present in the home. To a small child, a gun looks like a really cool toy. This is why there have been so many instances of young children shooting themselves. A gun safe will be able to prevent any scenario involving your child and your gun.

A Gun Safe Is Fire Proof

While most other storage methods are not, a gun safe is fireproof. If for whatever reason your home catches on fire, your gun safe will keep all of the firearms and other valuables inside safe from being burned.

​Since most people would prefer to keep both their firearms and their ammunition out of any kind of fire as the bullets will more than likely go off when the heat gets too high, a gun safe is the perfect investment to make sure this doesn’t happen to you. In fact, most people who go through the difficult emergency of a house fire have found that the contents of their gun safe are absolutely fine.

And just in case you do have a house fire, trying to dodge bullets and thinking about whether or not your guns are safe is probably going to be the last thing that you want to have to worry about.

The Best Form of Gun Storage

One of the main things a gun safe will do for you is to keep its contents safe. When your guns are in the gun safe, there is no way that they can be knocked down, jostled or anything in between.

While other gun storage methods can also keep your guns protected from these things, none of them are as safe or sturdy as having your guns locked in a gun safe. And if your gun happens to have a scope on it, any type of accidental movements or jostling can cause expensive repairs to be needed. But there is an easy way to prevent this, store your gun in the best gun safe for the money.

So now that you know why you need a gun safe is you own a gun, how are you supposed to choose the best gun safe for the money? While there are many options available, here are the absolute best gun safes for the money that you should look into for storing your firearms and ammunition.

Like just about anything else in you pay for, that old saying, “you get what you pay for,” applies to gun safes too, but not necessarily how you would think it would. With many gun safes out there, what you’re paying for is decorative items, chrome, interior features and nice paint.

What this basically means is that most gun safes only sell the appearance that they are protecting your firearms but are only a container that can easily be broken into.

Unfortunately, if you’re like most people, you have a budget. Otherwise, you would probably have your guns and ammunition stored in a bank quality vault. And since you have a budget, here are the best gun safes for the money that have been split into different types of protection categories.

Now before we can get into what the best gun safe for the money actually is, we must first understand the gun safe ratings. When it comes to gun safes, you will discover different models that have and don’t have Underwriters Laboratories 1037 Residential Security Container (RSC) ratings. This RSC rating means your gun safe was actually tested at UL and took at least 5 minutes for someone to be able to break into it using some basic hand tools.

If your gun safe doesn’t have a minimum rating of at least UL RSC, your gun safe is no better than using a gym locker with a padlock on it. In fact, gun safes often come with non-RSC ratings will even come with locks that are unreliable and can easily be picked or hacked.

Just so you know, RSC is the absolute highest rating that 99% of all gun safes meet. While gun safes can range in price from hundreds to multiple thousands of dollars in price, they will more than likely have the same RSC security rating.

​To make things even worse, the cheaper gun safes usually advertise additional ‘features’ that mean absolutely nothing. For example, a lock advertising multiple oversized locking bolts is meaningless when it comes to the RSCs. For bolts to make a difference, the door and doorframe need to be strong enough to support them.

The same goes for the ‘fire rating’ of RSCs. For this to matter, an independent test needs to be done in an acceptable standard. Basically, if you want the best gun safe for the money, you need to look for the cheapest RSC that has all of the different features that you want.

What Are The RSC Features You Want?​

While unrated locks usually have tons of issues, this is not where you want to try and save money on your gun safe. Make sure that your gun safe lock is UL rated.

When it comes to your gun safe, you want one with continuous welds. The welds should be continuously welded body seams. If they don’t have this, they are much weaker and can even be opened with only a hammer.

Any gun safe that has been manufactured in the USA is the preferred way to go. While the cheapest American RSCs may be a few hundred dollars more than the ones that are made in other countries, they are always going to be much more secure and safer.

While there are many different gun safes on the market today, the two best are Sturdy Gun Safe and American Security (AMSEC). These are two brands are the best gun safe for the money and here is a full review of why these need to be your gun safe of choice.

American Security Gun Safe Models

When it comes to the best gun safe for the money, there is no doubting that the American Security (also known as AMSEC), TF Series is going to give you the most bang for your buck. AMSEC is a large safe making company that has about 1,000 employees and make most of their products in the USA.

While the prices of the TF Series of gun safes range in price depending upon their size, they will do the job of protecting your firearms and ammunition just fine. With a fire rating of 30 minutes at temperatures up to 1200 degrees, this 11-gun capacity safe is going to be the best gun safe for the money.​

While AMESC gun safes are all tested to UL 1037 Residential Security, as well as UL Listed for that rating as well. Compared to other gun safes, this means that the AMESC is going to be much better when it comes to the amount of gun security that your safe is going to be able to provide for you. But in all fairness, the RSC ratings are somewhat of a low bar to pass.

The TF Series of gun safes comes with a 3/16” steel plate in the door, which is going to prevent anyone from breaking in very easily. Another benefit of the TF Series of gun safes is that the 3/16” steel door plate helps to keep the cost more affordable, as well as lighter in weight, so it’s easier for you to move.

As for the rest of the safe, it is constructed out of 14-gauge solid steel that is lined with a special fire insulating material to keep the contents safe in case of a fire. Compared with other, the TF Series actually has a stronger door and body as many other gun safes use two sheets of steel and drywall pressed together as opposed to the single sheet of steel used by the TF Series.​

The AMSEC TF Series of gun safes come standard with four anchor holes that have already been pre-cut for you. This means that it is easy and convenient to install it on the ground to make it even more secure and permanent. This makes the TF Series very convenient as other gun safes often need to have additional anchor holes drilled into them. When this is the case, there are additional fees involved.

When it comes to the door seal, it is a very important part of the gun safe. If the door seal is cheaply made, smoke and fire can more easily get into the safe. Luckily the TF gun safe uses a Palusol intumescent door seal, which is considered to be the industry standard when it comes to gun safes.

The door seals work by expanding to seal any cracks, hence preventing smoke and flames to get inside the safe. Why you want your safe to sealed with Palusol is because it will start to expand at a much lower temperature than other types of door sealant. On top of that, the TF Series also comes with an additional high-temperature seal made of silicone that helps provide extra protection in case of a fire, as well as helps to prevent moisture from getting in.​

One of the best features of the TF Series is the door lock mechanism. The chrome ‘L” shaped handle features a slip clutch that adds extra security if someone tries to break in. Now partner this with the safes five bolts and three deadbolts, and you have a total of 8 bolts keeping the safe locked tight. And if that weren’t enough, the electric keypad will provide you with quick and easy access when you need it.

When it comes to the best gun safe for the money, you want to safe on price, not on the quality of your gun safe. The AMSEC TF Series checks all of the boxes that you want checked when it comes to a gun safe. It will not only protect your guns, ammunition and anything else you decide to put in it, but it is also well-made and will last for years to come.