Best Large Gun Safe Buying Guide

What to Look & What to Avoid

An honest look at how to buy the best large gun safe.

A big gun collection. Extra ammo. Precious valuables. Important documents. Is any of this feeling familiar? Chances are, if you have any of the above, you’re in the market for a large gun safe.

As you spend some time shopping around, you’ll find there are a lot of discrepancies between safes. Price point. Weight. Fire ratings. Steel gauge. Delivery options. And to make matters worse — most gun safe retailers’ and gun safe manufacturers’ websites are difficult to navigate.

As someone who personally tackled these questions when shopping for my own safe, I can attest that picking a gun safe can feel confusing. Luckily, the folks at NW Safe have nearly 40 years of experience helping you find the right safe. They’re so good at their job, I not only bought a safe — I started working with them.

The following is an honest recap of how my husband and I picked the best large gun safe for our growing family. (I was pregnant with my first at the time.) It includes the details we reviewed and the things I’ve learned since I started writing about gun safes regularly.

This post will cover:

How Big of a Gun Safe Do I Really Need?
Large Gun Safe Considerations
Top Picks — The Best Large Gun Safes

How Big of a Gun Safe Do I Really Need?

Take stock of how many guns and valuables you currently have. Then, have an honest conversation with yourself about how your collection is likely to grow. Chances are, you’re going to accumulate more than a few additional handguns, long guns, and valuables.

While it’s possible to remodel a home, there’s no remodeling a gun safe. The size you buy is the size you have until you upgrade. In fact, the most common regret customers have is buying too small of a safe. Buy the biggest safe your budget allows. The future you will be thankful.

Large Gun Safe Considerations

As with anything of value, the quality and size of a gun safe affects the price. The better and bigger a gun safe is, the more it costs. That’s just the name of the game.

But what factors really matter? It’s like paying for top shelf bourbon. The price better be worth the pour.

Fire Protection

With the rise of wildfire season up and down the West Coast, fire is a serious concern for most. This makes fire ratings a great place to start when comparing multiple safes. But it’s also a tricky comparison. Gun safe fire ratings are unregulated. Any manufacturer can award any fire rating they want, regardless of testing.

When you compare the fire ratings of large gun safes, these are some of the factors to consider:

Testing Procedures

Was the furnace ramped up quickly or gradually? A gradual ramp-up offers a higher fire rating but doesn’t mimic a house fire. According to the Insurance research agency, The Zebra, “In less than five minutes, the heat from a house fire can reach over 1100 degrees Fahrenheit.”
Where were the heat sensors (aka thermocouples) placed within the safe? Placing the sensors at the bottom of the safe delivers a better fire rating. Unfortunately, it does not represent how all the contents of the safe will fare.

Fire Seals

A high-quality safe will have heat-expanding seals around the door. When exposed to heat, the seals expand. This seal helps keep smoke and heat from penetrating the safe.

Layers of Fireboard

Some safes use multiple layers of fireboard for added protection. Safes with two or more layers of fireboard provide better insulation in a fire.

Construction and Build Quality

Steel Gauge

The steel thickness is one of the leading indicators of a safe’s durability. The lower the number, the thicker the steel. Generally, a 12 gauge body is a reasonable minimum for decent protection. For maximum security, opt for 10-gauge or thicker.

Door Thickness

The door is the most vulnerable part of a safe. Some articles would recommend looking for a reinforced door that’s at least 3 inches thick. Unfortunately, it’s relatively easy to build a door 3” thick that has hardly any metal, meaning it can be cut through and pried open very easily.

Instead, we recommend looking at the metal thickness on a door. For a high-quality large safe we’d recommend at least a ¼” of steel in the door.

Locks

As you look at different safes, one of the non-negotiables should be a U.L. listed lock. You don’t want to buy a safe with a non-U.L. listed lock.

Why? Because U.L. listed locks have a Magic Mount Template. The repair costs of a non-U.L. listed lock can outweigh the cost savings of a cheaper lock. Additionally, the Magic Mount template allows the lock to be quickly, affordably, and securely be interchanged by a master safe technician.

The three common lock types are:

Electronic Lock

Electronic locks are convenient, allowing fast access with a simple PIN code. However, we recommend replacing the battery annually. The cost of a new battery is relatively negligible, while being locked out of your safe because the battery died can be a headache.

Biometric Lock

For even faster access, consider a biometric lock. These locks use fingerprint recognition and can also be opened with a simple PIN code. Like a standard electronic lock, these require the battery to be replaced annually.

Mechanical Lock

Traditional dial locks are not battery-dependent. This makes them popular with those who don’t want to worry about replacing a battery. As with anything mechanical, they do require occasional maintenance.

Interior Features and Organization

Adjustable Shelving

Flexible shelving gives you the flexibility to configure the safe's interior based on your needs.

Door Panel Storage

Many high-quality safes come with door panel storage. These panels can include:

Pistol Holsters
Document Pouches
Mesh Pockets
Zippered Pockets

Lighting

LED lighting inside the safe makes it easier to see and organize contents.

Warranty

A safe is an investment. A solid warranty reflects the manufacturer’s confidence in their product. Look for lifetime warranties that cover both fire and break-in incidents. Liberty, Fort Knox, and Rhino Metals, for example, offer excellent warranties and customer support.

Top Picks — The Best Large Gun Safes

Alright, alright. What safe did we buy? We purchased the largest of the Liberty National Magnum series. It was a hefty investment (even in 2019, when prices were lower). To ease the cost burden, we took advantage of the 12-month, zero-percent financing. It's a purchase we've never regretted.

But I know the Magnum 50 isn’t the right safe for everyone. Depending on what you’re storing, here are my recommendations: