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The world is polarizing and unpredictable, but best biometric gun safes can add a sense of ease and security to your living space. Whether you’re storing self-defense tools for home, work, or travel, a biometric gun safe is a secure, high-tech solution for ensuring that the only right hands will touch your possessions. Oh, and let’s not forget the undoubtedly badass secret agent vibes you get from actuating a biometric scanner, even if you’re only ever storing documents in a safe. Today, it’s a heavily saturated market, but let Task & Purpose lend a hand.
I did your homework so you don’t have to and curated this guide on the best biometric gun safes on the market today. From big ones to little ones, at home or on the go, I’ve got you covered with a broad spread of safes guaranteed by your fellow consumers to keep your firearms and other valuables locked down. So scroll on through, and happy shopping!
- Best Overall: Barska AX11780 16-Gun Biometric Safe
- Best Value: Grifucher Biometric Gun Safe
- Honorable Mention: Winzone Biometric Rifle Safe
- Best for Multiple Handguns: Vaultek MXi
- Best Multi-Lock: awesafe Gun Safe
- Best for Long Guns: Browning Silver Series SR49
- Best Portable: RPNB Quick Access Biometric Pistol Safe
Methodology
As journalists and fellow firearms enthusiasts, it’s in our best interest to deliver informative and honest reviews anywhere we can. That said, it would be quite the timely and costly endeavor to get our grubby mitts on a dozen safes, which is why this guide is heavily research-driven. Deep dives into each and every product combined with real-life user experience helped this author determine which would serve discerning enthusiasts the best for each of your specific use cases.
The best gun safes would be the most robust, make the most efficient use of space, and have easy-to-program biometric scanners with little fuss, an important factor in a relatively cumbersome category of gun safes. Products with little-to-no consumer feedback were ignored in favor of items with real-world customer experiences.
Amazon served as a major hub of manufacturer specs and consumer feedback on a plethora of products, but quick web searches revealed many more worthwhile products. Because of that, retailers such as Lowes, Home Depot, and Gun Safes were equally valuable sources of product information and ownership experiences.
As always, readers are encouraged to learn more about how Task & Purpose generally curates its buyer’s guides.
Best Overall
Barska AX11780 16-Gun Biometric Safe
Pros
- Variants for more or less storage exist
- Can program up to 120 fingerprints
- A nifty rack for handguns
- An appropriate size for many homes
Cons
- One of the more expensive items on this list
- Forgoing biometric scanners opens you up to larger safes
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 19.6 x 16 x 57 inches
- Weight: 139 pounds
- Material: steel
Best Value
Grifucher Biometric Gun Safe
Pros
- Two-gun storage capacity
- Undercuts other lower-end options by a large margin
- Security cable for tying to tables and nightstands
- Compact enough to be portable, if needed
Cons
- May not hold some larger handguns
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 14 x 11 x 4 inches
- Weight: 6.58 pounds
- Material: alloy steel
Honorable Mention
Winzone Biometric Rifle Safe
Pros
- A strong value as far as rifle safes go
- A good size for most homes and apartments
- Still holds roughly five rifles with room for pistols
- Emergency keypad and lock included
Cons
- Not quite spacious for the discerning collector
- A few reported quality control issues
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 13.8 x 11.8 x 57 inches
- Weight: 88 pounds
- Material: carbon steel
Best for Multiple Handguns
Vaultek MXi
Pros
- It’s basically a Box-O’-Guns
- Available with Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity
- Rechargeable battery pack
- Backup keypad and keys included
Cons
- A little bulky for tighter hiding spots
- Not ideal as a portable safe
- Steep price for a handgun safe
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 11.5 x 15 x 11.6 inches
- Weight: 31.9 pounds
- Material: alloy steel, carbon steel
Best Multi-Lock
awesafe Gun Safe
Pros
- Every quick-access method possible
- Can be portable, if needed
- Bright blue interior light
- Reliable, easy-to-program scanner
Cons
- Rival safes are just a smidge smaller
- More expensive than other compact safes
- Rare quality control issues
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 12.1 x 9.9 x 3.2 inches
- Weight: N/A
- Material: alloy steel
Best for Long Guns
Browning Silver Series SR49
Pros
- Perfect for a platoon of the longest rifles
- Thicker fire insulation sheets
- LOTS of adjustable shelving
Cons
- Price to make some hardcore collectors cry
- Make some room for this big lad
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 43 x 25 x 60 inches
- Weight: 910 pounds
- Material: 11-gauge steel
Best Portable
RPNB Quick Access Biometric Pistol Safe
Pros
- Perfect size for in-car storage or tight living spaces
- Program up to 20 fingerprints
- Security cable for tying to car or table leg
Cons
- Some reported hiccups in biometric scanner
- Maybe not the largest size for Texas Red’s Big Iron
Product Specs
- Dimensions LxWxH: 11.80 x 7.80 x 2.20 inches
- Weight: 5.8 pounds
- Material: 16-gauge steel alloy
Our verdict on biometric gun safes
Barska’s AX11780 is a winner for being the “just right” product with space for rifles and handguns wrapped up in an appropriately-sized, well-built design. Grifucher’s Biometric Gun Safe is our undeniable Best Value for delivering high-tech gun storage at a price far beneath its competition. And the Winzone Biometric Rifle Safe also deserves some love for offering compact, easy-to-stow rifle storage at an agreeable price.
What to consider when buying a biometric gun safe
Do you need a big ole’ thingamajig of a storage unit for hunting rifles and shotguns? Or do you need something small and portable for going anywhere and everywhere? How about a safety net of extra locking systems? Gun safes all do the same basic task, but they can all do it just a little differently. Here are some types and features that can help a biometric safe stand out in a saturated market.
Types of biometric gun safes
Compact/portable
As expected, these are your bite-sized handgun boxes built to resemble Darth Vader’s Amazon delivery packages. Small and compact, they can fit in a variety of nooks that larger, refrigerator-sized safes obviously can’t squeeze into. They can be taken inside cars and campers (although, keep in mind your area’s laws with weapons inside vehicles) or stowed in cabinets and nightstands. Their placement is entirely up to your imagination with relatively no limitations.
Their sizes can be their biggest asset or your biggest annoyance, so pay attention to the sizes of each product in accordance with where you want them placed and what will be stored inside. Some safes advertised as two-gun or multiple-gun safes may only fit one depending on how big your Big Iron really is, and some may be too thick to fit in some drawers.
Rifles
These are the mini-bank vaults masquerading as refrigerators intended for rifles, shotguns, and any long firearms you can think of. As expected, these will be the most spacious and can come in a variety of sizes to match anyone’s collection. Need space for five guns? Ten guns? Twenty guns? There’s a size to match. These will often have the most robust construction, immune to prying and built to insulate their contents from housefires.
Rifle safes will also be the most expensive due to all the material they use as well as the largest, most cumbersome safes to place at home. They take up space like a fridge and weigh half as much as a small hatchback in the case of some larger safes, but these are your best bet for keeping long guns secure at home.
Multi-lock
Most, but not all, biometric gun safes will fall under this category. Building upon their role as quick-access safes, multi-lock biometric safes will have multiple locking methods from keypads to combinations and even manual keys. This creates redundancy and allows users to choose their preferred methods or lets them select a secondary locking system in case their preferred system fails.
Many top-dollar items from well-received brands such as Barska, awesafe, and Vaultek will have multi-lock systems in the form of keys and keypads. The less-expensive RPNB product is biometric-only with an emergency manual key system on the side of the safe. To each their own, but this author personally recommends having the fallback systems that a multi-lock quick-access safe affords.
Key features for biometric gun safes
Biometric scanner
This is that super-cool, Mission Impossible-esque fingerprint scanner that defines biometric safes. It’s as simple as matching the scanned fingerprint to the programmed fingerprint to open the locking mechanism, but what may not be so simple is programming fingerprints to it.
On the lower end of the market, particularly with a few affordable compact gun safes, biometric scanners have been reportedly cumbersome to program. Either they don’t accept a fingerprint or only accept one despite being advertised to hold many. Some don’t open at all and need to be accessed via the key, and some glitch out and open to family members or roommates whose fingerprints were never programmed.
While notable, these have only occurred in a few instances, and most other consumers chalk up their positive experiences to proper programming. So be sure to take the time and follow the instructions for programming your specific safe’s scanner.
Quick-access/emergency locks
Most biometric safes will fall under this category as manufacturers like to add extra methods for ease of access, like keypads, combinations, etc. If you count the manual keys that most of these products come with, all biometric safes may as well be multi-lock safes.
While you’d be farfetched to find a biometric safe without a manual key at the very least, it doesn’t hurt to double-check that the one you’re set on purchasing has one. Those emergency keys will be your ticket inside the safe in the event that the batteries for the electronics die, so keep them at close reach.
Material
More often than not, most gun safes will be constructed out of thick steel alloys with a corrosion-resistant coating, or out of high-carbon steels that are naturally more corrosion resistant. Many gun safes, from gargantuan lockers to minuscule car vaults, will don some form of fire insulation to keep their contents protected from car and house fires. After all, some households do use these heavy-duty storage solutions for documents, money, and family mementos, mine included.
There won’t be many ways you can mess up buying a gun safe based on its materials, but the construction of said materials may affect the overall product. Some foams such as those in my dad’s aging gun safe may degrade and fall apart over time, disintegrating into a nasty dust that can rub off onto your firearms. Some compact safes may have loose-fitting locks and flimsy hinges that leave them vulnerable to prying.
Pricing for biometric gun safes
With many biometric gun safes being sold in compact sizes, you can expect to find them hovering between $100 and $300. The more cavernous and high-quality Vaultek MXi rings in at a proportionally higher $600 to $630 depending on where you purchase it. Top-tier rifle safes will start at roughly $1,000 and climb from there as capacity increases. The leviathan Browning SR49 will rob you of nearly $5,000 in exchange for stowing a few dozen long guns plus room for ammo and gear. Back to more palatable price tags, the Winzone rifle safe can be had for a relative bargain at under $360, as can our Best Value-winning Grifucher at $62.
Tips and tricks
- If possible, keep your gun safe in a dry and cool environment to lessen the chances of contaminants dripping onto the safe, seeping inside, and deteriorating the interior.
- Exercise caution when eyeballing cheap or questionably-made products. Some safe interiors may react with moisture and create toxic chemicals that could potentially corrode your firearms.
- Depending on local laws and regulations, compact gun safes can easily be stowed inside cars or campers for on-the-go security.
FAQs about biometric gun safes
You’ve got questions, Task & Purpose has answers.
Q: Are biometric safes secure?
A: Biometric scanners are just as secure as traditional or digital locking mechanisms, but a gun safe is only as secure as the materials it’s made out of.
Q: How reliable are biometric locks?
A: Biometric systems are mostly reliable with most owners having no quarrel once they’re properly programmed, but there’s always bound to be some hiccups, especially on some cheaper models. A few have issues where they easily unlock or don’t unlock at all, and never forget to check that battery!
Q: Are biometric gun safes corrosion-resistant?
A: With many products on this list constructed of steel alloys or high-carbon steels sealed in protective coatings, it can be concluded that high-quality gun safes are definitely corrosion-resistant. Buyers should be more cautious about the innards of inferior safes that could potentially corrode the guns themselves.
Q: How do I know when it’s time to change the battery on my safe?
A: Most safes can alert you to low batteries via a displayed message, intermittent beeps, or an LED warning light, with the latter being the most common. In case it’s totally dead, and none of the electronics have power, always ensure that the manual backup keys are nearby.