| Gun
safes are safes that are designed with two distinct
purposes in mind. First, to restrict access to the guns
to only authorized persons. And secondly to secure the guns
against burglary and fire. The use of gun safes is not required
by law, but recently some states have passed laws that make
it a criminal offense if a child is injured or killed after
obtaining unsupervised access to a gun. Storing your guns
in a gun safe is the smart and safe thing to do.
Gun safes can be divided into
two broad categories - pistol safes, and safes designed
to store rifles and shotguns. The two types differ mainly
in size, with rifle and shotgun safes being much larger
to accommodate the length of the guns. Pistol safes are
available in chest and cabinet style. The smaller chest
style pistol safes are designed mainly to restrict access
to the pistols inside and to protect them from fire damage.
Since they could be easily carried off by a burglar, they
do not provide security against burglary. The larger cabinet
style pistol safes provide much more security from burglars,
and provide more space for storage as well.
Gun
safes designed for rifle and shotgun storage
use an upright cabinet style housing to accommodate the
extra length of these types of guns. Models are available
with racks on the inside for holding the guns, and with
shelves for ammunition and pistol storage.
There are a number of other factors to consider when choosing
gun safes. One factor is the fireproof rating. Fireproof
ratings, usually specified in minutes or hours, specify
how well the contents will be protected during a fire. An
example of a fire rating would be a 1 hour 350 degree F
rating. This rating means that the safe could be exposed
to a 1700 degree F fire for a period of 1 hour, and the
temperature inside the safe would not rise above 350 degrees
F. This is a low enough temperature to keep the guns inside
from being damaged permanently, as well as to protect the
ammunition stored in the safe.
Another factor to consider is the gun safes' burglary rating.
This rating, usually specified in minutes, gives an indication
of how long it would take a knowledgeable person (such as
a locksmith) to break into the safe using common locksmithing
tools. So it gives a good indication of how well the safe
would protect your guns from a professional burglar.
Gun
safes are also available with a variety of locking
mechanisms. Models are available with mechanical key locks,
mechanical combination dials and with electronic keypad
locks. While usually costing a bit more, the electronic
keypad locking mechanisms are by far the most convenient.
To open the safe, the user simply enters the combination
on a PIN pad, similar to the ones used on ATM machines.
Multiple users can be given access to this type of safe,
each with their own combination number.
As you can see, there are a number of factors to consider
when choosing among available gun safes. Be sure to keep
in mind the type of guns to be stored, the quantity of guns,
how much burglary and fire protection you want the safe
to provide, and the type of locking mechanism you prefer.
Keeping all these factors in mind will help you choose the
gun safe that is right for your needs.
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