Bedside Gun Safes

For people who own firearms, safes are essential. Guns are kept secure and protected in a safe from curious kids and would-be thieves, and some safes even shield valuables from calamities like house fires. However, not everyone has room for a 24-gun safe that weighs 750 pounds, has a two by three-foot footprint, and takes up a lot of space. Furthermore, a sizable gun safe presents a big target, is visually loud and expressive about its contents, raising suspicions.

Fortunately, the greatest gun safes available today provide lots of room, secure storage for your weapons, and allow you to enter with a smile on your face. These contemporary safes are more compact and lightweight, and they add an extra degree of security for your most priceless belongings. They can be installed nearly anyplace. Here, you can see our selections for the top bedside gun safes in a variety of shapes and sizes.

What To Consider When Choosing The Best Bedside Gun Safes

Bedside gun safes are made to keep weapons, particularly pistols, out of the reach of kids and animals. While allowing adults to access a firearm if they need to take care of business or make a quick trip to the range, these safes provide a high level of protection to keep children and pets out. Consider the size, form, locking mechanism, and any additional features when looking for a bedside gun safe to increase your security.

Construction quality

Most bedside gun safes are just upgraded gun cabinets that serve little purpose other than to keep curious kids away from your boomsticks in terms of level of protection. The majority of full-size gun safes are superior to even higher-quality nightstand safes. As a result, few bedside choices will offer you the same level of content value protection or fire and water protection as stronger, larger safes.

To increase the level of security of your bedside gun safe, look for one with thick construction materials (16- to 10-gauge steel), excellent welding, secured hinges, and a lid that is difficult to force open. Make sure the safe you choose includes anchor points so you can fasten it to floor joists or wall studs. Make sure your safe includes an anchor cord if, for some reason, anchoring it is not an option.

Size/Shape

Bedside gun safes are available in a range of designs and sizes. Most of them have four wheels and a handle and are rectangular, while some are square or triangular. It may not be practical to use a safe that is too big or bulky to fit beneath the bed.

Consider a larger bedside gun safe with a bottom height of about 16 inches if you’re searching for one that won’t restrict getting in or out of bed. In order to hold many firearms without taking up much space, opt for a safe with an inside measurement of roughly 7 by 7 by 7 inches.

Security Locking Mechanism

A bedside gun safe must have a strong locking system. The safe should be simple to lock and unlock, but it also needs to be secure enough to keep out children and animals. The majority of bedside gun safes protect individual panels using a mix of vertical latches, horizontal latches, and locks. A horizontal latch holds the door open with a button or switch, a vertical latch enables the user to open the safe by pressing down on the handle, and a lock prevents further opening. Multiple locking systems are the best approach to assure security.

Fire Rating

A fireproof bedside gun safe has a limited lifetime under high heat before its contents are at risk of burning or exploding. This kind of safe is constructed with thicker steel walls and might include unique seals that enlarge when the temperature rises to keep smoke and flame from entering.

Standard bedside gun safes can shield the weapons from harm, but they won’t stop a determined burglar from reaching inside to retrieve a pistol. However, if the safe is made to withstand fire, the locks and latches might also be able to keep the flames at bay long enough for you to get your gun.

Quick Access

Make sure the nightstand gun safe you buy enables for quick, efficient access while you’re choosing your next one. It takes a careful balancing act of many different criteria to keep your firearms secure, safe, and accessible, and you must consider many more factors when selecting a nightstand safe that can satisfy your demands.

You should typically be able to reach your home defense weapon in a defensive situation within one to two seconds. The safe’s locking system and opening mechanism play a significant role in this.

Mountability

If a tiny safe that can be installed high on your closet or nightstand drawer is an option, choose it. This will make it much more difficult for your children to tamper with the safe. You can install the safe beneath a desk or nightstand if you also want to keep it hidden.

Although there are numerous mountable nightstand safes available, you must confirm that yours comes with a mounting plate. This will make it extremely challenging for anyone (especially thieves) to remove the safe once it has been mounted. A bedside safe with pre-drilled holes is a smart purchase if you want to put it on a flat surface and prevent theft even further. If you want to install your safe to the wall, picking this as your bedside option is the best choice.

Tamper Alerts

Tamper detection capabilities are not popular, but they do exist. You might hear a loud beeping sound when a tampering warning is set off, or if you have a smart safe, you might get a message on your phone if you’re not home. If you have children or frequently host guests, investing in a safe with a tamper alarm may be a wise choice.

Built-In Dust Collector

A built-in dust collector is a great choice if you’d want to avoid the trouble of cleaning up. You won’t need to be concerned about blowing dust throughout the room because these gadgets extract dust and debris from the safe and place it in a detachable collection container.

While some bedside gun safes come with dust collectors, some require an additional purchase. Check to see if the safe has a collection bag if you’re searching for a built-in dust collector or if you’ll also need to buy one.

Additional Features

A few extra features can be added to bedside gun safes to improve their appearance and functionality.

• Ambient light: Some gun safes have lights inside that make it easier to see the contents and recognize weapons.
• Alarms: If someone tries to open the safe without your permission, an alarm can let you know.
• Magazine pouches: A magazine pouch enables a user to carry additional pistol magazines.
• Telescoping handles: Without utilizing a ladder, an user can reach inside a safe and grab a gun using a telescoping handle.
• Wheel covers: When necessary, they can help with a safe move across the floor.

Budget

Bedside gun safes under $200 are generally not recommended, with very few exceptions. Although your budget is important, a safe that costs less than $200 is likely to end up costing you far more than you thought in the event of a break-in.

• Mid-range – It’s a fact that security and quality don’t come cheap. Expect to spend between $200 and $300 on a bedside gun safe if you want to have real security between curious children and the vast majority of criminals.
• Premium – You’ll need to set aside a minimum of $300, though you’re unlikely to spend more than $400, if you want to keep all but the most clever (or well-funded) thieves at bay. The best safes are often those that cost at least $300.

Types Of Bedside Gun Safes

A standard door-style safe may not be your greatest option if you need something nearby for when you hear glass breaking in the middle of the night. Most gun safes are enormous storage containers that can withstand burglars, fire, and more. As a result, most bedside safes use one of three basic designs (clamshell, drawer, or dropdown) to keep things accessible and small.

Clamshell

The clamshell-type of safe is one of the most well-liked and simple designs. With the additional inconvenience of having to unlock the lid first, opening a clamshell safe is similar to flipping open your brand-new MacBook Pro. Though there are also electronic locking systems available, the best clamshell safes typically rely on mechanical locks.

These safes often offer a lot of storage capacity, several anchor points, solid construction, and some of the safest, most dependable lock options available for bedside safes. Safes of the clamshell shape can be carried around easily, at least if they have a carry handle, but this is not always the case. The most significant drawbacks of this safe type are likely its basic appearance and large size.

Drawer

Incredibly practical, drawer-style bedside safes typically install immediately beneath bedside table tops or fit neatly inside nightstand drawers. The minimum level of movement required to access your firearm is made possible by these horizontal safes that pull out effortlessly. Drawer safes, like clamshell safes, can use either a mechanical lock or an electronic lock.

Drawer safes are frequently quite convenient and have anchor points or cables to keep them fixed in place. The mounting surfaces of drawer-style bedside safes may be a disadvantage. While fastening the safe to your nightstand may make it childproof, a thief may just as easily lift up and move the whole thing when he has more time to try to get into your safe.

Drop-down

The drawer safe naturally evolved into the drop-down nightstand safe. These vertically oriented safes have a lock at the top and a pivot point at the bottom. These safes open up when they are unlocked, exposing a handgun that is ready to be used. Drop-down safes typically use an electronic lock with a key bypass in case you lose your passcode.

Drop-down safes may be the most practical for quick access, but they frequently have a limited number of mounting options because of the inherent security risks of installing any safe to a moving object. In a case where survival is at stake, their (typical) lack of a mechanical lock also leaves them more vulnerable to water damage and electronic malfunctions.

How We Chose Our Top Picks Bedside Gun Safes

An uncommon item that bridges the gap between a basic lockbox and a fireproof, burglar-proof safe is the bedside gun safe. Due to this specific function, we choose to concentrate on safes that offer a balanced mix of high-quality construction materials, anchoring options, simple access, and attack resistance. We looked into how simple it was to pick or otherwise get access to these safes’ locks.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bedside Gun Safes

Are bedside gun safes worth it?

Yes. Although a locked case won’t stop a criminal from taking your pistol (by stealing the case), it acts as a deterrent and considerably minimizes the likelihood of an unauthorized user having access to your handgun while still providing you with easy access. However, due to its size and weight, a gun safe is better suited to deterring theft.

Where should I keep my gun in the bedroom?

It makes sense to put a bedside gun safe close to your sleeping area. To prevent a thief from taking the unopened safe while you’re out on the town, make sure your safe is fastened to a wall, floor, or other sturdy anchor point.

Do biometric gun safes work?

Due to their electrical components’ susceptibility to water damage and potential reliability issues, we advise staying away from biometric gun safes. In order to optimize your ability to access the safe, many biometric safes have relatively lax tolerances for reading fingerprints. Unfortunately, this increases the chance of a false positive reading, allowing someone else to access your firearm.