Are you ever afraid that your home may be broken into at some point? It’s an understandable concern since more than a million break-ins occur each year.
And while there are many ways to secure your home, preventing a potential break-in, few things add more security and peace of mind than knowing you have a firearm that you are trained how to use for self-defense.
But simply owning a gun won’t protect in the event of a home invasion. It needs to be accessible at a moment’s notice. That’s why you need the best bedside gun safe you can get your hands on.
A bedside gun safe gives you access to your firearm the moment you need it. So if you need to protect yourself and your home, you have the ability to do so.
Wondering how to choose the right safe for your needs? Keep reading to discover the most important factors when choosing a bedside safe.
Understand the Importance of a Bedside Gun Safe
There are many different types of gun safes. The most popular are large gun cabinets, that can fit multiple firearms, such as rifles, shotguns, and handguns.
While these are great for general storage, to keep firearms locked up, out of sight, and away from inexperienced shooters, they won’t serve you well in a self-defense situation.
Most people are afraid of home invasions during the night. While uncommon, since most home invasions actually take place during the day, it’s still a possibility.
Thieves always prefer to rob a place when no one is home. If it looks like you are away from your home at night, they may try to break in.
In the unfortunate circumstance, you are home when this happens, you will not have time to go into another room and unlock a gun safe, load one of your firearms, all without alerting the burglar.
Instead, you need a bedside gun safe. These small safes can fit on top, or inside of a nightstand and hold a handgun.
The goal is to keep a loaded handgun in the safe so that it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Bedside gun safes are also super quick to open, so you don’t have to scramble around for a key when you are frazzled. As a result, they can mean the difference between protecting your home or not.
Choosing the Best Bedside Gun Safe
There are so many types of gun safes to choose from. Here’s how to choose a gun safe to keep in your bedroom.
Size
Bedside gun safes are meant to hold a single handgun and magazine. Just make sure to get one with a large enough interior space to hold your specific self-defense gun and additional ammunition.
Opening Method
The best gun safe for you is the one that is easiest to access under stress or when you are half asleep. But it’s important that only you can access the safe, and that children or others will be unable to do so.
It needs to be quick to open, since you may only have a few seconds in an emergency. There are mechanical and biometric opening methods.
A mechanical safe is one that will require manual effort to open, such as inserting a key, entering a passcode, or turning a knob. These tend to be more reliable, as there is less room for failure.
Biometric methods are those that read fingerprints. So if you wake up in the middle of the night and need to open the safe, just put your fingers on the safe. No fumbling around with passcodes when you can hardly open your eyes.
Style
Most gun safes look like, well, gun safes. For the overtly tactical, that might not be a problem.
But for those who appreciate good interior design, and don’t like displaying gun safes, choose a safe that blends into the surroundings of the room. Rather than a tactical black, this might mean a smooth, modern white finish.
You can also choose a safe that fits inside a drawer to keep it out of sight. But make sure the safe opens from the top and allows you to easily open it without removing it from the drawer.
Mounting Options
Mounting your safe is a good idea. Most thieves are familiar with bedside gun safes, and though they can’t open them, they can take the whole thing.
But if it’s mounted to the wall, nightstand, or bed frame, they won’t be able to. Different types of safes have different mounting options, so find one that fits with the layout of your bedroom.
Why You Still Need Another Gun Safe
A bedside gun safe is intended to hold only one handgun, keeping it accessible from your most vulnerable room; the bedroom. But it won’t help you store all of the other firearms that you take with you to the range or go hunting with.
You’ll still need a large gun safe to keep all of these protected.
If you’ve invested quite a bit of money into your firearm collection, or if you have guns with sentimental value, you want the most protection. A fireproof gun safe can protect your valuables in the event of a home fire.
Sure, home insurance could help you replace your guns, but if you have some passed down from multiple generations, these can never be replaced. Check out this fireproof gun safe review for help finding the best fireproof safe.
The best gun safe will be one that fits all of your firearms, keeping them away from children and inaccessible to thieves. A storage cabinet provides heavy-duty protection.
Choose one that can be easily mounted to the wall, to prevent it from tipping over onto anyone.
You can also choose a corner cabinet, which tucks nicely into any corner of your home or basement, keeping it out of the way. An under-the-bed gun safe offers a flat solution, out of sight from potential thieves, for those with a smaller collection.
Keep Them Locked Up
Those who live alone often wonder if they need to bother with a gun safe. After all, who is going to stumble upon the firearms? Well, experienced thieves know that guns are some of the most valuable items to steal and sell.
So even if you don’t have kids at home, keeping your investments safe from theft is vital. And investing in the best bedside gun safe will give you the ability to protect your home in case this were to ever happen.
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