Last Updated: by Jeffrey Huber
Table of contents
Safe technology has come quite a long way since the days of the old bank safe being secured by a gigantic wheel that looked like it belonged on a pirate ship. Today, you can quickly (and almost instantly) unlock a safe with nothing more than your fingerprint provided you have taken the time to research and invest in a high.
When looking at all of the different gun safe solutions available on the market today, it's almost impossible to ignore the highly advanced (and super secure) fingerprint gun safes available right now.
Widely considered being some of the very best of the best as far as gun storage options are concerned (especially those designed for handgun storage that you can almost immediately access an emergency), you would have to be at least a little bit crazy not to consider this option moving forward.
At the same time, you can't just walk into a gun shop and hope to walk away with a high-quality fingerprint safe – there are a handful of key things that you'll want to investigate before you invest in this type of advanced solution.
Here are critical criteria that you cannot afford to overlook.
Are you comfortable using a fingerprint gun safe?
The first thing (but not the most obvious thing) that you’ll want to pay attention to when trying to figure out whether or not a fingerprint also called biometric gun safes is right for you is just how comfortable you are using this kind of technology.
Obviously, there are key speed factors that come into play when you can slap your hand on top of a gun safe, have it instantly read your fingerprints and grant you access – allowing you to deploy your gun in an emergency in milliseconds.
At the same time, there are some who do not feel safe or secure without being able to manually lock their system down (especially those that tend to be at least a little bit forgetful). Now, as a responsible gun owner you will do absolutely everything you can to verify that you have secured your gun – but having that tactile feedback that manual locks give (that a fingerprint safe may not) is a key part of the process.
You're comfort level with your new gun safe is going to dictate just how effectively your able to leverage its particular features.
Restricting access is just as important as granting access
One of the more attractive things you’re going to discover about fingerprint gun safes is that they give you the ability to record multiple verified fingerprint settings so that you can grant access to different people in your home so that they can deploy a gun in an emergency situation as well.
However, some people are a little bit nervous about this kind of feature – after all, what if someone that you trusted decided to use the “administrative power.” granted to them by their inclusion in the fingerprint set up to give someone else access to your box without you knowing it?
Well, you're going to appreciate that most of the advanced fingerprint safes out there allow you to dictate a single “master set” of fingerprints that control all the others. This is going to give you peace of mind you need and deserve to know that you'll be able to restrict access with fingerprints just as easily as you'll be able to grant it.
Make sure that you securely mount your fingerprint gun safe
Another key component that you'll want to factor into your the purchasing decision is how you are going to mount your new gun safe. If you are investing in a handgun only safe, this shouldn't be too terribly difficult as most of them come with mounting brackets – but larger gun safes may require you to get a little bit creative with your approach.
The best car gun safes can come with car specific bracket, universal bracket or just with a strong cable which can be fitted around a fixed strong part of the car (part of the seats for instance).
After all, given enough time (and an endless amount of resources) thieves or criminals will take your safe and crack it at their convenience – unless you have mounted it to a secure surface. This is a step you cannot afford to ignore.
Consider investing in a gun safe that allows you to store ammunition separately
from your guns
The last thing that we are going to touch on in this quick the article is that you should look for fingerprint gun safes that allow you to store your ammunition (in box form or already loaded into magazines) separately from your guns – preferably behind their own fingerprint lock.
This is almost a safe within a safe, and allows you an extra layer of security and confidence that you won't find in options that do not have this unique feature. You'll need to pay a little bit more for this particular setup, but most people that have a gun safe set up this way are appreciative of the extra layer of security that they get to take advantage of.
So long as you pay attention to the details above, you should have no trouble whatsoever finding the best fingerprint gun safe for your needs!
How to buy a high quality fingerprint gun safe
When looking at all of the different gun safe options available on the market today, it’s almost impossible to ignore the highly advanced (and super secure) fingerprint gun safe solutions available right now.
Widely considered to be some of the very best of the best as far as gun storage options are concerned (especially those designed for handgun storage that you can almost immediately access an emergency), you would have to be at least a little bit crazy not to consider this option moving forward.
At the same time, you can't just walk into a gun shop and hope to walk away with a high-quality fingerprint safe – there are a handful of crucial things that you'll want to investigate before you invest in this type of advanced solution.
Here are critical criteria that you cannot afford to overlook.
Are you comfortable using a fingerprint gun safe?
The first thing (but not the most obvious something) that you'll want to pay attention to when trying to figure out whether or not a fingerprint/biometric gun safe is right for you is just how comfortable you are using this kind of technology.
Obviously, there are key speed factors that come into play when you can slap your hand on top of a gun safe, have it instantly read your fingerprints and grant you access – allowing you to deploy your gun in an emergency in milliseconds.
At the same time, there are some who do not feel safe or secure without being Able to manually lock their system down (especially those that tend to be at least a little bit forgetful). Now, as a responsible gun owner you will do absolutely everything you can to verify that you have secured your gun – but having that tactile feedback that manual locks give (that a fingerprint safe may not) is a key part of the process.
You're comfort level with your new gun safe is going to dictate just how effectively your able to leverage its particular features.
Restricting access is just as important as granting access
One of the more attractive things you’re going to discover about fingerprint gun safes is that they give you the ability to record multiple verified fingerprint settings so that you can grant access to different people in your home so that they can deploy a gun in an emergency situation as well.
However, some people are a little bit nervous about this kind of feature – after all, what if someone that you trusted decided to use the “administrative power” granted to them by their inclusion in the fingerprint set up to give someone else access to your box without you knowing it?
Well, you're going to appreciate that most of the advanced fingerprint safes out there allow you to dictate a single “master set” of fingerprints that control all the others. This is going to give you peace of mind you need and deserve to know that you'll be able to restrict access with fingerprints just as easily as you'll be able to grant it.
Make sure that you securely mount your fingerprint gun safe
Another key component that you'll want to factor into your purchasing decision is how you are going to mount your new gun safe. If you are investing in a handgun only safe, this shouldn't be too terribly difficult as most of them come with mounting brackets – but larger gun safes may require you to get a little bit creative with your approach.
The best car gun safes can come with car specific bracket, universal bracket or just with a strong cable which can be fitted around a fixed strong part of the car.
After all, given enough time (and an endless amount of resources) thieves or criminals will simply take your safe and crack it at their convenience – unless you have mounted it to a secure surface. This is a step you cannot afford to ignore.
Consider investing in a gun safe that allows you to store ammunition separately
from your guns The last thing that we are going to touch on in this quick article is that you should look for fingerprint gun safes that allow you to store your ammunition (in box form or already loaded into magazines) separately from your guns – preferably behind their own fingerprint lock.
This is almost a safe within a safe, and allows you an extra layer of security and confidence that you won't find in options that do not have this special feature. You'll obviously need to pay a little bit more for this particular setup, but most people that have a gun safe set up this way are appreciative of the extra layer of security that they get to take advantage of.
How do biometric gun safes work?
Biometric safes are pretty advanced as far as safe technology is concerned
Using the unique identifying information that your body provides (which could be a retinal scan, a facial scan, voice recognition pattern), a biometric access system is easy to use since you’ll never be able to lose the key or forget the combination.
All you have to do is place the identifying bodily object on the biometric scanner and hold it for just a quick second, and the advanced technology and detection algorithms built right in will do the rest of the “heavy lifting” for you.
Provided there is a match to the biometric information on file, the locking mechanism will release and you’ll be able to gain access to the safe much more quickly than you would have been able to otherwise.
Why are biometric gun safe options so popular?
There are many different reasons that biometric safes have become so overwhelmingly popular today, including (but certainly not limited to):
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Almost instant access to your safe without a combination or key
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The ability to “hardcode” biometric information from multiple people to grant access to the same safe
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Instant alarm notification when unauthorized access is attempted
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Almost always built with advanced capabilities (including waterproofing and fireproofing) other safes may not have
The real reason to use a biometric/fingerprint safe option over any other is that you’ll be able to protect your valuables with the kind of securities is simply unable to be cracked – because you (and you alone) are physically in possession of the key at all times just by being yourself.
Anyone that has ever forgotten a combination lost a set of keys and had to call in a locksmith or safecracker – and pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars to gain access to a safe – understands just how valuable this extra layer of simplicity is.
What do I need to focus on what I want to buy a new biometric gun safe?
Buying a gun safe with biometric access the system is shockingly similar to buying any other safe, with a couple of noticeable differences.
For one, you’re going to want to make sure that you are purchasing a biometric safe that includes other locking mechanisms in the event of a digital failure. You’ll want to go with something analogs like a keyed access or a combination lock so that you can still gain access to the contents of your safe should the biometric sensors fail.
Secondly, you’ll want to make sure that you are investing in a high qualitysafe that is designed and engineered with security and safety in mind first and foremost. Too many of the otherwise great biometric safes out there right now are designed for ease and convenience, which is a bit of a double-edged sword when it comes to protecting your valuables.
Do you want to have ease and convenience pop into your mind when you are talking about protecting the things that are most valuable to you? Not too many would.
Next, you should look into a safe that has the kind of capacity that you can use right now (this very minute) as well as room to grow into in the future. Too many people and a purchasing a safe that seems like it’s going to be more than enough for your current needs, not anticipating the fact that your needs will change in the future.
Unless you want to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on safes all the the time you’ll want to buy something that you can continue to leverage with a bit of extra space.
Hopefully now you’ll be able to invest in a high quality biometric/fingerprint safe that you never have to worry about!
So long as you pay attention to the details above, you should have no trouble whatsoever finding the best fingerprint gun safe for your needs!
Jeffrey is a 35-year-old self-confessed gun nut who enjoys guns after the very first trip to the shooting range when he was 17 years old. Currently, he works in the firearms industry while in his free time shares his knowledge with everyone who desire to find his perfect gun.