Recommended Floor Safes:

A few posts back, I went into a bit of detail discussing the benefits of a wall safe, and one of the primary perks is easy concealment.  Now, if you read the article, you may also remember that I recommended not storing anything terribly valuable in them because, in most cases, if a burglar really wanted to, it’s quite feasible that he could simply pry the unit out of the wall and run off with it.  A floor safe provides the best of both worlds; it offers the potential for incredible concealment, and can be extremely difficult to break into, remove, burn or flood.  If installed properly, a floor safe can be a fantastic home security investment.

The majority of these safes, like the Sentry 7250, are built with the option to mount the unit to the surface of a concrete or wooden floor.  Though I can’t exactly blame the manufacturers for offering this configuration as an option, I think it’s pretty darn ridiculous.  If all you plan to do is anchor it to the floor, you might as well buy a cheap gun safe with better security, access, and capacity for the same price.  In my humble opinion, you’re only benefiting from the product if you opt for the in floor safe installation.  Choose a low traffic concrete section of your basement or garage where you want to place the safe, and start shopping (or digging if you already bought it).

Last summer, I neglected to address my dying sump pump, and…let’s just say I’m glad I wasn’t hiding any important financial records under my basement floor.  First and foremost, I would highly recommend seeking out a waterproof safe (technically – water resistant), like the previously mentioned Sentry 7250.  Water is the most likely cause of damage to the contents of a floor safe.  If it were me, I’d take it one step further, and secure any documents or photos in a waterproof bag within the safe as well.

You’ll also want to consider a model with some muscle.  If your average burglar happens to move your large piece of furniture and carpet under which you’ve placed your safe, most likely he’ll begrudgingly walk away from it when he sees that it’s mounted in two feet of solid concrete.  Of course, if he’s schooled in the black arts, came with the right set of tools, or he found your sledgehammer in the corner, he may just decide to take a shot at it.  If this is the case, you’re going to want a safe with some extra security features.  American Security makes a beefy home floor safe; their B2200 is crowned with a UL Group II lock, a punch resistant relocking device, a dead bar to prevent a pry attack (even if the hinges are yanked off), and a B+ rated door (.75″ of solid steel).  This safe in particular also offers fire protection backed by a lifetime warranty.  Amsec home floor safes tend to cost a bit more than average (~$600 for the B2200), but solid steel, concrete, and fire proofing are a pretty darn good combination.

Unless you’re going to shell out several thousand dollars on a big ticket gun safe like a Liberty National Security or a Fort Knox Legend, a well constructed, carefully hidden floor safe is going to offer you the greatest security for your smaller valuables.  Of course, they have their cons.  First of all, as I just mentioned, they’re relatively tiny.  Unless you’re going with a custom build or plan on planting these suckers all over your foundation, you’re going to have to be very selective on what you choose to hide in these compact craters.  They’re definitely not gun friendly.

Even if you could fit a few rifles in your safe, you’re sure as poopfire not going to be able to get to them quickly in an emergency.  As I mentioned before, a lot of these floor safes are very rugged on their own, but if they’re not installed within a concrete foundation, or stupidly left out in plain site, you’re just asking for trouble.  The bottom line is, floor safes aren’t designed for casual access – don’t store anything in it that you wouldn’t bury in a time capsule…you get the point.

To wrap it up, they’re great if you invest in solid water and theft protection, take the time to install them properly in the floor, away from easy access, and accept ahead of time that you won’t be storing your everyday valuables.  If you’re cool with all of that, they’re pretty darn slick.

Homak In The Wall Gun Safe

I’ve covered Homak products quite a bit on this site, mainly focusing on the cheap cost and relatively weak constitution associated with them.  Their in wall gun safe is no exception, however, ironically, I have to hand it to Homak for their development of this product.  First of all, it will only run you around $120, which is a very inexpensive way to keep your children out of your guns.  Secondly, it’s been built with a universally appealing, simple design.  It only weighs 50 lbs and can be fit in between nearly any set of studs, and the depth is just over 3″, so it’ll likely fit anywhere.  But my favorite part is that its 57″ height will allow you to comfortably store up to three rifles and shotguns.  A long gun, as opposed to a handgun, will almost always give you a tactical advantage during a home invasion.  The only issue I have with this model is that it’s opened by keyed entry, which still allows for quick access, only you must be sure that you always know where the keys are – especially in the dark.

Mesa Adjustable Wall Safe

Mesa’s wall gun safe offers a lot of pretty slick features for a relatively low price ($139).  First of all, as its name suggests, it gives you the option of not only convertible shelving, but adjustable depth as well.  This will sit back in your wall anywhere from 3 1/4″ to 6″, depending on your preference.  And unlike the aforementioned Homak, the Mesa is opened using an electronic lock combination, potentially cutting the time it takes to open it in half.  The only negative feature of this safe, in my opinion, is the height.  The Homak gun safe gives you the ability to easily store a full length rifle.  At 19 1/2″, you aren’t given that option with the Mesa.  However, this still offers significantly more space than the majority of other wall safes on the market.  You could easily store a short barreled UZI, a bull pup carbine like the FN P90, or even a 5.56 chambered “pistol” like the Bushmaster Carbon 15 series.  All fun is not lost.

Secure Logic Wall Vault ETL 20700

This biometric wall safe kind of goes against what I’ve been preaching in regards to the advantage of being able to store a rifle or shotgun in a readily available location, as the dimensions of this safe wouldn’t allow it.  That said, I had to include it on this list because they’re just so darn cool.  The safe sits nearly flush with your wall allowing you to easily conceal it with a mirror or a painting should you desire.  Of course, with the it’s lovely brushed stainless steel finish, why would you ever want to cover it up?  The safe uses fingerprint reading biometric technology to allow entry.  Short of leaving the door wide open, fingerprint safes are by far the quickest way to get to your guns out from behind closed doors.

And speaking of the door, when you unlock it with the swipe of your finger, the flush door drops down like magic instead of swinging open.  Aside from the novelty, this allows for a little more flexibility.  To add to the coolness factor, the ETL 20700 includes a secret compartment to stow away hidden documents.  I know what I said about a thief finding a hidden wall safe and ripping it out from the wall, but isn’t that still awesome?  I mean…secret hiding places, man!

The major downsides to this model is the price and the small capacity.  If you want this Secure Logic safe, you’ll likely be spending in the neighborhood of $350, and though it will hold a couple good sized handguns, there’s no way you’re fitting a 12 gauge in there (unless it’s of the AOW sawed off variety).  Nevertheless, if you do decide to pick one of these up, let me know, so I can come over to your house and play with it.

Recommended Wall Safes:

Sorry for the cheesy title, but there isn’t much that can make you feel cooler than pushing a painting aside, swiping your finger over a biometric fingerprint scanner, and pulling a ready to rack Benelli M4 out a secret hole in your wall.  That Hollywood action-flick dream can become a reality with with the magic of a wall safe (that and $1500 to buy a new Benelli Super 90).  Let my explain what I intend to do in this post.  First, in my typical fashion, I’m going to tell you what I don’t like about wall safes, particularly for valuables, then I’m going to tell you what I do like.

Cons

The number one reason why I’m not a big fan of wall safes is that no matter how well you disguise the safe, no matter how thick the steel is, and no matter how advanced the locking mechanism on the door, if a thief finds it, all he has to do is rip it out of the wall, walk out the door, and figure out how to open it on is own terms.  Sure, it’s mounted between two studs…it doesn’t matter.  There are professional burglars across America cracking complicated locks, prying open 500 lb safe doors, and punching holes in 3/16″ solid steel on a near daily basis – if you don’t think there’s a chance they’re going to bother going through the trouble of ripping that sucker out of the wall, I think you’re wrong.

One could make a valid argument that they can’t rip it from the wall if they can’t find it, or that it would be extremely difficult to remove it from a wall constructed from concrete, reinforced plating, and mounted to steel beams, and I would agree with this argument.  However, I think that if you were going to go through that kind of trouble and expense, you’d be better off buying a full sized gun safe, anchoring it to the floor, and covering it up with false walls for concealment (false walls really aren’t a bad idea in any case).  There’s certainly a time and a place for elaborate wall embedded security solutions, but they’re typically found in an office, or a bank setting.  I just hate to see people spending absurd amounts of money on gun safes with extraordinary security features, when in most cases, there’s really no point.

Pros

Now, onto what I like.  In almost any home defense situation, you’re going to be better off armed with a rifle or a shotgun (I personally prefer a shotgun).  That’s not to say a pistol is no good – it certainly is – with a long gun, however, you tend to have more firepower, higher capacity, better accuracy, and for you tactical geeks out there, more efficient modifications.  Of course, none of this boasts any real advantage if you can’t access your weapon in a moment’s notice.  You can’t fit an AR-15 in the pistol safe under your nightstand, and you’re putting your children in serious danger if you just leave it out.  If only there was a way to lock it up inside your bedroom wall…

There are a few wall safes available on the market that make it possible to gain quick access to long guns and SMGs, while also providing the convenience of concealment – burglars may not find it at all, and you don’t have to look at it all day when you’re not using it.  This may sound like I’m reaching for content, but I think that another benefit of a wall safe is that it can potentially distract burglars from your most expensive valuables.  Let’s assume you have a $5000 Liberty Presidential gun safe in your basement loaded with cash, documents linking you to tax evasion, and the bulk of your gun collection…stuff you don’t want anyone getting into.  A Presidential can fend off a serious attack on its own, but if the burglars don’t discover it in the first place, even better.  If they find the wall safe first, and get greedy, chances are they’ll spend so much time uprooting it from you wall that they won’t even think to look for anything else.  Yeh, you’re out a shotgun, some rounds, and have a huge hole in your wall, but you won’t have any fear of being blackmailed by the thieves who stole your tax forms.

For all practical purposes, I see a wall safe as two things: a way to have a killer bedroom arsenal while keeping your kids safe, and a great distraction to keep burglars out of your real valuables.  As far as firearm storage is concerned, I wouldn’t even mess with a pistol wall safe.  You’re better off with a personal biometric gun safe next to your bed.  I recommend a relatively inexpensive wall safe with a size adequate enough to hold a long gun, protected by either a keypad or a biometric scanner (let me know if you find a rifle wall safe with a fingerprint scanner).  I’m not totally against keyed entry wall safes, you just don’t want to spend too much time fishing for keys in a disoriented state.  I understand if you’d rather cover the safe up with a picture, or a light piece of furniture, but just make sure you can move it in a hurry.  And if you’re going with the distraction tactic mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t even bother hiding it.

Make sure that before you buy any of these you measure twice first.  Not all homes are the same.  Typically, your studs will be spaced 16 inches apart, and the majority of wall safes are built accordingly.  This, however, isn’t always the case.  You’ll also want to consider the depth of the safe versus the thickness of your wall.  You don’t want this sucker falling out the back.

Now that you know where I stand, here are a few of my favorite wall safes.