Gun safe

A gun safe is a secure and protective storage container for one or more firearms, and, or ammunition for those guns. Gun safes are primarily used to prevent access to unauthorized or unqualified persons, for burglary protection, and, in more capable safes, to protect the contents from damage during a flood, fire, or natural disaster. Access prevention is required by law in many places, necessitating a gun lock, metal gun cabinet, or gun safe. Gun safes have largely replaced the gun cabinets made of fine stained wood with etched glass fronts used for display that were commonly used decades ago, although some gun safes are made to resemble such gun cabinets.

Gun safes may include additional security features such as fire or water protection, combination lock, digital lock, and fingerprint identification.

Electronic locks as well as mechanical locks are available on many models of safes. The highest reliability exists for mechanical locks, although they are often more time consuming to open than electronic locks. Some mechanical combination locks have key locks, too, that lock the combination lock dial from turning, thereby precluding casual attempts by anyone with physical access to the safe from trying multiple combinations in the hopes of unlocking the safe.

Some safes use live locking bolt technology and pry resistant metal to ensure the secure protection of its contents against forced entry. Some safes provide only protection against smash and grab burglary and unwanted access from young family members at home or outside, while other safes provide additional protection against fire and flood and other natural disasters.

Vault doors are available for creating walk-in gun safes or vaults in a dedicated room or gun armory in one's home. Such rooms are also sometimes used as a dual-use gun safe or panic room, or even as a dedicated shelter for use in the case of a tornado or hurricane.

Gun safes with a carved wood exterior (furniture safes) serve a primarily decorative purpose and resemble old gun cabinets used for displaying weapons in the past. Design characteristics may include wood veneer and very thick tempered glass.

Some gun safes are designed to be hidden from obvious view. False walls with hinges located at one end of closets are also sometimes used to hide gun safes, although simply installing a gun safe in an existing closet with a door that closes can achieve much of the same advantages to prevent intruders from becoming aware of the existence of a gun safe.

All Australian states require that firearms must be locked in steel cabinets or safes, although wooden safes 'deemed not easily penetrable' are allowed for Category A and B weapons in all states, apart from Western Australia. In most states, the law states that the ammunition (and bolt if readily removed), must be stored either in a separate safe or in a separate locked section of the safe. It is a legal requirement that the safe is bolted to the wall or floor (with exceptions in most states for safes with a mass of greater than 150 kilograms). In addition, shooters in Western Australia must have double locks on their safes if the swinging edge of the door is greater than 500 mm and less than 1500 mm. Additional locks are required for safes with a swinging edge greater than 1500 mm. Police may inspect the storage facility before issuing a licence, and will make random checks to ensure that legislation is being complied with. The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia endorses this policy with its "Secure your gun, Secure your sport" campaign to increase firearm safety and prevent theft.

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Wikipedia