Gun safety is an important consideration for any gun owner. Let’s put this in perspective: from 2006 through 2016, there were almost 6,900 people in the United States that died from accidental or unintentional shootings. Most accidental gun deaths occur in people under 25 years of age.
Are biometric gun safes reliable? In general, all gun safes are only as reliable as the owner who is securing the guns inside. For biometric gun safes, in particular, a lot of people worry about malfunctions that will prevent them from accessing their guns.
The overall decision of how reliable biometric gun safes are is something that must be made by the individual. While these types of safes are very advanced, they can also come with their own set of problems. It will all depend on if the pros outweigh the cons for you.
There has never been a question that gun owners should want to secure their guns. An option on the market that might help curb these unnecessary and heartbreaking deaths is the biometric gun safe.
The biometric gun safes come in different sizes and configurations. An examination of biometric gun safe options and their reliability follows. It is a useful topic that all gun owners should consider. Keep reading to learn more about the reliability of this category of gun safes.
Are Biometric Gun Safes Reliable?
When it comes to the reliability of biometric gun safes, there are a number of factors to consider.
Biometric Gun Safe Reliability:
- Where it is stored
- Who is operating it
- Advanced technology
- Prone to malfunctions
Wherever the gun owner stores the weapon at home is most important; the choice determines how safe the residence is for those living there, as well as the safety of visitors.
The same is true for business owners who feel they need to keep a gun on their premises. For many, guns ensure protection. Guns just help make folks feel safe.
However, any guns that are not stored securely or safely will likely cause some anxiety for the owner. Let’s suppose a small corner market owner experienced threats.
The owner has a solid right to demand protection as well as protections for employees and shoppers. Yet, the act of simply shoving a gun in a drawer under the counter does not seem quite right.
Perhaps keeping the gun in a safe under the counter is a better choice. After all, how certain is the storeowner that his employees won’t respect its power? Or worse, a shopper might do or say something that makes an employee feel threatened.
What if the worker responds by drawing the gun from the drawer? It is almost certain the employee has been instructed on the use of firearms, but one can never be absolutely sure that there won’t be an incident.
A credible threat, a person who pulls a knife or gun on the worker, would probably be met with an equivalent—but possibly more deadly—response.
We would expect a similar response by the homeowner whose family is endangered. A strange noise or maybe voices heard outside the door, sounds, people lurking around, these would raise concerns by the gun owner.
Maybe the homeowner experienced a break-in or a threat in the past; we would expect that he or she feels safer with a gun in a dresser drawer. Yet, is keeping an unsecured gun a safe measure.
And is it fairly quick to find? A gun owner doesn’t need to be rummaging through a drawer under these circumstances. Perhaps there is a safer way to store and retrieve a gun.
A gun safe, generally, is the best place to store guns. The gun safe should be used exclusively for firearms. Gun safes, typically, are reliable gun storage units. Children and others visiting a home or place of business have no reason to be given access to a gun safe.
A problem with a typical key or combination safe, however, is that access is slow. A gun owner, then, might ask, “Are biometric gun safes reliable?”
The biometric gun safe, on first glance, seems as though it would satisfy the needs for quick access and reliability. The safe would be (or, should be) considered the appropriate spot for firearms.
There shouldn’t be other items in the safe that might require one to hurriedly sort through stuff. No birth certificates, registrations, will or trust. Why? Because the gun safe is only for guns.
Instead of having to find a key or remember a combination, the gun safe provides really quick access. Imagine the gun owner who’s tasked with needing to retrieve a firearm quickly.
The person is probably alarmed, frightened, maybe quite terrified. Even under the best (normal) circumstances, we don’t always remember exactly where we put the key.
Nor do we quickly recall the series of numbers for a combination lock. And, if the sequence of numbers need to be entered after one or two turns of a dial – how many turns must be made?
Consider this: wouldn’t it be quicker to use a gun safe that doesn’t require the owner to memorize information? It is undeniably the case that a gun safe that requires just one metric—usually one’s fingerprint or facial recognition—would be so effortless.
The biometric gun safe seems a lot like certain cell phones we use. We simply hold the phone up to our face or place a pre-designated finger upon a pad. How beautifully simple!
The gun owner might wonder, though, is there another way I can open the safe? What if my finger or my hand is shaking? Is there another way to get in?
For example, the cell phone can accept what is called a two-factor authentication, usually a number. Is there a similar system associated with a biometric gun safe? All excellent questions!
Biometric Gun Safes: Pros and Cons
The ideal way to learn about the positive or negative aspects of the biometric gun safe is to consult an expert. Absent a gun safe expert, go online. Most sites won’t be comprehensive, so it is best to consult a few.
Therefore, the following discussion (using the search words ‘Best Biometric Gun Safes’) is a compilation of information from several Internet sites.
Pros of Biometric Gun Safes:
- Small and mobile
- Fingerprint sensors
- Advanced technology
- Mobile app feature
Most of the pistol or handgun safes reviewed are small enough to fit in a drawer, but there are some that can be anchored to a floor of sit in a cupboard.
Some of the safes are well designed with interiors appropriately sized to fit a handgun. While not always fireproof, these few safes are made of strong gauge steel. There were two safes available in several sizes, which is good for the multi-gun owner.
One brand offered a small size that can fit in a drawer, and there are two other sizes that can fit in a large cupboard or be bolted to a floor. Anchoring the larger safes worked well only for those with higher gauge steel.
Two or more of the models could anchor to the wall. This is a good feature in case of flood. Flooding, especially if a safe is bolted to the floor of a basement, would ruin most safes as well as their contents.
While one of the handgun safes was certified by the F.B.I. because of its ‘superior’ fingerprint sensor, this safe also uses 3-D imaging for detection that is said to be of high quality. The other safes included keys and/or a number pad as another accessibility measure.
The biometrics capacity with all safes included more than just one unique fingerprint. Most safes provided for between twenty up to fifty different or unique prints. This is helpful, supposedly, when used in business because such a feature proves to accommodate accessibility for many employees.
Some other positive features about the safes, they include a shelf, doors that automatically lock when closed, key code bypass systems, LED or other lighting, and fireproofing. Vulnerability for fire would be an issue, especially if the owner stores bullets in the safe.
Finally, there is one type of gun safe that includes an app for your phone.
One wonders why an app, but after much pondering (or maybe just a little for some people) you might recall the store owner or the business person who might worry that an employee opened the safe but didn’t think to close it. What an effective feature!
Now the safe can be closed from afar. The gun owner can track the safe (opening and closing) in the same way you can check your front door with a camera. The redundancy is a great idea!
Cons of Biometric Gun Safes:
- Made of thin steel
- Lack of fireproofing
- Fingerprint malfunctions
The majority of safes are made from thin gauge steel. This design might serve a purpose for ease and mobility, but the result is a flimsy and cheap-looking safe.
In fact, many safes reviewed originate from China, and one reviewer specifically noted the vulnerability of thin low-end steel construction. The reviewer noted the reason is due to recycling (a reader, though, is unsure if it is the steel that is recycled, or the design).
Interestingly, some of the names of handgun safes allude to security: Fortress, Viking, Vault, and Defender. While these names might conjure up a sense of security for the gun owner, these safes can be compromised really fast.
A simple key fob or a couple of cheap and simple tools and just a minute or two is all it takes to break in.
Another safe, unbelievably, comes with an app so the owner can open it remotely. While apps are great, and we can suppose it might be a good way to ensure that the safe is truly locked, there does not seem to be much more to it. Supposedly, some people might consider an app a flashy and innovative perk.
Generally, the problems noted were lack of fireproofing and dark inside compartments.
Also, there are two biometric access types. One is similar to the cell phone because the gun safe owner can simply press the proper finger onto the biometric-reading window. This is called an image reader.
The other type of reader is called a capacitive scanner static reader. One swipes the finger in either the right or left direction, moving the finger across the scanning window or plate. Sometimes the swipe reader doesn’t work with accuracy.
In fact, a misreading probability of a print using the static reader is fairly high.
The Features of a Biometric Gun Safe
Features of a biometric gun safe are generally pretty simple in that there is a biometric reader. Specifically, an image reader for simple finger placement reading or a capacitive scanner static reader that identifies the gun owner by way of a swiping motion of the finger.
Biometric Gun Safe Features:
- Fingerprint scanner
- Backup access feature
- Redundancies
However, the other features that act as back-up access, or redundancy, are extraordinarily smart.
The redundancies are pretty cool and they are useful. Here’s why: the older style gun safes typically used a tumbler assembly as the locking device. This type of lock is like a bicycle lock or a lock one takes to the gym.
The second older style gun safe locking or security device typically used for locks was a key (most of this type offered two keys). Many of these safes are still in existence, of course, because they were made with high-end parts and stronger gauge steel.
There is a type of gun safe that uses 3-dimensional imaging. The 3-D technology provides for superior biometric detection than most models. This is a real plus, especially in a situation where the user is nervous or shaky.
One thing a gun owner must insist upon is that the gun safe will open readily if there is a threat or emergency that requires one to protect people and/or property.
This next feature is not terribly positive. One of the gun safes includes lots of buttons. Their purpose isn’t obvious. But here’s the real problem: the buttons are along the sides of the opening/closure. These buttons, also, are attached with some cheap plastic fittings.
It turns out that the fittings hide holes that pass through the steel so that if you rip off the plastic you have access to the lip openings. With enough pressure and the right tool, this seemingly secure model is really pretty vulnerable.
Finally, one model offered an alarm. This is a great feature for any gun owner because an alarm will alert the owner if there is a child attempting to gain access. Supposedly, the alarm will alert the gun owner if anybody is successful in his or her attempt to open the safe.
Are Biometric Gun Safes Worth It (Honestly)?
Biometric gun safes are worth the price for most people, honestly.
Biometric Gun Safe Price Range:
- $200 (low end)
- $500 (high end)
The more expensive handgun safes range from about $200 to over $500 dollars. This is the cost for the type of biometric gun safe that houses handguns. One might consider $500 dollars a huge expense for a safe, but here’s the rationale.
First, handguns are not cheap. Most handguns range (on average) $500-$900 dollars. Once a person purchases a handgun, they invest time and more money.
Monetarily, the owner needs to buy boxes of bullets, a cleaning kit, licensing fees, possible training fees, and there are various other maintenance costs, as well.
A gun safe protects the gun as well as the costs and fees associated with its use. Most gun owners own more than one gun. That compounds the investment. Keeping a gun or more than one gun in the safe is worth the cost of buying the safe.
Second, although a gun safe’s use is particular to guns, people do place other valuable items in their safes. People do store important papers in their gun safes.
Many of the larger gun safes are not easily transported—they can be large and heavy—and the gun owner will often choose a spot for important papers. Jewelry, coins, and other precious items are sometimes placed in a gun safe. The owner will want to ensure their safety.
Another reason a biometric safe is worth its cost is to provide a good layer of protection and quick access to the gun if it’s every needed.
Gun owners can’t always recall combinations and they might forget where their safe key is. But with a biometric gun safe, the combination and key is the owner. That key is you. But there is one caution the gun owner needs to know.
Because the biometric technology typically has capacity to hold several unique readings, the gun owner should program more than one finger into the system.
Why? What if your finger gets cut, or what if a dog bites the only finger the biometric scanner knows. Inputting another unique personality, probably one from the other hand, is a smart idea.
Finally, a biometric gun safe is worth its cost several times over because of its unique abilities to protect anybody who shouldn’t have access to it. This is an important point, and you probably know to whom is referred here.
A biometric gun safe is a best choice for gun owners who might have children in the home or on the premises where the safe is kept.
There shouldn’t really be an argument here. Friends and family members, especially children, are the gun owner’s most valued and most loved treasures. A biometric gun safe helps ensure they are kept safe.