Introduction:
If you’re concerned about gun safety around your home, and don’t want to or don’t have the room to implement a gun safe, then a nightstand gun safe might be for you. You may have kids and don’t want them to harm themselves by using your firearm without your supervision, in which a safe is crucial for you and your family.
Specifically, the nightstand gun safes are designed so that you can access your firearm quickly if you need it in a hurry, and can keep your valuables and handguns safe when they’re not in use. Below, we will look into some of the best nightstand gun safes that you can buy to store your firearms to keep you and your family safe. All the safes are different sizes, so make sure you measure your firearm first before buying a nightstand safe.
VAULTEK VT2OI Biometric Firearm Safe
With most nightstand/handgun safes, you will only be able to fit small firearms in them such as handguns or snub-nosed small firearms. This safe from VAULTEK is one of their top of the line gun safes, that has many features that make it a very impressive gun safe. If you wish to store ammunition or magazines in the safe, the chances are you will be able to fit them in this along with your handgun too.
Most commonly, these safes are used for general defense should you need to protect your family and if this is the case, then chances are you will need access to it quickly. Unfortunately, biometric locks are still fairly slow, but maybe quicker than conventional keypad locks. With that being said, there is a very slim chance of your fingerprint being used to open this, which means you are well protected. On the topic of protection, this handgun safe does not have any protection from fire or water, so this should be considered if you want to protect against those elements.
When you buy the safe, you will receive a few other neat features and products including the rechargeable battery pack for the safe. These will last around 3-4 months before needing to be charged again, but it does also have a wired plug should you wish to use this. Another part you will get is the 5mm cable for anchoring the safe, which is around 4ft long, so someone can’t just run away with the safe if you plan to store it without mounting it to a wall or floor directly. As the safe is small, it does have a 16-gauge carbon steel shell, meaning it’s very difficult to just smash or pry it open. With that being said, it does round the weight of the safe up to around 10lbs, which means you could use a handgun safe portable as well.
To round up, the VAULTEK VT2OI is a great option for a safe if you want something that is well protected, easy to access and discreet. It’s not too expensive and does provide a great deal of security to stop people from accessing the valuables within.
SentrySafe Quick Access Biometric Safe
Another biometric safe on this list, the SentrySafe Quick Access Biometric Safe is one of the more well-designed nightstand safes. Unlike the VAULTEK above, this biometric lock is very fast-reacting and as soon as it reads your fingerprint, it will spring the door open to allow for you to grab the firearm within. Saying that, there is also a manual override key should your fingerprint fail to open the safe, or if the fingerprint scanner fails to read your fingerprint. As ever, the SentrySafe has a manual override key should you get locked out!
As with most of the safes in this list, the SentrySafe is great at keeping your valuables and firearms safe and away from children and others. With that being said, the biometric lock will deal with any unauthorized people, but when you put your finger on the scanner, a small but special gas piston will push against the lid and push the door open, giving you near-instantaneous access to your firearm, and in-home invasions, seconds can count.
Speaking of home invasions, this safe is fairly portable but is very rugged. Its shell is forged using 12-gauge steel, which is a little stronger than the VAULTEK above, meaning that it’s near impossible to pry or brute force your way into the safe using a pry-bar. On the reverse side, the interior is lined with a very soft foam lining, which ensures your firearms and valuables are not damaged if moving around often. The inside, unfortunately, doesn’t include a light, which might want to be added if you plan on storing this in a dark place, or if you want to prepare for possible night usage.
Overall, the SentrySafe Quick Access Biometric safe is definitely a contender with some of the best nightstand safes, however, if you were planning to use this on a wall or floor, unfortunately, it can’t be directly mounted or anchored, but you could definitely design something to hold them safe in place.
GunVault MVB500 Biometric Pistol Nightstand Gun Safe
This nightstand safe is a compact but feature-rich gun safe that allows you for quick access to your firearms wherever you may be. As this is compact, GunVault has designed this for both home usage as well as portable usage, meaning it can be used pretty much anywhere you like. Like others in this list, the GunVault MVB500 has a very simple design, but a very unique locking system that others on this list don’t have.
The locking system on the GunVault MVB500 is a full-hand finger scanner. This safe uses an incredibly secure biometric coding to gain access to the firearm inside. Within seconds of scanning your fingerprints, the biometric lock will open the safe for you allowing you to defend your family, home or if you want to see the handgun. Should the biometric lock fail, don’t worry – you also receive a manual override key that is underneath the safe.
As with other safes on this list, the GunVault MVB500 has been built with a very sturdy, heavy-gauge steel plate, and this can also be anchored using the included thick steel anchoring cable for a well-protected safe. As for the inside, similar to the other safes in this list, the MVB500 has a soft, scratch preventing foam lining to prevent scratches and damage to your firearm and or valuables. Along with this, GunVault overthrow it’s competitors with an outstanding 5-year warranty service as standard, which is extra peace of mind when you buy this gun safe.
All in all, with it’s a 5-year warranty, outstanding security, and fast access, the GunVault MVB500 Biometric Nightstand gun safe is a great option for people who want a secure, sleek and portable gun safe. This is quite cost-effective too, meaning that you can give it a go without splashing out on others!
GunVault GV1000s Mini Vault Standard Gun Safe
Another safe from GunVault is there ‘Mini Vault’. As suggested by the name, this is a little bigger than the standard nightstand safe, but can still fit under your bed, or in your nightstand. The GV1000s is a compact, but well-secured nightstand safe that can be installed under a tabletop, desktop, shelf and can even be considered to be a portable gun safe. The mounting plates are included by GunVault when you buy the safe.
Opening the gun safe is a little different than others in this list. It has a front drop-down door that can be opened by an electronic 4-button keypad. A neat feature that GunVault has thought about is its ability to open the safe without looking at the keypad. The Keypad has raised numbers, meaning you can look away from the safe whilst opening it secretly should you need to. Even though you shouldn’t need to replace the batteries all too often, in the event of battery or keypad error, there are two manual override keys you can use to gain access to the safe. The safe takes a single 9-volt battery.
As for the build of this nightstand safe, it’s a very sturdy gun safe being built out of 16-gauge steel making the safe very difficult to smash or pry open. If you want to mount this safe, as mentioned above all the mounting plates are included when you buy the safe and installation can take less than 15 minutes. As with the other GunVault safe, they’ve also provided a very strong warranty on this safe too, lasting 5 years from the date of the purchase, which is a lot longer than normal nightstand gun safes, and gun safes in general.
Overall, GunVault has come in again with a great safe which is affordable and can be relied upon for a very long time. With the sturdiness of the safe and keypad locking mechanism, mot to mention the 5-year warranty, you can rest assured this safe will last a long while and meet your expectations flawlessly.
Fort Knox FTK-PB
As the name suggests, this next one is truly Fort Knox. The FTK-PB has is very reliable and is very easy to access with its mechanical buttons that allow you to open the safe for around 1.5 seconds. Dualed up with the turning know to allow for access means you can unlock the gun safe, although it still looks locked for even faster access, although this is not recommended when around younger children.
As we mentioned above, the Fort Knox FTK-PB is fortified with 3/16” steel doors and a 10-gauge shell. It goes without saying that this safe weighs significantly more than other safes on this list (20lbs), you can rest assured that this safe won’t go down without a fight. It has rounded corners that are pry-proof and brute force won’t get you in this safe. On the inside, it has a super-soft foam lining that stays strong even after damage to it, but you can rest assured that your firearm and valuables are safe and protected from scratches within the safe.
Along with this, the safe is very reliable, no corners have been cut as the safe is made in America and doesn’t need batteries, unlike others. With that being said, this also means that you don’t need to worry about it making a noise such as a beep or reading errors that could alert an intruder to what you are doing.
Although the Fort Knox FTK-PB is a little more on the expensive side for these safes, you are definitely paying for the protection. Along with this, you are also getting a lifetime warranty which is great for peace of mind.
GunVault SpeedVault
Another GunVault contender, the speed vault is definitely a nightstand safe that allows you for the quickest access. Because of how the speed vault works, the angle suggests that it should be mounted underneath a desk but allows for supersonic access.
As this is a specific vault for a handgun, it’s recommended that it can fit a full-sized 1911 style handgun, but this doesn’t limit it to only this model. Some Glocks will also fit in it, but you should always double-check before purchasing.
Although it’s a lot smaller than other safes in this list, the SpeedVault has tight fittings and a very thick steel plate which meets most people’s needs for protecting their firearm. Along with this, the security on the keypad means there are 12 million combinations, so getting into it that way is probably not going to happen. With that being said, as always there is a manual override key should you forget the combination.
Conclusion
No matter the reason you want to use a nightstand gun safe, there should be one on this list that suits your needs perfectly. Whether it be fast access from the likes of GunVault or VAULTEK or uncontested security from your safe like the GunVault Mini Vault, then one of the safes on this list should work for you.