When you’re ready to invest in a home or gun safes, you want to make sure you’re spending your hard earned money wisely. But with so many brands out there, how can you be sure you’re choosing a reputable one? We’re here to help. We’ve compiled a list of the top four U.S. safe manufacturers. We based our ratings on:
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Each company’s time in the gun safe industry
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The level of security their safes offer
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And the accuracy of their fire ratings
Before we start our list though, it’s important to know one thing: we’re recommending the safe models these companies build here, in the U.S. All manufacturers import to some degree, some heavily, but imported safes (safes made in China and Mexico) often can’t meet the standards of qualities found in U.S.-built models. So, as we make our recommendations, remember: we’re talking about gun safes made in the USA.
After a lot of research, here’s our list in alphabetical order:
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American Security
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Browning
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Fort Knox
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Liberty Safe
AMSEC
American Security (also known as AMSEC) is definitely among the best in the industry. The brand offers two main types of safes: RSCs and TL-rated safes. RSC stands for Residential Security Container. As the name suggests, these are designed for residential use. TL-rated safes are intended for commercial use; they typically weigh much more than residential models, and they cost significantly more too.
AMSEC has been building commercial safes for over 70 years, and residential safes for about 30. The company is serious about fire testing. It has products that have been verified for fire endurance by Underwriters Laboratories, or U.L. This is a third-party group that verifies product claims.
While many of AMSEC’s RSC safes are imported, their U.S. models are well built, with a more traditional design. Their TL-rated products are heavy-duty cement-lined safes. They’re designed to withstand determined professional thieves. Both types give you a premium product that’s built right here in the United States.
Browning
Browning is famous for their quality firearms, but hey also lend their brand name to safes manufactured by a company called ProSteel. ProSteel has been making safes for over 40 years. The Browning brand of safes are known for the quality of its American-made models, and its patented door organization system. Plenty of safe companies offer handgun storage in the door. Browning’s design however actually let’s you to store long guns in the door.
Browning’s U.S. safes also offer solid fire protection. They feature fire-board arranged in an interlocking design. This design minimizes gaps in the fire-board that can lead to hotspots inside your safe.
Fort Knox
Fort Knox has been in business for over 30 years. This is another company that builds to a high standard. For example, they use both internal and external welds, reinforcing what is often a weak point on safe bodies. Fort Knox also focuses on fire resistance. They use precision fire-board cuts for better coverage, and their safes come with two different door seals that work together to protect your valuables from heat and smoke.
Their hallmark feature is their optional steel liners—you can pay extra to add additional layers of steel to your safe. This improves both fire resistance and burglary resistance. And Fort Knox has one of the better lifetime warranties in the industry; it covers the whole safe: the body, the lock, the handle, and the interior.
Liberty Safe
Now it’s our turn. Liberty Safe has been in business for over 30 years. Of the manufacturers here on this list, we here at Liberty build the most domestically. We make about 85% of all home and gun safes that are built in the U.S. We’ve sold over two million safes to date, and while we do offer some import safes, only a small fraction of our business deals with imports.
One of our biggest strengths lies in our ability to build a large number of safes with consistent, high-quality results. Individually, other brands can build around 20 safes a day; our team can build up to 700 safes a day at peak capacity.
Beyond that, we’re known primarily for four things:
- Our security technology, like stronger, 2-piece safe bodies, and our exclusive military-style locking bars (these have virtually eliminated pry attacks)
- Our rigorous fire testing—we make sure our safes will perform exactly like we say they do
- Our customer service, which is handled right at our safe factory, by a team with extensive knowledge on our safes
- Our warranty—like many companies, we’ll take care of you if your safe is damaged by a fire or attempted break-in; however, if we need to replace it, we cover everything: removal of the damaged safe, shipping of the new safe, even installation (as far as we’re aware, we’re the only safe company whose warranty covers all of that)
Side note: we’re also known for our torture tests. We stress-test our safes anytime we can by blowing them up, crushing them, or dropping them from helicopters.
The bottom line is this: if you’re looking for a gun safe that offers serious firearm protection from both thieves and fire, don’t just shop for the cheapest deal you can find. Stick to a safe company with a good reputation.
Download our PDF on the Top 4 Best Gun Safe Manufacturers here.
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