Hi everyone. As I posted in my introduction post, I'm buying my first handgun, but I've shot many times before. However, it's been nearly 15 years, so I'm starting this process like it's 100% brand new.

Before I even buy anything, I need to find a gun safe or way to secure my weapon at home. I have a 4 and 5 year old, so I want to ensure the gun is not accessible to them. That's the most important thing for me.

I've looked at the gun vault boxes, where you push the buttons to make your code and the side pops open and you have a single or double layer storage area. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this. I have the Sentry Safe X105 but Sentry does not label it as CA DOJ approved for gun storage. They make a slightly larger one, the X125, that is 2 inches taller, but the same size everywhere else. The X125 is not "approved" or listed as a gun safe. Sentry has an X104E, that looks exactly like my X105. It appears to have a thick, cushion in the bottom to protect your items, or weapon, but it has the same keypad, 2 bar bolt on the left side, etc, just like mine. Only difference it is says it's approved by CA DOJ. I have never had a problem with my Sentry Safes, even though I've seen some people who really don't like them. I'm considering buying the X125 to use in the house as my daily safe (the way I currently use the X105) and then switch the X105 over to be my weapon safe.

I'm not adverse to buying a gun safe that's larger, but at the moment, the Gen 4 G19, that I am considering, would be the only weapon, so I'm not sure that large safe would benefit me much beyond security. In the future, I may add a shot gun, a second hand gun or possibly an AR-15 Carbine as I'd like to do some tactical shooting and gain some skills there. But those days are probably pretty far down the road, so it will still be only one gun for a while.

What do you recommend as a gun safe? How did you decide on what to buy? Which brand did you choose? I see a lot of brands of the larger, all metal safes, that all look the same with a digital combo and a spinning locking leaver, but they have different brand names on it.

This sees to be as confusing as looking at the gun case in the local gun club. They have 50 different 9mm weapons, and it takes a while to really understand the differences. To me, this safe is just as important as the gun itself.

Thanks for your help on my first question post. I really appreciate it.

Rodeman

Thanks for the info. I've got a couple ideas/challenges with a gun safe. First off, I don't have room in our home for one. We have a 3 bed home and all 3 bedrooms are utilized and there is no office or other room where the save can go. My neighbor has the perfect house as he has a little outcove where he has a small bar, foosball table and the big gun safe that you would expect a gun enthusiast to have. So, I could go to a larger gun safe and put it in the garage, but it presents a problem there too. We have post tension slab on our home and can't drill into the concrete foundation at all. So the weight of the safe would work probably just keeping it up on it's own, but it could rock some.

Since I don't have room inside, it defeats the purpose for me to have the handgun outside in the garage and use it for home defense. So I'd still need a smaller safe for inside. Has anyone used one of the in-the-wall safes? I've seen a couple online but read bad reviews that it tears up the drywall and you need a pro to come trim it out and hide it with a picture frame or something to make it look nice. That's not my area of expertise.

I do have an unused corner of a closer where two different height hanging bars and shelves meet. I could do a taller item in there but it couldn't be a huge safe. It would need to bolt to the wall, which seems to be an issue in many cases. So I'm not sure what my best option would be inside besides the X125 or that other similar style safe that is CA DOJ approved.

Thanks,
Rodeman

I take it by Gun Vault, you mean the actual product Gun Vault that has the 4 buttons and you push in your combo. Would you suggest that over a sentry safe with the digital combo on it? I've only had 1 failure of my sentry safe and it was an indicator the batteries were dying and I changed them at that time. I've seen some negative reviews on the gun vault (and I've seen many on the sentry safe). How has your experience been with that product? A few of the reviews said a hard whack on top of the unit would jar the door open. And in one case, I read a person who identified himself as a LEO who said he has to slam the door shut because it doesn't lock/secure well if he doesn't and he's come home to find the door open.

That's the gun value that I was referencing. For me, I'm not sure how I'd like the finger code compared to a numerical code. I'm sure it's personal preference where under stress you remember something easily over something else (numerical digit over finger placement in this instance). That said, I kind of like the Sentry Safe Home Defense System. | Sentry® Safe | Home Defense Center - The first line of defense is you!. It has those same buttons. It's tall enough to accommodate a shot gun or if I would move forward with something else later on. The one thing I didn't like about this was the handgun shelf. It comes with one, and that one has a nice extra 45 degree insert that keeps the gun at an angle that you might reach for comfortably. But it only handled one or maybe two guns on the handgun shelf. And then the bottom of the unit was designed for one gun to be stored in the center. I guess you could put a could of rifles or ARs to the side in there, but it's not designed that way specifically. More like a 2 gun safe than anything else.

My personal choice, right now, is the Sentry Safe x125. | Sentry® Safe | X125 Security Safe. It's got a second shelf that is removable. I'm familiar with it and have the same safe in one size smaller design. It's never failed me and I'm very happy with it. Plus, since this is my first gun, and who knows, there may be more to come in the future, and I need this in my home so that it's easily accessible, I'm leaning this direction. I may do a larger safe in the garage one day but that's after my wife is comfortable and does some shooting and decides she wants to pursue this more as it's mostly my interest, hobby and protection desire.

Thanks for your input!
Rodeman