A gun safe is a must-have for any homeowner with guns, to keep them from being stolen and to ensure they're out of the hands of children and those who haven't had proper training for their use. A gun safe can also make it easier to transport your guns if you should move as you can just keep them in the safe without having to transport them one at a time in a car or moving truck. When buying a gun safe, note a few factors to consider to ensure you choose the right one for your home.

1. Bigger is often better

Keep in mind that once you get your gun safe, you're likely to fill it up quickly. Most gun owners find that they get more guns down the road, as newer models come out or they decide to get backup firearms. The gun safe may also quickly become a place to hold other items you may not be thinking of just yet; once you get it home, you find that it's a good place to store some jewelry, paperwork, and the like. Before you know it, the gun safe is full, so go with a bigger model than what you might have originally planned.

2. Note the weight

While bigger is often better, you do want to note the weight of a gun safe before you buy one. For very large safes made of thick metal, you may even need to brace up your home's flooring so that the floorboards don't crack or buckle. This can be especially important if you were thinking of putting the safe on a set of stairs or other area of the home where the floorboards are already thin and don't have much of a subfloor. A home improvement contractor can often tell you the weight that your home's floors can manage or tell you how to brace up the area of the home where you want to keep the safe.

3. Fire rating

The fire rating of a safe tells you how long the safe can be exposed to fire before the heat and flames permeate the safe, and this is important if you're storing ammunition with your guns. You might consider a minimum of a one-hour rating for your gun safe, as anything less than this might put your ammunition as risk of igniting and firing before you can extinguish a blaze. In homes with a higher risk of brush fires and the like, you might choose an even higher fire rating.

For more information on gun safes, talk to a professional like Askwith Company.