Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night because you thought someone was trying to break into your house? It can be absolutely frightening. The last thing you need is to be sleepily sifting through your dresser drawers, unable to quickly access your firearm because it’s not safely stored in a Nightstand Gun Safe.
It’s also extremely important that you determine if the person at large is in fact an intruder and not a family member. When you do determine that the intruder is definitely an outsider, now is the time to act quickly and cautiously.
If you have a trusty handgun by your side or better yet at your bedside, your looming fear can be replaced by courage — you now know that you and your loved ones will be safe and protected. But while having a gun in or on your nightstand can be crucial, it’s very important to keep it locked up and equipped for fast access.
Get Great Guns And Ammo Deals!
SAFEST NEWSLETTER - WE WILL NEVER SELL YOUR EMAIL
No Spam - No Selling Your Email
Unpack This Article's Arsenal
Why Buy a Nightstand Gun Safe?
For one thing, nightstand gun safes are specially designed to allow you quick, easy storage and fast access to your guns and valuables. Second, there are some models out there that are rather eye appealing and can accentuate your surroundings.
And third, most nightstand safes now come equipped with a backlit LED light, which makes opening them in the dark a breeze.
Nightstand safes are also smaller, so access is quicker as opposed to a large safe which can be difficult to open. Hiding and protecting your guns at your home is detrimental and having your gun at the ready when you need it most can be the difference between life and death.
TIP: If you choose a safe in this smaller size range, you can use it for dual purposes. Such as storing it in your vehicle.
How to Choose a Nightstand Gun Safe?
It’s true that picking a nightstand safe for your handgun can be time consuming. There’s so much to consider in today’s market, as well as multiple choices available in all different price ranges.
It can be daunting and very easy to pick the wrong safe. Certainly no one wants to do that — the consequences can be fatal.
Listed below are some basic criteria to help you make the wisest decision for your next safe:
Basics of a Nightstand Gun Safe
- Quick access: One to two seconds at the most
- Adequate space: Enough space to hold a full sized handgun
- Reliable: Having a gun safe that is 100% reliable for the times you won’t be fully awake
- Mountable: Make sure the safe is small enough to be mounted in a closet or a bedside drawer so it’s harder to access for children and thieves
For your convenience, we’ve compiled a list of three great choices for nightstand gun safes, beginning with our top pick. This will give you everything you need to make an informed, well-planned and well-thought-out decision.
Best Nightstand Gun Safes
Here are our picks that match the above criteria listed above. Any of these safes should provide you with quick access and reliable storage.
| Product Name | Where to Buy | |
|---|---|---|
 | Fort Knox Handgun Safe |  |
 | Vaultek VT20i Gun Safe | |
 | GunVault MV500-STD Gun Safe | |
 | Pineworld K3 Wifi Enabled Gun Safe | |
Fort Knox Handgun Safe (Top Choice )
Fort Knox has worked continually to bring the very best products to its customers for 30 years. Additionally, they have made industry-setting improvements over all of their gun safes. These accomplishments as well as their pristine reputation sets them apart of the competition.
The Fort Knox company has years of experience in the gun safe business and offer their customers outstanding warranties. They will also fix or replace any safe with fire, burglary or flood damage, as well as paint and lock damage. This unsurpassed warranty keeps Fort Knox customers satisfied and coming back for more.
If you’re looking for an incredibly tough safe that’s just about as hard to break into, well … Fort Knox, this is the one for you. The Fort Knox Simplex Handgun Safe is bare bones, no bells and whistles, just basic and simply rugged.
Made of thick steel walls, this gun safe features a fully welded 10-gauge steel body construction, which is simply remarkable for the price. And as stated above, it doesn’t come with all the super cool technology features of gun safes today. This one doesn’t even require batteries. Simply perfect!
Fort Knox Handgun Safe Lock Access
Another great feature of a Fort Knox Handgun Safe is the fact that it comes with Simplex push button combination access. Simple, easy to use and set up, this locking system is not spring activated so accidentally dropping the safe on the ground will not cause the safe door to open.
With the Simplex button combination system, you can be guaranteed quick access without any biometric or battery power glitches. Protection of your handgun is precise because this safe is lined with foam on the inside.
The foam provides support and doesn’t allow your gun to move around in the gun safe which is always a plus.
In addition, the bottom of the gun safe offers four pre-drilled holes for mounting your safe securely to a floor or wall.
What Noise?
There’s no electronic system with this safe, therefore there’s no need to worry about an alert or any beeping noises. The Fort Knox Simplex Handgun Safe also features a gas strut which aids in opening of the gun safe, so it’s very quiet. Another great perk!
Fort Knox Handgun Safe Features
- Simplex push button combination access
- 10-gauge sturdy steel construction
- Thick steel walls
- Foam lining offers protection and allows the gun to be secure in place
- Portable and can be moved around somewhat easily
- Four pre-drilled holes for easy mounting
- Pry-resistant lid
- Easy set up
- Fits two handguns
- Lifetime warranty
- Check latest price on Amazon
Vaultek VT20i Gun Safe
The Vaultek VT20i is a top-of-the-line bedside gun safe that is both fingerprint and Bluetooth accessible. This larger Vaultek model offers more resistance to forced entry than most handgun safes and offers a key fob access.
In addition, Vaultek’s Bluetooth app includes another level of responsibility and should only be installed on a phone that requires a passcode or fingerprint. For some gun owners, this may be a negative. Should a device intended for securing firearms allow for remote access?
On the other hand, more tech savvy gun owners will find that the Bluetooth app or a key fob is pure genius. In the end, it’s a personal choice.
The Vaultek VT20i is slim enough to fit underneath a car seat and it meets TSA airline firearm guidelines for travel. This rugged, tough, smart safe is easily portable or anchored using the supplied mounting hardware and 4-foot long heavy-duty 5mm diameter steel security cable.
This bedside gun safe also meets our basic criteria when choosing a nightstand safe …
Quick Access: Four easy ways to access your firearm:
- Number code
- Fingerprint
- Bluetooth app
- Key
- Reliable: Number code is best if using this as nightstand safe
- Adequate Protection: Tamper resistant/pry resistant
- Space: Accommodates full-sized handgun/three mags
Vaultek VT20i Gun Safe Features
- Heavy-duty 16-gauge carbon steel construction
- Anti-pry bars, anti-impact latches, interior mounted hinges and interior security brackets to prevent break-ins
- Durable black powder coat finish prevents corrosion
- Quick access to valuables, documents and handguns
- Backlit keypad/biometric fingerprint scanner
- Smart Safe Technology for optional Bluetooth App
- Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery for power up to four months
- LED lighting for low light situations
- Check latest price on Amazon
GunVault MV500-STD Gun Safe
For the last 25 years GunVault has been the industry leader in quick access gun safes and other security solutions for hand guns and firearms. The GunVault company provides only the best and latest in security technology solutions, such as biometric security options and patented finger pad sequence solutions.
The GunVault MV500 is a small, easily portable handgun safe and is one of the large range of gun safes manufactured by GunVault. Featuring adequate room to store a pistol or handgun plus ammo and a magazine, the rugged safe body is constructed of heavy-duty 20-gauge steel and powder coated in a durable black colored finish.
The GunVault MV500 offers an extremely reliable lock and the exterior of the unit is designed in a way that an intruder/thief will definitely not be able to pry the safe open. Just this secure feature alone makes the GunVault MV500 a fantastic choice in gun safes.
GunVault MV500-STD Gun Safe “No-Eyes” Entry
This nightstand gun safe comes equipped with the unique No-Eyes keypad that can be programmed by the user to store a security code. You can even use the keypad in the dark (hence nightstand), which is always helpful should an intruder try to break into your home.
In addition, the MV500 STD has both a key override mechanism and a keypad. Audible feedback is available from the keys when they are pressed — or you can disable this feature to have stealth access to your firearm.
The GunVault MV500 also comes supplied with a steel cable that can be used to attach the safe temporarily to your car seat or any other fixed object so that it can’t be stolen if you need to move it from one place to another. Additionally, a tamper detect mechanism is fitted to the keyboard of the safe which will lock the keypad if more than 24 incorrect entries are made on the keypad.
The interior of the MV500 gun safe is lined with a protective foam cushion to prevent damage to your firearm. And not to worry should the MV500 battery power fail — GunVault supplies a backup override key so you can still open it.
Pros
Pros- Easy to program and user friendly keypad
- Quick access to your handgun or valuables
Cons
- Lid does not have a spring or strut to keep it open
GunVault MV500-STD Gun Safe Features
- Heavy-duty 20-gauge steel construction
- Protective foam liner for handgun and valuables
- Easily operable — even in the dark via No-Eyes keypad
- Tamper detect feature
- Security sleep mode
- Audible/visual low battery warning when keypad is operated
- Weight: 4 pounds
- California DOJ approved
- Check latest price on Amazon
Pineworld K3 Wifi Enabled Gun Safe
If you are looking for a nightstand gun safe with all the whistles and bells including a app on your phone that can open the safe, but also notify you if there is an attempt to open the safe look no further.
The Pineworld K3 Wifi Enabled Gun Safe has 4 ways you can unlock the safe:
- Biometric Fingerprint Scan
- Numeric Passcode
- Key
- Phone App
When quick access is paramount, the biometric fingerprint scan works in .5 seconds. The nightstand safe can record up to 50 fingerprints. It also comes with an alarm if there are unregistered fingerprint attempts to open.
The safe requires only 4 AA batteries that gives you 18 months of power or 100,000 lid-opens. The safe is made of 1.5mm alloy steel. Anti-pry and keyhole alarm, gives you peace of mind,
Pineworld K3 Wifi Enabled Gun Safe Features
- 4 Ways to Access
- Smart Phone App
- Foam Lined
- LED light
- Size – 11.1 x 5.9 x 2.2 inches
Best Nightstand Gun Safe – Final Thoughts
By now, we can all agree that gun ownership requires responsibility. A good quality gun safe provides a barrier you can easily put between your weapons and anyone who should not be near them. Having your firearm safely locked away will also keep it from falling into the wrong hands.
Children especially, are curious and if they end up finding your carelessly placed gun and misfiring, the only one held accountable will be you — the gun owner. This scenario can play out for any curious adult as well.
So, as you can see from this review, there are excellent options when it comes to buying a gun safe for your nightstand. From basic safes to bells and whistles and latest technology features, there’s a bedside safe for every responsible gun owner.
In the end, it all comes down to personal preference … but the great thing about any nightstand gun safe is the fact that they’re easily portable for toting in a vehicle or any other place you may need your firearm.
And while your gun may be compact, it doesn’t mean it comes with a small price. Lock it up!
2 Responses
I do think that fort Knox is cool. If I went that way I would have at least 2 and put them in different rooms and BOLT THEM DOWN. you are right about mechanical locks! Do not get electronic safes/boxes.
Real happy with my Vaultek VT10i. The biometric response is significantly faster than the other safes with fingerprint options. Great review, btw 👍🏼