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Handgun Safes
Cannon offers several full-size safes in its Traditional lineup.
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In addition to keeping your guns high and dry, ProStaff safes offer ETL-certified protection against 1,400-degree conflagrations for up to a half hour.
If you're not concerned about flooding, water in another form can be an even more insidious threat to your guns--rifles, shotguns and handguns alike. I live in dry, desert country, where rust isn't a serious problem. My oldest son makes his home in Austin, where humidity is pervasive. When he noticed rust forming on a couple of his prized guns--including a Browning A5 his late grandfather set aside for him on the day of his birth and a SIG-Sauer .45--he called me for advice.
I immediately sent him a spray can of Inhibitor V80 to help him deal with the corrosion he'd already noticed, along with an Inhibitor VCI gun sock for his precious Browning. I also sent him an Inhibitor safe plug to keep his other guns protected. Offered by Van Patten Industries, these Inhibitor products emit chemical vapors that effectively prevent corrosion. I keep an AC-powered Goldenrod dehumidifier in my Weatherby safe and a couple of Inhibitor plugs in my oversize Fort Knox safe. I haven't encountered much rust with my own firearms, but why take chances? Smaller plugs and Inhibitor chips are available for handgun safes.
One problem with keeping all your guns in one or more full-size safe is that these safes are so big and heavy, they're often located in a basement, garage or some other room with a concrete floor. The guns are secure but out of reach if you need one in the middle of the night.
The answer is to have at least two safes--a full-size model to hold both long guns and handguns and a smaller safe to secure a loaded handgun near your bed. I figure I'll hear an intruder breaking a window or door in plenty of time to get my 1911 out of the quick-access safe I keep it in. I take safety an extra step further: Instead of storing the pistol cocked and locked, I keep it in the safe chamber-empty, with a full magazine partially inserted in the grip. It requires only an extra second to slam home the magazine and work the slide. Then I turn on the power to the LaserGrip sight I installed a few years back. A high-intensity SureFire flashlight is in the same safe.
I remember those early days when I didn't own a gun safe, and I shudder. My three sons were constantly drilled in safe gun handling. I always had a lot of guns around and regularly took my children to the range. Guns were so commonplace, curiosity wasn't a real factor, but that wasn't true of other children who visited the home. I took pains to keep my guns stored well out of reach of my sons and their friends. Still, I worried about accidents and never rested easy until I acquired my first safe.
Gun safes aren't a luxury. They're an absolute must--particularly if you have children at home. Even a simple locking cabinet provides a comforting degree of security, while larger, sturdier safes are proof against both fire and theft. If you own a handgun--or a firearm of any kind--you can't afford to be without a safe.
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