Gun policies are harsh in Australia.

Due to these – pretty reasonable, one might say - policies, Australians have to keep their guns in a safe. The ammunition has to be kept in another safe or in a locked section of the same safe. The most obvious reason a gun owner needs a safe is that others (especially children and teenagers for that matter) will be denied access to the firearms.

However, a gun safe is a reasonable investment for many other reasons. First of all, consider the worth of your firearms. Not only storing your firearm in a drawer is illegal, but it can also prove to be quite costly, too. In worst cases, faulty firearm storage can get you in a bunch of legal trouble. Furthermore, a good hunting rifle costs anywhere from $1000 to $5000; put that against the grand for a good safe and you'll realize that having a gun safe can actually save a lot of money. For antique firearms, which cost a lot more, not having a safe is out of the question. Secondly, you can store valuables in most safes. For example, jewellery is reasonably well protected within gun safes. You can keep literally any valuables and/or weapons in a gun safe, for example, knives, documents, etc.

In different areas, there is a different demand and supply for gun safes. Sydney, for example, has a low demand for gun safes and safes are harder to find there. The reason for this is that only about 2% of Sydney's population have firearm licences and thus need safes, whereas about 5% of Australia's population has gun licenses. To find the best safe, you have to do some comparing.

Questions you can ask yourself when browsing around for a gun safe are, for example:

  • Will they be well protected? Do I plan on purchasing other firearms?
  • Will I store anything else besides the gun in the safe?
  • Do I want a safe with ammunition locks or do I need two separate safes?