The Steelwater Standard Duty AMEGS592216 is a robust gun safe designed to protect as many as 16 long guns, although the manufacturer recommends storing only eight to 10. This sturdy home safe is made of 14-gauge steel and boasts a 5-inch-thick door, along with 10 1.5-inch solid steel locking bolts. You unlock the safe using a chrome digital keypad with two programmable codes, which requires a 9-volt battery to run. If you have trouble with the lock, you can use the included bypass key to access your belongings.
This gun safe includes a drill- and ballistic-resistant hard plate that shields the digital lock and the gear drive from being pried open. The plate also guards the spring-loaded re-locking bolt that goes into action if the regular lock is damaged. Naturally, this safe meets the California DOJ's standards for residential gun storage.
You can bolt the safe in place using the pre-drilled anchor holes, which are reinforced with a 1/4-inch steel plate. Since it weighs 330 pounds, it’s unlikely any ordinary burglar could swipe this safe. However, it’s important to bolt down a safe of this size so it doesn’t tip over and hurt someone. The weight also means this safe is difficult to move and install without assistance.
The Standard Duty AMEGS592216’s outside dimensions are 59 x 28 x 18 inches. It has one of the largest interior capacities of the safes we looked at, totaling around 6.61 cubic feet. If you only have a single handgun, a more practical option is the Stealth Tactical Original Handgun Safe.
Steelwater built this safe with two layers of fireboard and claims it can survive one hour in a fire with temperatures up to 1,875 degrees Fahrenheit. It meets UL standards for fire-resistance, but we found no mention of the safe actually being UL-listed.
Inside, there is a full-length shelf, as well as three smaller shelves you can adjust in various configurations to store other items. This safe is fully upholstered inside so your valuables won’t get scratched while you store them. Steelwater is the only safe manufacturer we looked at that offers lifetime warranty coverage on its products. This is excellent, especially compared to the one-year warranties on many other home safes.