Top 7 Best Full-Size Gun Safes with a Backup Key in 2023

If you are on the hunt for a great gun safe, with an awesome fire rating, and can be torn down to be moved in minutes, then you should have this safe on your shortlist.

If you are looking for that key backup port, you can find it easily behind the keypad itself (push up on the keypad from the bottom).

The Snapsafe Super Titan offers 9 gauge steel (achieved by 2 layers of 14 gauge), a 1-hour fire rating at 2300 degrees, and two openable doors for easy access to the safe.

These doors are extremely helpful, as this is quite a large safe at 46″ wide.

If a fire rating isn’t your thing, and you want extremely quick access to your firearms, then an Agile Model 52 from SecureIt is an awesome option.

You will find this safe all over our site, as they truly are a great product. They (just like the Snapsafe above), can be taken apart, and put back together in a different room, house, or anywhere else if you wanted to. This also makes them ideal for apartments and other spaces that may require going up and down stairs.

This small, non-fire-rated safe offers 14 gauge steel, a high-quality electronic locking mechanism (of course with a backup key), and one of the most flexible interiors of any safe on the market.

By utilizing their cradle grid technology, you can place more or fewer firearms, you can add bins, hangers and so much more to make the safe exactly the way you want it.

These are also high-quality builds but are still reasonably priced for what they are, and what they can achieve.

This company has set out to make an incredibly high quality, imported, safe for a reasonable price.

You will find plenty of videos out there of this company putting their safes through the wringer. This safe in particular offers a 14 gauge steel body, a 60-minute fire rating, and a basic interior that is somewhat adjustable.

Essentially, this gun safe is exactly what you would expect! It’s not the highest-end safe, but you can be sure it is great quality, at a reasonable price.

There isn’t anything fancy, that would drive up the price, and instead, the development cost goes into making a good quality product.

The one thing they did splurge on though, is an included lighting kit to make sure you can see inside the safe, even in the dark.

This is the only gun safe on this list that offers a biometric locking mechanism! I generally don’t recommend biometric locks, however, Barska has been around for quite a long time and has built its name around this type of lock, so it made it onto this list.

While this safe isn’t the biggest one on the block, being only 13″ wide, it does offer an extremely quick access solution for those that prefer this method.

Thankfully, even if you can’t access the biometric lock for some reason, you do always have the key backup (as long as you know where it is).

The biometric lock can handle up to 120 different fingerprints, and should get you into the safe in just a couple of seconds when done correctly. The backup key port is easily accessible right above the fingerprint scanner.

If you are on the hunt for a gun safe with both a backup key and a water resistance rating, then this is the one you should be getting! It is quite rare in general to find a safe with a water resistance rating, so you should probably jump on this one if that is what you are looking for.

The Wasatch gun safe offers an entry-level 30-minute fire rating at 1400 degrees, and a water resistance rating of 72 hours with 2 feet of water. This makes it perfect for someone that runs into flooding issues, or if you are keeping your safe in the basement.

Wondering where the backup key goes? You just pop off the electronic keypad, and you will find it right behind there.

Outside of these standout features, this is much like the Steelwater above and is your normal gun safe that you would expect to see when it comes to the interior and the aesthetics.

While this is another generic safe, I do like it! Its aesthetics look nice, and much like the Wasatch above, it offers a water rating of 72 hours in 2 feet of standing water (it also has a 75-minute fire rating at 1400 degrees).

It comes standard with a door panel for handguns, knives, and for smaller gear that will fit into the pockets. It is equipped with LED lighting, and an electrical outlet, and looks like a high-quality interior.

Heritage the brand has been around for quite a very long time. While they used to be more on the higher end of gun safes, this one is more entry-level, but still respectable with just under 12 gauge steel.

This is a great little gun safe for under $1000, and it of course comes with a backup key that you will find behind the keypad.

It offers 14 gauge steel, a 30-minute fire rating at 1200 degrees, and everything you would expect from an entry-level gun safe.

I don’t know what else to say on this safe, other than Fortress does make a great product, and this likely will not be any different. If you aren’t a fan of any of the other safes on this list, then you should opt for this one!