Finding the right gun safe for your firearms and house can be a difficult task. Depending on who you are, you might take convenience over cosmetics, but Browning guns safes the best of both worlds. Browning combines their polished, pristine look both inside and outside the safe whilst keeping it all locked up and secured on the outside. With that being said, Browning has still managed to get a lot of functionality despite the very nice design. Below is some more information that you might want to know about the Browning Safes.
Who are Browning Safes?
Browning safes are not actually ‘Browning Safes’. Browning Arms Company has been around for well over 100 years. However, they don’t only make gun safes. They’ve also been in the industry of fishing equipment, bows, knives but more specifically firearms.
In the late ’80s, Browning started to move into gun safes and have been growing their line of safes ever since. In today’s light, Browning is using ProSteel as their manufacturing company, hence the ‘Browning ProSteel’ branded gun safes. Browning along with ProSteel has come up with the motto “Smart. Versatile. Secure.” for their safes, and as you may see below this is no doubt true.
Browning is currently manufacturing its products in Belgium, Portugal, Japan, and the United States. For some custom safes, these are built to order in the United States. Browning has re-invented their own products to make sure that when they sell a product, you as the customer are always getting what you pay for without any questions asked. Not only that, Browning has patented its own organizational system on the doors, which is very effective for storing weapons and truly is a unique selling point for Browning.
Is it safe?
Browning has gone to great lengths to make sure their safes are top-spec and don’t have any security flaws and with that being said, Browning has developed more unique features such as their Force Deflector Locking System. Even though it sounds quite fancy, it is basically a locking system in the door that will prevent attacks to the bolts of the door to avoid the safe from opening under force. In the event of a thief trying to break into the safe by forcing the bolts inwards, the door won’t unlock because the force has been deflected into another area of the door. With that being said, other brands don’t possess this type of technology so Browning is well and true innovators of the safe world.
Browning also lets you customize a case to certain specifications if you want something a little higher spec. Features such as biometric locks, anti-pry bolts, and fire seal are all common requests, with most of Browning’s safe coming with fire seal and anti-pry bolts. Browning also offers safe quotes to do custom builds, in which you can specify if you want a certain safe with certain requirements which is super cool, and before they send you the safe they will do several safety checks, to ensure that the safe is as safe as they say it is.
Browning’s website has several large features noticeable as soon as you click on the Gun Safes section, including ThermaBlock, 2-3x more fire protection, 32x thicker steel than the California department of justice, and storage for up to 54% more guns. However, we can’t figure out which safe these apply to.
The 3 Muskateers (The 3 main lines of safe)
Browning has a line of 3 types of major safes that people use. The Core series, The Pro series, and the Custom series. Although all secure and are gun safes, there are a few noticeable differences between the three, specifically the features that some of them have.
There are a few more lines of ‘safe’ but are not commonly used as much, but are mentioned below.
The Browning ProSteel Core Series is the more affordable line of safes that Browning makes. Although not as secure as the others with less fire protection and burglaries, it still does offer very adequate protection for the price of it. They come in 23-guns and 25-gun models. These are called ‘Hell’s Canyon’, ‘Rawhide’ and ‘Sporter’. We will take a look at the Sporter.
As with most of the safes, the Sporter can be customized to have either an electronic lock or a mechanical lock. Regardless of which lock you pick, both come with a 5-year warranty as you’ll read about below. Usually, these locks have 1-2 years warranty however Browning has been confident in their safes and manufacturing to bump this up to 5. As with some of their other safes, the Browning Sporter 25-gun model comes with customizable shelving for a more customized layout on the inside meaning the safe can work around your firearms. As mentioned above, even though the bottom line of their safes, the Browning 25-Gun Sporter has the patented door storage system which has a bottom shelf to rest up to 7 more guns on the door. Oh, we shouldn’t forget to mention the several pockets, holders for anything else you want to store on the door.
Whilst talking about the door, the storage attached to it is best for firearms that don’t have any large attachment on the top i.e Scopes or lasers/torches, as once the door is shut, you may be hitting other firearms when closing it, which might leave a mark or break something, so this area is ideal for rifles with iron sights for shotguns.
As the safe is made out of 12-gauge steel, this monster weighs around 520lbs just for the safe. As with any large safe, it’s definitely worth getting a few friends around to help you move this into place with a dolly, or get a professional to install this for you. As with most of the safes, the door is removable and from the outside so this once taken off can shed around 100lbs, which is a little bit of a difference and might make your friends a little happier.
The safe is fireproof with an above-average 60 minutes at 1400 degree heat which for a budget-friendly safe is not bad at all.
With any gun safe manufacturer, Browning has overestimated their gun capacity and this should be halved to May 12 – 15 firearms in at any point. Sure, you could fit around 25 firearms in there, but the time and effectiveness of the positioning of the firearms would just be a nightmare. If you do install this safe, the only problem with large safes are the lighting within, and this one doesn’t include any pre-fitted lights. However, Browning has taken a look at this and has pre-drilled holes at the rear to install lights should you feel it’s required.
As mentioned above, the safe weighs right around 520lbs (235kg), and comes in at around 58” x 30” x 26” (HxWxD) which includes the handle that sticks out around 3”. As for the interior, you are looking at around 20 cubic feet of space or specifically 54” x 27” x 16” (HxWxD).
The Browning ProSteel Sporter safe is a great, cost-effective safe to someone who would like a bit of protection, but doesn’t want to pay a lot of money for one. The size and features of the safe are not bad considering the price point of just X and can be a nice safe to hide away for convenience.
The Browning ProSteel Pro (Tactical) Series is another one of Browning safe lines. When you see the word ‘Tactical’, you might think it means for more rifle or SWAT line of safes. Well, it’s somewhat like that, Browning has referenced this and has suggested it’s for the people who use custom or uniquely shaped firearms. In theory, the safe adapts to your firearms meaning every gun you have that might be strangely angled should fit.
Coming to the aesthetics of the safe, again Browning has nailed the sleek, tactical look and finished the whole thing off with the handle which gives the safe a very tactical feel. The safe itself is matt black which again, makes it look very tactical and sleek.
Part of the Tactical line, the Mark III 33 Wide tactical safe has an estimated gun capacity of 40 guns. Again, this is overcompensating and will comfortably fit around 20 firearms. Browning also offers the patented DPX storage system on the door similar to the other safes in this list which again is crucial for people who hold a few smaller firearms, or shotguns. Another convenient feature of the Tactical safes is the Cantilevered Modular Shelving. Put simply, the shelving in the safe can be altered for both longer and shorter barreled firearms. Should you have a rifle that has a short barrel, these can be difficult to fit in gun safes, but not with the Browning Tactical range as they can be altered to a lower position. Browning has put in a lot of work to make sure this design accommodates the vast majority of firearms.
As mentioned with the above safe, Browning hasn’t included any ‘tactical’ lighting in the safe, meaning it can be quite dark but as ever, they have included pre-drilled holes to add some in should you feel it’s too dark. Browning has also suggested a dehumidifier in certain regions of the US to ensure that your firearms are protected from the moisture.
The safe is a little better off than the safe above when a fire is around. The fire protection on the safe is pretty clean coming in at 60 minutes at 1400 degrees but does have Palusol expanding fire foam with will seal the door at high temperatures, ensuring any valuables from fire and smoke damage.
Some more details on the specifics of the safe are as follows. As with the above, it’s made up of 12-gauge steel which puts the overall weight to 655lbs (297kg). It takes up around 33 cubic feet of space with exterior measurements coming in at 58” x 36” x 31” (HxWxD (with handle)). The interior has a 52” x 33” x 19” (HxWxD) which is around 19 cubic feet.
The Browning ProSteel Tactical safe was made primarily for people who either wanted a sleek design to their safe, or someone who had ‘awkward to fit’ firearms which the Tactical can fit around. Coming in at X, it’s not the most expensive either, so maybe a good buy to anyone considering going down this route of safety.
The Browning ProSteel Custom Series is the last safe of the three but by all means certainly not least. Browning has been praised for its detailed craftsmanship and pleasing aesthetics that the safe comes with, so it’s ‘safe’ to say that the safe should be shown off. The model that we’re talking about specifically is the M40F Gun safe or the ‘Medalion’.
The M40F is recommended at a 43 gun capacity, however again this is a little overcompensated but not as much as the above when the shelves are removed. As with the above safes, the door itself can hold around 10 long-barreled guns and 2 sidearms, which has small indents should the firearms in the door have scopes, these can fit in there too.
As we mentioned at the start, this safe is incredibly good looking and is not to be hidden away from view. Browning has noticed this and this is why they customize and custom build every safe to standard right here in the United States. Within this customizable option, you can change the color so it fits with its surroundings and trust us, there are quite a few colors you can choose from, but you can also find a safe finish which can be either Black Chrome, Chrome or Gold all of which look amazing. Oh, and you see the front decal, it’s not for everyone, but there are several other decals you can choose such as an American flag, or more nature reserved images all of which look good. Not only this but you can also customize the shelving and a few optional add-ons, but more on that in a second.
The safe comes equipped with a SecuRam biometric lock which is a slight step up from the S&G mechanical and electronic devices they’ve used in previous safes. The interior as mentioned before is lined with a beige carpet and comes with the option of pre-install lights and dehumidifier. Browning also offers an upgrade shelf system that’s called ‘Axis Adjustable Shelving’. Coming from the fabric lined plywood shelving that some companies offer, the shelves that Browning supplies in this safe are steel and super versatile, with the added capability of moving the shelves up, down, left and right with no limitations. If you need more shelves, simply add more – it’s that easy.
On the topic of safe safeness, the bolts on the model are quite innovative. In total, there are 18 bolts, 2 of which are Pre-Stop corner bolts that would normally make the safe vulnerable, not on this one. These two bolts alone will stop anyone from even making a mark on the safe, let alone getting inside of it should a burglar stop by. On the topic of safety, it also has several anti-prying features and security features built-in such as the Uni-Force Locking system and the OmniBarrior Lock protection system, meaning there is pretty much no chance someone can break into this by force.
Along with that, we were talking about the very good standards for fire safety on Browning safes, well the Browning Medalion just tops it off at a staggering 110-minute at 1700 degree temperature rating. To put it into physicality, it has four layers of 0.5” fire-resistant insulation everywhere on the safe. The ceiling, however, just goes one step further and has 5, due to the heat being on top of the safe 9 times out of 10. Like the tactical safe, it also has the Pakusol expanding fire seal around the door to protect your valuables.
As for the size and weight of this safe, you might want to take a seat. This safe comes in at a colossal 1105lbs (501kg) (10-gauge steel). The size of the safe is 60” x 44” x 29” (including handle, HxWxD) for it’s exterior and for the interior 52” x 39” x 17” (HxWxD). Moving this safe might just need a few more than 2-3 friends. Browning offers a delivery service to curb, with several vendors offering to install it for you for a little extra which is something to definitely consider when trying to move this giant.
The Browning Medalion Safe is the best of the best when it comes to safes. Pricing can be very varied depending on the vendor, design, and features that you choose, but to date, Browning is the only company that can offer such high-spec features at a made to order specification, and to your standards. These safes essentially can’t be broken into, are well secured in a fire should rain down and can come with pre-installed features that other safes manufacturers don’t even want to provide.
As we mentioned at the start, there are a few more lines of safe that are less commonly used from Browning but do serve some purpose. Browning also has a range of Vault Doors which are super cool. These are for rooms that you can turn into a safe by adding the door. They have flawless finishes, are high security and have biometric locks, what else could you ask for?
Browning has the Pro-Line, including the tactical safe that also has a ‘Home’ safe. Although it sounds a little on the low end, however, it comes with the same features as the tactical, but looks a little more friendly and can be as small as 24” x 24” x 20” with very similar specifications as the main safes listed above.
Overall, Browning has developed from their line of firearms and taking the extreme quality, detailed craftsmanship and have devoted time and effort into making the right safes for their customers. Browning has brought out the 3 lines of safes that make other manufacturers look blue, even more so with the Medalion. Depending on your budget, requirements, and space, Browning offers all 3 options at your requirements, and so with that being said, Browning should have a safe for you, but if not don’t worry as you can custom build and order to your own specification but note, it may be a little more expensive.