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Gun Safe Widespread Deceptive Advertising

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Revision as of 05:24, 23 February 2026 by Bananabot (talk | contribs) (Added archive URLs for 9 citation(s) using CRWCitationBot)

Products referred to as "gun safes" are usually not "true safes" (UL 687)[1], but "residential security containers" (UL 1037).[2] The distinction comes from the certification/rating system established by Underwriter’s Laboratories, an independent testing company.[3] This misleading language is just one of the multiple deceptive advertising practices used in the residential gun safe industry.

Background

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Underwriter's Laboratories certifications available include (in ascending order of security levels): UL RSC Level I, UL RSC Level II, UL TL-15, UL TL-30, and UL TL-30x6. TLTR-variant ratings are also available. UL testing involves one or more people using specific sets of tools to gain physical access to a safe in a certain amount of time.[4][5][6]

Other security ratings may be seen on products such as AmSec's B-Class and C-Class[7]. AmSec claims the standards are set by the "insurance industry" but does not provide links to any published documentation that the consumer could use to verify what B-Class and C-Class actually mean. Additionally, unknown security ratings could be based on factors that do not have bearing in real-life scenarios that the consumer expects their product to perform. (Example: AmSec's product NARCO3824 is B-Class and the product description uses phrases like "it’s extremely difficult to break in or tamper with". However, NARCO3824 is 11 gauge steel which can be cut with handheld tools.[8][9])

The existence of a "rating" or "standard" does not guarantee a product's performance. The Titanic's lifeboats were "to regulation", yet ~1,500 people still lost their lives. It is up to the consumer to understand what a product's claim actually means, and how that affects the attributes the consumer wants for a product.

Companies Affected

  • Liberty Safe
  • Cannon Safe
  • Browning Safes
  • American Security
  • Winchester Safes
  • Remington (is it just Remington? Can not find a website that is not a brand licensee)
  • Stack-On
  • Cabela's

[Incident]

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Incidents to expand on:

  • Fire rating (self-certification, fire-safe does not mean heat/steam/firehose safe)
  • Performative features (internal hinges, showy linkage, fancy descriptions of bad locks)[10]
  • Detrimental features (door gaps, handle location, electronics, moisture-absorbing material, etc.)
  • Made in America=assembled in America which obfuscates the quality of parts (usually the locks)
  • Deceptive gun # capacity
  • Detrimental or poor features presented as positives (door handle location, gauge thickness) [11]
  • Containers with security so poor that it cannot withstand a theft attack from a child (amazon desk safes)[12]

ToDo:

  • Embed side-by-side snapshots? (snapshot the fire-rating of a product from the company's website, next to a picture of that safe with rusted-out guns inside from surviving a fire)
  • Link to the Liberty Safe article on consumerrights.wiki
  • Create a guide about how to navigate the above incidents?

Key Takeaway

Industry-wide advertising practices mislead the consumer into thinking safes perform better than they actually do.

Further Reading

Safe comparison guide/web-guide on physical asset security:


Videos of people breaking into safes:


Related consumerrights.wiki articles:

References

  1. ↑ https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ul/ul687ed152011?utm_source=chatgpt.com
  2. ↑ https://webstore.ansi.org/standards/ul/ul1037ed2016
  3. ↑ https://www.ul.com/services/anti-theft-device-testing-and-certification (Archived)
  4. ↑ https://gunsafereviewsguy.com/articles/myths-about-gun-safe-theft-protection/2/#security-ratings (Archived)
  5. ↑ https://americansecuritysafes.com/testing-process-for-ul-rated-safes/ (Archived)
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20151029154039/http://ulstandards.ul.com/standard/?id=1037
  7. ↑ https://americansecuritysafes.com/burglary-ratings-explained/ (Archived)
  8. ↑ https://youtu.be/NEeS5nCh5e8?si=OZs1R56HNGLp1T5S&t=195 (Archived)
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXa1QImM54&t=134s (Archived)
  10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7X8crrn0Kg (Archived)
  11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_WCg0KEiyI (Archived)
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJrSWXFXvlE (Archived)

[1]

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The "Incidents" category is not needed.

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  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0
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