Massad Ayoob — Founder, Massad Ayoob Group · Retired Police Captain · Expert Witness on use of force · Review date: October 31, 2026
Chris Raper — Retired North Carolina law enforcement (40+ years) · U.S. Air Force Security Police · NRA-certified Pistol, Rifle & Shotgun Instructor · NC DOJ-certified Concealed Carry Instructor · Founder, Concealed Handgun Carry, Inc. (Elm City, NC, 2006)In addition to my own research and what my students bring into the Concealed Handgun Carry class every week, this guide was reviewed by Massad Ayoob of Massad Ayoob Group, whose opinion appears below. [Keep only if true — Chris: I handled the product(s) on this page myself. Details are in the test record at the end.] The method line at the end of the article says exactly how this guide was built.
Plenty of my students live in houses with no room for a 300-pound gun safe. The deer rifle ends up behind the bedroom door or under the bed, and the shotgun leans in the closet corner. When they ask me what to do about it, one answer is to put the gun inside the wall. That’s the idea behind the SnapSafe In-Wall Long Gun Safe.
My verdict: it’s a tall, shallow steel cabinet with a keypad and a backup key that sits between the studs and takes up no floor space. It suits slim long guns and folks willing to cut drywall. It doesn’t suit scoped rifles, renters, or anyone who needs a fire rating.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
Specs from the manufacturer listing · owner feedback summarized and labelled · hands-on test notes being added · How we review
SnapSafe In-Wall Long Gun Safe – Best Hidden Long Gun Safe For Tight Floor Space
HIGHLIGHT:
A keypad-locked steel cabinet that hides in a wall cavity, out of sight and off the floor.
OUT OF THE BOX:
SnapSafe says the package includes a mounting kit, two keys and a manual. In the photos you can see the cabinet lying on the floor with the door partly open, the keypad on the face of the door, a carpet-lined interior and a bag of hardware sitting inside. Another shot shows it standing upright with the door closed.
Before you cut a single hole, open the box, count the parts, read the manual cover to cover, and look the cabinet over. Once it’s bolted into the framing, sending it back gets a lot harder.
KEYPAD & BACKUP KEY:
The seller describes a high-security electronic keypad lock with a key backup, so you can’t get locked out by accident. The spec sheet lists the lock type as just “Key,” so lean on the listing text and confirm in the manual. Installed, all that shows is a flat black door with a small keypad and key lock.
Now the keys. A key hanging on a hook beside the picture that hides the safe is no secret at all, and a key a child can reach defeats the whole point. Keep one on your own ring and the other in a separate locked spot. And change the code from any factory setting the way the manual tells you to.
I’ll say this for a long-gun cabinet: speed matters less here than it does with a bedside pistol box. Most folks use a cabinet like this for storage when the gun isn’t in use, so a deliberate keypad entry is fine.
DOOR & LOCK:
SnapSafe lists the door at 0.15 inches of steel. With the door swung open you can see the back side of it, with the lock housing mounted on the inside, and the carpeted back wall of the cabinet. The listing doesn’t describe the hinge or the locking bolts, so I won’t name parts I can’t confirm.
The close-ups show the hardware along the door edge, and one has a finger pointing to the bottom corner where the door meets the cabinet. That’s the spot I’d check first: swing the door a few times and make sure it closes square without dragging, both before the install and after.
INSIDE ROOM:
SnapSafe lists the inside at 40.7 inches tall, 14.13 inches wide and only 3.78 inches deep, with three removable shelves. The outside is 44 by 16.25 by 4 inches. Height is generous for most rifles and shotguns. Depth is the limit.
In the lead photo you can see a wood-stocked long gun standing inside. A slim bolt-action, a lever gun or a single-barrel shotgun has a fair chance. A rifle with a big scope, a thick stock, a bipod or a magazine hanging below the receiver may not fit at all. Measure the thickest point of every gun you plan to store before you buy. Any shelf you leave in eats into that same shallow depth, so the shelves are best for ammunition and small items.
The seller also mentions electronics, documents, cash and collectibles as things you can keep inside. Since no fire rating is listed, don’t count on paperwork making it through a house fire.
BUILD & STEEL:
SnapSafe says the body is 16-gauge steel and the door is 0.15 inches thick. There’s no fire rating, no independent break-in rating and no lock-bolt description in the listing. In plain terms, this is out-of-sight storage and a theft deterrent, not a vault.
The close-up of the front flange shows how thin that lip is, with a scuff on the very corner. Another shows a small screwed-on metal bracket. A thin, 4-inch profile doesn’t leave much room for heavy locking hardware, and a determined thief who knows where the safe is can go after the drywall around it. The real protection is that nobody knows it’s there, plus six lag bolts into the framing.
The spec sheet also says it isn’t water resistant. Keep it off damp walls, and a little silica gel inside never hurts a gun.
MOUNTING:
This is where the SnapSafe earns its keep or doesn’t. The seller says it installs between studs in minutes with six lag bolts. In the photos you can see open stud framing, the kind of wall cavity this cabinet is built to go into.
Here’s the catch. Studs set 16 inches on center leave roughly 14.5 inches of clear space between them, and SnapSafe lists the outside at 16.25 inches wide. Read the manual closely to see how the cabinet is meant to fit your framing, and be careful about cutting studs. SnapSafe gives the weight as 61 pounds on the spec sheet and 55 pounds in the seller text, so plan on a helper either way.
Another photo shows a blue electrical box on a stud in the same kind of open wall. Walls hide wiring, plumbing and ductwork. Check for all three before you cut anything, and if you’re not sure what’s behind the drywall, hire somebody who is.
PLACEMENT:
SnapSafe says the cabinet can hide behind a picture or in a closet. In the photos you can see it set into the back wall of a walk-in closet between the hanging clothes, and closed in another wall next to a corner. Pick a spot where the door can swing all the way open without hitting furniture, and stay off exterior walls where insulation and moisture are a problem.
If you have children in the house, this part isn’t optional. North Carolina’s safe-storage law (G.S. 14-315.1) can put you in court if a child gets hold of a loaded gun you left within reach and something happens with it. Other states have their own versions.
POWER:
Batteries aren’t included, and the listing doesn’t say which type the keypad takes. Find that out in the manual and buy them before you finish the install. While you’re in there, check where the battery compartment sits and whether you can reach it from the front. A dead keypad on a cabinet bolted into the wall is a bad time to learn the answer. Change batteries on a schedule, and after the install, make sure the key opens the door.
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE YOU BUY:
Where it earns its keep: The SnapSafe in-wall is well built and sturdy, installs in under 45 minutes with basic tools such as a drywall saw and stud finder, and offers good depth for long guns or valuables between studs.
Where it falls short: The lock housing sits in the middle of the door and can interfere with what is stored. Some units arrive with bent corners or missing paint, and a few ship with codes that do not work out of the box.
Who it’s for: A quick, flush in-wall safe for long guns or valuables between standard studs, for anyone comfortable with light DIY. Inspect for shipping damage on arrival.
WHAT TO WATCH:
Depth first: 3.78 inches inside rules out a lot of scoped and bulky long guns. Install second: the outside is wider than a standard stud bay, and this is real wall work. Then the small stuff: batteries not included and type not listed, no fire rating, not water resistant, and two different weights in the listing.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT:
Buy it if you own a slim rifle or shotgun, you’re short on floor space, you own the wall, and you’re comfortable opening it up or paying someone who is. Skip it if you rent, if your long guns wear big optics, or if you need a rated safe for fire or insurance. A freestanding cabinet is the easier road for those folks.
SPECS AT A GLANCE:
| Spec | What SnapSafe lists |
|---|---|
| Outside size | 44″ high x 16.25″ wide x 4″ deep |
| Inside size | 40.7″ high x 14.13″ wide x 3.78″ deep |
| Body and door | 16-gauge steel body, 0.15″ steel door |
| Shelves | 3 removable shelves |
| Lock | Electronic keypad with key backup (spec sheet says “Key”) |
| Weight | 61 lb on the spec sheet, 55 lb in the seller text |
| Mounting | Between studs with 6 lag bolts; mounting kit and 2 keys included |
| Power | Batteries not included, type not listed |
| Water resistance | Not water resistant |
PROS & CONS:
Pros
- Hides in the wall and takes up no floor space
- Keypad with a key backup, two keys included
- Long 40.7-inch interior with three removable shelves
- Mounting kit with six lag bolts in the box
Cons
- Only 3.78 inches deep inside, too shallow for many scoped guns
- Wider than a standard stud bay, so the install takes real wall work
- No fire rating, not water resistant, and no battery type listed
$349.95 on Amazon (as of Oct 31, 2026, 12:05 AM EDT – details)
Want more wall options? See my best in-wall gun safes picks.
Hands-on test record
Protocol prepared for Chris. Replace the yellow fields with what actually happened; delete this section — and the word “Tested” from the title and intro — if these products were not handled.
| Who tested | Chris Raper, NRA-certified instructor |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 31, 2026 |
| Products on this page | SnapSafe In-Wall Long Gun Safe |
| Protocol (plan) | Install the cabinet between studs as the manual directs, then open it repeatedly by keypad in a dark room and by the backup key. Test which of your long guns fit, with and without a sling or light attached, and how cleanly each comes out. |
| To measure | Record dark-room open time, the wall depth and stud spacing used, and which long guns fit versus the listing. |
| What failed or disappointed | |
| Photos from the tester | Our community |
SnapSafe In-Wall Long Gun Safe FAQ
What long guns fit in the SnapSafe In-Wall Long Gun Safe?
SnapSafe lists the inside at 40.7 inches tall, 14.13 inches wide and only 3.78 inches deep. Slim rifles and shotguns may fit, but scoped or bulky ones may not. Measure the thickest part of each gun, optics and magazines included, against that depth.
How is the SnapSafe mounted in a wall?
The seller says it goes between the studs with six lag bolts, and a mounting kit and manual come in the box. Because the outside is 16.25 inches wide, read the manual about stud spacing, check for wiring and plumbing first, and call a professional if you’re unsure.
How do I power the SnapSafe keypad?
Batteries aren’t included and the listing doesn’t name the type. Check the manual for the battery size and where the compartment is, buy them before the install, and make sure the backup key opens the door.
What if the keypad fails?
Use the backup key. Two come in the box. Keep one on you or in a separate locked spot, never next to the safe, and out of children’s reach.
Is the SnapSafe in-wall safe fireproof or waterproof?
No fire rating is listed, and the spec sheet says it isn’t water resistant. Treat it as hidden storage, not protection against fire or flood.
Chris Raper
Chris Raper is the founder and lead reviewer of Conceal & Carry Network. A retired North Carolina law-enforcement officer with more than 40 years of service and a U.S. Air Force Security Police veteran, he founded Concealed Handgun Carry, Inc. in Elm City, NC in 2006 and has taught the state-approved NC Concealed Handgun Carry class there ever since. He is an NC Department of Justice certified Firearms Safety Instructor, an NRA Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun Instructor, an NRA Range Safety Officer and a graduate of Massad Ayoob's Lethal Force Institute. He reviews the carry guns, holsters, safes and sight tools his students ask about every week.