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.
Long guns get forgotten in the safe-storage talk. Students come to my class thinking about the pistol on the nightstand, and the shotgun standing behind the bedroom door never comes up until I ask about it. Then the room gets quiet.
The Vrothkain 3-5 Gun Biometric Safe is a tall, narrow cabinet meant to get that shotgun and a few rifles behind a lock without a big safe’s price or weight. My verdict: it’s a low-cost, no-assembly rifle cabinet with three ways in and a lockout alarm, which is a lot on paper for the money. What it doesn’t have yet is a track record, so check the gaps I list below and anchor it to the wall.
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
Vrothkain 3-5 Gun Biometric Safe – Best Budget Biometric Rifle Cabinet Under $200
HIGHLIGHT:
A cabinet that arrives assembled, with room for up to five rifles, two handgun pockets and two ammo boxes behind fingerprint, keypad and key access.
OUT OF THE BOX:
Vrothkain says the cabinet arrives fully assembled and ready to use, packed in thick cardboard and high-density foam. No assembly is a fair selling point for folks who don’t want to spend a Saturday with an Allen wrench. It also means a tall, awkward package shows up at your door in one piece.
Get a second person to help move it. Before you sign for it or throw the packaging out, walk all the way around the cabinet looking for dents, and open and close the door a few times to make sure it shuts square. A door that drags on day one won’t get better.
FRONT PANEL & FINGERPRINT READER:
There are three ways in: a fingerprint sensor, a digital keypad and backup keys. The seller calls the reader fast and accurate and describes the keypad as the reliable alternative. The key is your mechanical fallback when both electronic methods fail.
The listing doesn’t say how many fingerprints the reader stores. If more than one adult in the house needs access, find that number before you order. Whatever it is, I teach the same trick for every biometric lock: enroll the same finger several times at different angles, flat, tipped up and rolled a little to each side. Cold, wet or worn fingers don’t always read, and the listing gives no figures on that. Until you know how the reader gets along with your hands, treat the keypad as your main way in.
LOCKOUT & ALARM:
This is the part of the listing that shows some thought. Vrothkain says the cabinet locks itself for 20 seconds after three wrong passwords or five failed fingerprint scans, and sounds an audible alarm. A short lockout slows down a guesser without shutting the owner out for long.
The flip side is that a stressed owner who fumbles the code three times will be standing there for 20 seconds. That’s one more reason to practice the code until your fingers know it without you thinking about it.
The seller also says the alarm reacts to impact and prying, though the listing text is cut off right after that, so read the full description on the page. As an old lawman, I’ll tell you a siren is a good warning in a house with people in it. It does not stop a pry bar. Think of it as a way to notice tampering, not as armor.
BUILD & BOLTS:
The seller describes reinforced cold-rolled steel with 20 mm solid locking bolts for anti-pry and anti-tamper protection. The spec table says alloy steel. Those two descriptions don’t match word for word, which is a reason to treat the construction as seller language until you know more.
There’s no steel gauge or thickness listed, no fire rating and no certification. A cabinet in this price range is a good way to keep rifles away from children and casual hands. It’s a poor stand-in for a rated safe, and I wouldn’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
INSIDE ROOM:
Vrothkain lists the outside at 54 inches tall and 11.8 inches wide and deep, and says it holds up to five rifles up to 50 inches long, with or without scopes. Each gun is described as having its own space, and the two handgun pockets and two ammo boxes cover the extras. The listing also mentions removable parts inside, but that line is cut off, so check the listing photos for which pieces come out.
The spec table gives 7,520 cubic inches. That’s what you get when you multiply the outside dimensions, so it describes the outer shell, not usable room. Don’t judge fit by it. Measure your longest rifle with the optic and any muzzle device on and check it against the 50-inch limit. Then be realistic. Five rifles in an 11.8-inch width is a tight fit for chunky stocks and big scopes, and plain bolt actions and pump shotguns will pack in better than a row of dressed-up ARs.
The handgun pockets are a welcome touch, since loose pistols tend to slide around a rifle cabinet. The listing doesn’t give pocket sizes, so make sure your pistol fits before you count on them.
With children in the house, I like ammunition locked up apart from the guns when you can manage it. If the ammo boxes inside are your only option, at least everything is behind one locked door.
MOUNTING:
The spec table lists wall mounting, and the seller says pre-drilled holes and expansion bolts let you anchor it to a wall or the floor. In the photo up top you can see how little floor it takes, standing in a corner beside a door. That under-a-foot-square footprint is the appeal, and it’s also the danger. A narrow cabinet 54 inches tall can tip, and a cabinet full of rifles coming down on a child is its own emergency.
Here’s the catch: the spec table lists only an instruction manual under included components, while the seller text mentions expansion bolts. Check the listing photos and the questions section to see whether hardware is in the box, and buy anchors made for your wall if it isn’t. Go into a stud or masonry, not hollow drywall, and leave room for the door to swing all the way open.
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 & BACKUP KEY:
The listing doesn’t name the battery type, battery life or any outside power port. A fingerprint cabinet lives and dies on its batteries, so find out how it’s powered, and what happens when the cells go flat, before you rely on it. Then put a reminder on your phone to check it on the first of every month.
The backup keys are the stated fallback. I say it in every class: the key does not live on top of the cabinet, in the closet beside it, or anywhere a child can find it. Put it on your key ring or in a second locked spot. A cabinet with the key hanging in it is just a closet with extra steps.
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE YOU BUY:
Where it earns its keep: Good value for holding handguns plus a shotgun or rifle, with both a keypad and a hidden keyhole for backup access, no assembly required, and a footprint compact enough to tuck into a closet.
Where it falls short: The password-setup instructions are unclear (the reset button’s location is not explained), the cabinet is lightweight and can tip over when empty, and a portion of units have locking or keypad defects out of the box.
Who it’s for: Anyone on a budget who wants a basic cabinet for a few guns and will test the lock thoroughly right away; skip it if you want premium build quality or a safe that will not tip when empty.
WHAT TO WATCH:
The missing information is the big one. The listing is new and thin on detail: there’s no steel gauge, no fire rating, no fingerprint count, no battery details and a confusing hardware list. None of that means it’s a bad cabinet. It means you’re buying on the seller’s word, so verify what you can before you pay. And don’t put papers in it expecting them to come through a fire.
WHO SHOULD BUY IT:
Buy it if you have a few plain long guns and a pistol or two that need to be locked up away from children, you want a fingerprint or keypad instead of a dial, and you’ll anchor the cabinet to the wall. At the time of writing it sat in the $100 to $200 range. Skip it if you need fire protection, a rated or certified safe for an insurance policy, or room for five heavily scoped rifles. If your real need is a handgun by the bed, a cabinet is more than you need. A small bedside box does that job.
SPECS AT A GLANCE:
| Spec | What Vrothkain lists |
|---|---|
| Outside size | 11.8″ deep x 11.8″ wide x 54″ high |
| Capacity | Up to 5 rifles up to 50″ long, 2 handgun pockets, 2 ammo boxes |
| Ways in | Fingerprint, digital keypad, backup keys |
| Body | Alloy steel; seller describes reinforced cold-rolled steel (no gauge listed) |
| Bolts | 20 mm solid locking bolts, per the seller |
| Alarm | 20-second lockout after 3 wrong codes or 5 failed scans, audible alarm |
| Mounting | Wall mount; pre-drilled holes and expansion bolts mentioned by the seller |
| Assembly | Arrives fully assembled |
| Not listed | Fingerprint count, battery type, fire rating, certification |
PROS & CONS:
Pros
- Arrives assembled and ready to use
- Three ways in: fingerprint, keypad and key
- Lockout and alarm after repeated wrong attempts
- Handgun pockets and ammo boxes built in, on a footprint under a foot square
Cons
- Few customer reviews so far, and no gauge, fire rating or certification
- Battery details and included hardware unclear
- Tight width for five rifles, and tall enough that it has to be anchored
$149.99 on Amazon (as of Oct 31, 2026, 12:05 AM EDT – details)
Need a fire rating or more room? See my best gun safe 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 | Vrothkain 3-5 Gun Biometric Safe |
| Protocol (plan) | Anchor the cabinet as the manual directs, then open it repeatedly by every entry method it offers (fingerprint, keypad, then the key), trigger the lockout on purpose to see how it recovers,, including once in a dark room and once with the main batteries pulled. Load your own long guns, scoped and unscoped, and note which ones fit and come out cleanly. |
| To measure | Record dark-room open time per entry method, lockout recovery time, failed fingerprint reads, real long-gun capacity with your guns versus the listed number, and interior height and depth against the spec. |
| What failed or disappointed | |
| Photos from the tester | Our community |
Vrothkain 3-5 Gun Biometric Safe FAQ
How many rifles fit in the Vrothkain 3-5 gun safe?
The seller says up to five rifles up to 50 inches long, with or without scopes, plus two handgun pockets and two ammo boxes. The cabinet is only 11.8 inches wide, so thick stocks and big optics will bring that number down. Measure before you order.
How does the Vrothkain biometric safe open?
Three ways: fingerprint, digital keypad and backup keys. The seller says it locks for 20 seconds after three wrong passwords or five failed fingerprint scans and sounds an alarm. Keep the keys away from the cabinet.
Does the Vrothkain safe come with mounting bolts?
The seller text mentions pre-drilled holes and expansion bolts, but the spec table lists only an instruction manual as included. Check the listing photos and questions, and be ready to buy anchors made for your wall.
Does the Vrothkain 3-5 need assembly?
No. Vrothkain says it arrives fully assembled, packed in thick cardboard and high-density foam. It’s tall, so get a second person to move it and check it for dents on delivery.
Is the Vrothkain 3-5 gun safe fire rated?
No fire rating, certification or steel gauge is listed. If fire protection matters to you, pick a model that publishes a lab fire rating, and keep papers you can’t replace somewhere else.
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.