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Grade 1 gun safe vs gun cabinet

Updated: October 2026

A grade 1 gun safe vs gun cabinet choice is a fork between two constructions. A gun cabinet is the usual home recommendation in the Home Office firearms security handbook. An EN 1143-1 Grade I safe is the step up when the force or the insurer has named that grade. The [grade 1 gun safe comparison](/hub/safes-and-secure-storage/grade-1-gun-safe) is the amazon.co.uk set behind this page. The Products Compared editorial team read the handbook, Secured by Design’s home-safe guidance, and Sold Secure’s firearms leaflet on 16 October 2026. We did not repeat a burglary test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

A grade 1 gun safe vs gun cabinet choice is a fork between two constructions. A gun cabinet is the usual home recommendation in the Home Office firearms security handbook.

Our top picks

BILLCONCH BILLCONCH BG-J11

Best overall

BILLCONCH BILLCONCH BG-J11
6.7/10about £134.43
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movgul movgul movgul-443B

Best value

movgul movgul movgul-443B
5.4/10about £96.16
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KAER KAER W396

Rank 3

KAER KAER W396
5.7/10about £799.96
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On this page
  1. 1.A cabinet is the handbook’s usual answer
  2. 2.Grade I is the step up
  3. 3.Bronze is not Grade I
  4. 4.Nothing in this Amazon set is the certified version of either

A cabinet is the handbook’s usual answer

For an ordinary house, the handbook starts with a gun cabinet. Paragraph 2.1 tells forces that new cabinets should conform to BS 7558. Paragraph 2.17 then allows a cabinet, or a clamp, where the risk is low and there is one gun. The Firearms Rules 1998, as the handbook applies them, require secure storage so far as is reasonably practicable. They do not name BS 7558 as a statutory product. The handbook is guidance to forces, which is why a sheet-steel cabinet is the usual first conversation. A clamp is the narrow case: one gun, and a low-risk setting. A second gun, or a house the officer reads as higher risk, takes you back to a cabinet. Sheet-steel cabinets on amazon.co.uk, including Brattonsound pages seen in UK search, sit nearer £270 and claim BS 7558, not EN 1143-1 Grade I. Those listings live on the gun cabinet comparison.

Grade I is the step up

Paragraph 2.28 brings in a Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3 safe for a higher-risk dwelling. That is where a grade 1 gun safe enters official guidance. It is not a rule that two shotguns automatically require Grade I. The same paragraph warns about weight in lighter buildings, including mobile homes. An indicative cash figure used around Grade I is £10,000. That figure is a trade indication, not a line in the Firearms Rules. SafeFort lists a Phoenix Rigel from £1,747.46, and Lichfield lists an 8-gun Rigel at £1,710.73 and 235 kg. A Burton Gamekeeper Gold is listed at £5,377.80 where trade copy pairs it with EN 1143-1 and Sold Secure Gold. Resistance units are in the grade 1 gun safe buying guide.
BILLCONCH BILLCONCH BG-J11

Testsieger

BILLCONCH BILLCONCH BG-J11
6.7/10about £134.43
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Bronze is not Grade I

Sold Secure SS302 Bronze is the cabinet medal. Secured by Design’s home-safes page describes Bronze as meeting BS 7558, with Silver and Gold going further. The same page lists BS EN 1143-1 as the Eurograde route for safes. Eurograde 1, in an insurer’s wording, means EN 1143-1 Grade I. It does not mean Sold Secure Bronze. The Sold Secure firearms leaflet calls Bronze, Silver, and Gold a ladder, and its phrase “legal minimum” overstates the statute. The Rules do not name Bronze, BS 7558, or EN 1143-1. In the Burton trade sketch the Pioneer is SS302 Bronze, the Warden is EN 1143-1 plus Silver, and the Gamekeeper Gold is EN 1143-1 plus Gold. The grade is the test the product was certified to. The amazon.co.uk rows in this set state neither certificate.

Nothing in this Amazon set is the certified version of either

The KAER W396 is the only cabinet-shaped row in the eight. Its listing states neither BS 7558 nor EN 1143-1 Grade I. The other seven are pistol boxes, too small for a shotgun or a rifle, and outside both the cabinet standard and the Eurograde. Fit for long guns is on the gun safe for shotguns UK page. For an ordinary certificate, start with a gun cabinet your force will accept. Buy an EN 1143-1 Grade I safe when the officer or the insurer has named that grade. Use a clamp only for one gun at low risk, in the way paragraph 2.17 puts it.

Common questions

When does Grade I enter the guidance?
In paragraph 2.28, for a higher-risk dwelling, alongside Grade 2 and Grade 3. Two shotguns on their own do not trigger that sentence. Buy Grade I when the force or the insurer has asked for it. Until that ask, the handbook is still describing a cabinet.
Is Sold Secure Bronze the same as EN 1143-1?
No. Bronze tracks BS 7558. EN 1143-1 is the separate Eurograde scale, and Grade I is the first step on that scale. Gold beside EN 1143-1 on one Burton model is two labels on one product, not proof that every Gold medal is a Eurograde. If a policy says Eurograde 1, ask the insurer to confirm they mean Grade I.
Is the KAER either of these?
Neither. The listing leaves both standards off the page. The pistol boxes beside it are a third thing again. Treat the KAER as an uncertified cabinet until your force has seen it. For a named Grade I, expect a specialist retailer.
Does a heavier cabinet become Grade I?
Weight follows from a certified construction. It does not award the grade. A 31 kg cabinet can be awkward on the stairs and still sit outside EN 1143-1. Paragraph 2.28’s warning about mobile homes is about floors and structure, not a shortcut that mass equals Grade I.
What does an insurer mean by Eurograde 1?
EN 1143-1 Grade I. Secured by Design lists that standard as the Eurograde route, separate from Sold Secure Bronze. The £10,000 figure is a trade indication, and the Firearms Rules do not set it. Confirm the wording with the insurer before you buy.
Can one low-risk shotgun use a clamp instead?
Paragraph 2.17 allows a clamp for one gun where the risk is low. A second gun, or a higher-risk house, moves you back to a cabinet. A clamp is not the Grade I case in paragraph 2.28. If you are unsure which paragraph fits, wait for the firearms enquiry officer before you buy.

Related pages

Grade 0 gun safe comparison

Grade 1 gun safe

Best grade 1 gun safe: top pick is an uncertified box

What is a grade 1 gun safe? Certificate, not a title

Gun safe for shotguns UK: which of these eight fit

How to install a gun safe before you drill the wall

Sources

Public UK sources on firearms storage, BS 7558 and EN 1143-1. Listing prices and star counts are from the amazon.co.uk extracts kept for this comparison. Prices move. Last checked 16 October 2026.

  1. Home Office Firearms security handbook 2020 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Firearms Rules 1998 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Firearms Act 1968, section 5 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. Firearms (Air Weapons) (England and Wales) Rules 2023 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. PSNI Firearms and Explosives Branch (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. De Raat UK insurance rating table (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. EN 1143-1:2019 table preview (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. SafeFort Phoenix Rigel GS8021E (retrieved 16 October 2026)