Hey guys,
My little girl is now 11 months and starting to get around. I keep all my firearms in a safe–except my bedside handgun. I want to go ahead and get a good pistol safe that can be accessed quickly in an emergency.
Anyone have any advice? Anything to avoid?
i’ve got one of the mediumish sized models… i’ve got a real simple, but not easily guessable code, and can have a condition 1 pistol in 3 seconds without exerting myself nor getting out of bed
I use a V-Line model as I got tired of batteries and electronics going tits up and wondering if it was going to work when I might need to get in the safe the most. I don’t remember what brand of electronic safe I had previous to the V-Line, and it worked fine at first, but after a few years it started acting weird and the batteries would die just a few weeks after replacing them. The V-Line sure ain’t going to stop a determined individual (i.e. a thief) from getting in, but I feel great about the isolation it provides between my kids (ages 8, 5, and 1.5) and my nightstand handgun.
I liked my night stand version so much, I bought thier in-wall mounted long gun safe to keep my wife’s Noveske a bit more readily accessible.
This thread is relevant to my interests.
I bought two GunVault Microvault’s direct from their factory website on the same order and both failed. The first had a keypad failure in the first hour, the other had a faulty latch mechanism straight from the factory. Customer service is tip-top but I lost confidence in the product after having TWO fail immediately.
My experience is that nearly all pistol vaults are bottom of the barrel sub-contracted Chinese junk. Perhaps something with a mechanical Simplex lock like the Fort Knox Pistol Box would be more acceptable for your needs. Also, check out the Smith & Wesson branded line from Truck Vault. I also bought the compact V-line and the quality was reasonable but it did not work within the dimensions of my narrow and compact nightstand. Unfortunately the pickings seem slim if you are quality oriented.
I’ve got a gunvault…not sure how durable it is as I’ve only owned it for a year now but so far so good. No way it’d keep someone from stealing the gun as it’s not bolted down or anything (just sits under the bed), it’s mostly just to keep little kids from getting their hands on the gun.
i only have experience with my one, but it’s been perfectly functional for over 3 years with only 1 or 2 battery changes
does she sleep in your room? if not, keep the firearm out at night with your bedroom door locked and lock the weapon in the safe the minute you awake.
Those Fort Knox boxes look pretty stout. They appear to use the same kind of Simplex lock as the V-Line models.
I don’t know about your situation, but I would not feel comfortable keeping my bedroom door locked with my children in another room (unless it’s me and the misses’ special time :D) as I could not be as easily alerted to bumps in the night or hearing my children calling or screaming for me if something was going down.
how about a baby monitor? just a thought. your statement probably does have some validation, though. personally, i don’t have kids. if i did… my dogs make a TON of noise… and they hear everything. hard to say… got me thinkin’.
Don’t some of these gun vaults come with a keypad that doesn’t beep when you press the buttons. This would keep things more stealth, no?
Take a look at the Stack on Safe security boxes/cabinets.
http://stack-on.com/securityplus/gun_cabinets_and_pistol_boxes/index.html
I have two Gun Vault MiniVault Deluxes for about 18 months now. You should get the model with the battery and plug in option. Both of mine have been 100% functional out of the box. I believe having the plug in is critical because if the power goes out, the battery will kick in and vice versa. I also keep a key very well hidden nearby just in case (you can easily tape the handle securely to the underside of a drawer).
There is also a fingerprint scan model available, but I’ve never tried it.
One resides under the bed and the other is near where we watch TV.
For a little bit of extra safty get a HK P7.
For a little bit of extra safty get a HK P7.
Mark my words, a curious child will NOT be defeated by the grip-cocking mechanism of an HK P7.
They’ll find a way… they ALWAYS find a way…
Look at the “FAS1 Quick Access Pistol Safe”. I’ve had mine about 9 months now, and can tell you there isn’t a sturdier quick open safe for the money!
Here’s a couple of pics with my G19. It’s a sturdy little safe with a simplex type lock. It has a gas piston that pops the door open for fast access with a nylon holster. I don’t know what pistols fit the holster, but my G 19 & 17 fit just fine. . Buy the way, it’s made right here in the USA!
When I bought mine the guy was offering 25% off if you ordered a safe with a posted coupon code. I don’t know if the code is still good, but here it is :
Coupon Code: MM0908ILJO
I use something similar…Wal-Mart and Target carry various brands and styles in their office supply departments.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=13350582&findingMethod=rr&
When ever we leave the house we lock it up under the bed.
You can turn the beeps off with the gun vault but that can lead to getting locked out of the box. I have had on several occasions tried to open my safe thinking it registered all my button pushes only to find out it missed one. Once you are off you have to get back to the start point on the code input in order for it to accept your code. For example:
you have a code that has 4 button pushes
you push in your code but it only sees 3 of the 4 pushes
now here is where the trouble starts
your safe does not open and you have to guess how many button pushes it missed because it only allows your 4 button code to be entered after the previous attempt has been completed (4 buttons pushed)
It does not automatically pick up your code if you start it over in the middle of a wrong sequence
you can repeatedly enter the correct code but be one button push off in the sequence and it will lock you out for 2 minutes! it takes 18 pushes for this to happen. The only way to get it open in this state is to use the key.
If this happened to me under no kind of stress I fear how well I could get this thing open knowing I may only have a few seconds.
There is a little light on the top of the box that will turn red when the wrong code is entered but in my situation I can not see it due to the location of the box. If you keep entering the first button push in your code until the light turns green you can complete your code from there and the box will open after the correct sequence is entered.
I would like to find something a little easier to get into with out the lock out feature.
With a simplex lock, all you have to do is turn the opening nob counter clockwise to clear it. Then you just enter your code combo.