Pistol safe

Mark2

Mark2

New member
I'm looking for a secure pistol case to keep next to my bed and nightstand. For obvious reasons I need it to be child proof but easy fast opening if something happens. I found this while puttering around on the computer. Anyone have any good or bad experience with this, or can someone recommend another similar style safe .

http://www.hornady.com/store/RAPiD-Safe


The days of leaving my 1911 between the mattress and box spring have been over for about 13 years since my daughter started walking.
 
I use Gun Vault safes for my handguns around the house. I have 2 grandsons and even though I don't think we will ever have a problem with the boys and any of my handguns, you just can't take a chance. I like the Gun Vault, they are able to be bolted down or cable tied to secure them down. I think they are worth every penny. I have looked at the Hornady safe and they look good also.
 
I have a couple of the 'Mini-vaults'...one in the car and one in the house...the silent touch finger buttons can be programed with any 4 push sequence and both the wife and myself can access then without having to worry about needing any additional access tools...In the event of a battery failure, there is a mechanical lock/key access, but I've run the same batteries for up to five years without a failure and only change them as a precaution..

If someone else starts pushing the buttons out of proper sequence, it signals an alarm and requires a reset timeout..The same thing happens if someone tries to move or pick it up...I mounted the rough portion of a heavy hook&loop tape on the bottom and it grabs carpet just like being screwed down and there is a steel tether cable attached to a solid object in case someone pulls it loose...
 
I suppose it's more legwork than most people want to go through, but the wife and I have a firesafe with a keylock, our weapons are on the nightstand at night, and get dropped in the safe every morning. Basically like getting up and brushing your teeth, and it's kid safe when we're not in the room, yet fully accessible in the event.

I have had really bad experiences with biometrics (fail to open about half of the time with my own fingers, and open about 1/4 of the time for someone else). The 4 push codes are a better idea, but I don't even like manual safeties on my defense weapons, let alone a 4 click code on a safe. Then again, I do my planning with "waking up to someone standing over my bed" in mind, not "someone's in the house". I'd like a 4 push safe for a shotgun though - since we keep the handguns on the nightstand for "someone's in the room," and the shotguns nearby for "someone's in the house".
 
Varminterror

You raise some great points. I've actually thought about what you said many times. I have to figure something out soon


Regards

Mark2
 
Mark2,

It's good that you're thinking ahead. I don't know if this will help, but here is how I've prepared:

I bought a lab puppy for my daughter and to alert us that someone is coming into the house
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I keep 2 handguns and a tactical flashlight in a Sentry Firesafe next to my bed. I think the flashlight is important for identifying the intruder and it might prevent him from getting an accurate bead on you.

My wife keeps her cell phone next to her every night to call 911 if necessary.

Thinking about getting a single gun vault for my 12 gauge as well.



 
I actually have two labs one 95 lb chocolate and a 70 lb black. They both alternate sleeping in my daughter room, it's actually quite funny. It's like they take turns standing gaurd. Both of them will bark at the sound of a fly farting lol. But from my bedroom to my current gun safe is about 60 ft down the hallway and it's a combo safe so I need light and quick hands. I live in a good neighbor hood but these days that means nothing
 
I suppose another option would be to have your weapon in a locked handgun vault near the bed, then open it at night. If you forget, it's a simple 4push to open (extra steps in a panic, but still there), and if not, it's readily accessible when you need it. If the kids came in the room and woke you up in the middle of the night, you could just slap it closed.

But for the money, I have given up on it. Locked nightstand drawer or in the safe during the day, loving life on the nightstand in the nude at night.
 
A motion detector on your driveway can give you a bit of advance warning of somebody approaching. The wireless ones are dirt cheap now.

Jack
 
Not kids yet but...

What about like others said leaving it out at night and up in the morning. If your worried that the kids would walk in and mess with the gun while you slept, maybe kept the gun with mag loaded but nothing in the chamber. Few kids that are to young to know not to touch a weapon would have the hand strength to rack the slide on certain guns. Then if you hear the bump in the night you can chamber a round and investigate. Another plus to that is the sound of that slide racking could scare off a would be intruder... then again it could make them more dangerous. Its all a catch 22 ain't it.
 
From a reality standpoint, if someone is already in the dark room with you, you have very little chance of successfully obtaining a weapon that is not right at your finger tips and that is not safe for a sleeping person, especially if others are in the house (too many cases of other family members being shot)...An intruder has several advantages over a prone sleeping figure upon initial waking...

The closest that I've ever experienced as a LEO was one resident that had a small .38 in a holster that was screwed to the bed rail below the mattress and he figured that if attacked, he could hopefully flail around enough to grab it during any struggle...But there was only he and his wife in the residence at any given time...When we had the Bed & Breakfast, I had something similar under a lower shelf in the kitchen near the rear door on the way to my maintenance/storage shed where all my firearms, tools, and motorcycles were kept with an alarm that rang in the house...

With the four button mini-vault, I can, for instance, program in a sequence of 1-1-2-1 and open it very silently and quickly in the dark, or with my eyes closed, and the door pops open for access...
 
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