Biometric pistol safe

Nature Boy

Nature Boy

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Apr 21, 2015
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My daughter is out on her own living in an apartment and I’m looking to get her a safe to keep her Beretta 92 secure but handy.

What do you like? What should I steer clear of?
 
Why biometric?
FWIW, I've had a Barska biometric for 5 years and it's never given me a problem.

If I were buying now, I'd get a Fort Knox with the simplex style lock.

I prefer pop-tops so I can see what I'm grabbing better, but in my house, vertical surfaces accumulate stuff. So I have a front-loader where the door won't be blocked and if something gets stacked on it, it won't block access.
 
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I haven't explored all the options currently on the market, but it seems like for an adult with other adults, it could work well to have a lock that is secured when your "device" is not nearby, but that readily opens when it is. My wife's car fob works that way, and I'm sure that suffices to explain what I mean. Whether it's RFID, NFC, Bluetooth or whatever. The device doesn't have to be a discrete fob. It could be the smartphone that most people already carry. Obviously, it needs an alternative access method like biometrics or an electronic combination lock.

There are obvious problems with this for securing guns from kids, but when I was in college and afterward living as a single, I had housemates. I wouldn't have wanted them to have free access to all my property, but as long as I was home, I didn't have to concern myself with a possible tragedy if I wasn't in the very room.

It might be something that would appeal to the "tap and swipe" generation. Like I said, I like the simplex combo locks.
 
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As @JTQ and @westernrover said, go simplex, especially for adults. You get to pick the keys - each has to be used once, but they can be used in tandem. For example, press 1&2 at the same time, then press 3&4 at the same time, then press 5, and turn the knob. Or set it to press 1&2&3, then 4&5, and turn the knob. You set the combination. It is mechanical vs electronic.

Remember - someone patient enough can go through all the combinations on a simplex lock…it may take a while, but it is finite

I have both Ft Knox and VLine. The Ft Knox original (linked below) weighs a ton, will take a beating. The VLine is more of a school locker. Both are good, decide your purpose/need.

https://www.ftknox.com/product-cate...MIg8Xcl6Hp_AIVLRXUAR3EhQ08EAAYAiAAEgJ44vD_BwE

https://www.vlineind.com/
 
@JTQ - mostly long gun (surface mount and ‘between the studs’), I do not believe the Brute was available when I was in the market (nor any of the other Ft Knox pistol boxes other than the original). I like VLine a lot, and they have expanded their offering considerably.

Best to narrow the selection down to a few, and compare :thumbup:
 
Brute: https://www.vlineind.com/shop/brutexd-tactical-heavy-duty-large-capacity-handgun-safe-copy/
  • NEW Heavy Duty Welded Lock Cover for added security.
  • Heavy duty 10 gauge all steel construction.
  • Heavy 12 gauge handle with anti-pry lock protection.
  • Over-sized solid steel lock block and dead bolt.
  • Break free 360 degree rotation clutch knob.
  • Reliable quick access genuine SIMPLEX mechanical push button lock.
  • Heavy duty gas assisted opening strut.
  • Super duty continuous hinge with welded pin.
  • Fully customizable foam interior.
  • Rugged textured tactical black powder coating.
  • Silk screened and laser cut accent logos.
  • Four pre-drilled 1/4″ holes for mounting.
Original: https://www.ftknox.com/product/original-pistol-box-wfront-sight-training-certificate-included/
  • 10 gauge body
  • 3/16″ plate door
  • Simplex® Mechanical Lock
  • Durable antique silver textured powder coat finish
  • Foam Lined
  • Internal dimensions (11 5/8″W X 3 5/8″H X 10 1/4″D)
  • Four pre-drilled bolt down holes (2 1/8th inch from each side, see pic)
  • Limited Lifetime Warranty
Real close :thumbup:
 
Another recommendation for a Simplex style safe. I started with a Winchester eVault safe. Exactly like what GunVault is making right now. It worked for awhile. Electronic, keypad function, with a key backup. It failed and became an expensive paper weight when a small, but critical component inside failed after about 5 years. I figured, get a new high tech safe. So I got a "better" one. Phone Bluetooth unlock, finger print, and RFID open. I had a sticker on the back of my KIA wristband that would open it. Even had charging ports for my phone. Again, great safe. Until it wasn't. Small, but critical piece inside stopped working. Instead this time, it took more than a turn of a backup key to get my firearm out. I decided I would rather go low tech than high. So I got a Fort Knox safe with a Simplex lock. Bolted it to my end table and the only thing I added was a motion activated light so I can see inside when it opens. So far, it has outlasted both electronic safes.

https://www.gunsafes.com/Fort-Knox-PB1-Original-Pistol-Safe.html
 
I'm loving this thread. I have had terrible results with electronic safes and suspect that sooner or later they will all let you down. I eventually spent the money on the Fort Knox and wish I'd started out with it.

<edit> This, by the way, is the last electronic vault I bought before purchasing the Fort Knox.

full.jpg

I went to retrieve the gun - my primary carry gun - before heading to CCW requalification, and it simply wouldn't let me in. It came with a key, which of course was nowhere to be found, and the clock was ticking. Ten minutes with a hacksaw sorted the problem. Ten minutes, of course, is plenty of time to get killed when you really need a gun, and conversely not nearly enough of a deterent for a criminal, or even a teenaged dumbass.
 
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I've had many. I like vaultek safes. The nanokey and key pad are 100 percent reliable and the wifi phone part works too for opening. Plus it tells you via a log that the safe was touched or opened and how. They will work plugged in or off their battery and they say in the literature that leaving them plugged in is ok

The vs20 compact will hold a Beretta or Glock 22/17 etc and a spare mag. Costs 175 or so and works with the nano key if you choose. They can be booked down and come with a steel cable to hook around a solid object like a hotel bed. Personally I carry a pair of S&W handcuffs to hook the cable to a bed frame. Works better. Plus it will get you a few airport security workers phone numbers as a bonus.

As far as biometric they have been terrible in my experience. I have some that just quit opening and I have 2 that will open if you put your elbow to the sensor. Lol. All have been relegated to just the key backup.

At my factory we spent many tens of thousands of dollars on fingerprint time clocks.....they are so unreliable we are back to swiping cards in them. So even on industrial biometrics, its not reliable. Ive seen more than one phone unlock for people other than the owner too.
 
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