Gun safes and rapid deployment?

[Palladan44]

Long story short......My firearms, when not on my person, or in my direct posession or supervision, are to be locked up in a safe, NO EXCEPTIONS.

I will admit that prior to having children, this was a totally different story, and I know now I had flaws in my thinking then. But nobodys perfect.
The day my first child was born, those ways were quit cold turkey instantaneously.

I carry a concealed firearm, a lot......When I'm outside of the home. I'll keep it on part time when I'm home, if I'm still in the same outfit, but usually sooner rather than later the gun comes off, and gets locked up.

I'm interested In more than one "rapid deploy" safe for different rooms of the house. The goal is to have access to firearms at least on every floor of the house.
***I know this is no subsitute for having a firearm on person at all times, but this is sure better than having all firearms locked up in the vault in the basement, should I ever need a firearm for defense at home***

The days of the "nightstand revolver", the "dresser door Glock", the "closet AR" and the "Shifferobe Shotgun" are long gone, and for a very important reason.

I'm Interested in suggestions on high quality, rapid deployment safes for both Long guns and Handguns, or safes that can accommodate both. Electric, Biometric,or mechanical are all options I can consider.

Priorities are #1 Keeping the guns secured with as little chance as possible that anyone but myself or my wife can access.

#2 Reliability and Speed of opening.

Thank you for sharing your personal opinions on this problem I'm looking to solve.

 

[jmorris]

Priorities are #1 Keeping the guns secured with as little chance as possible that anyone but myself or my wife can access.

Sounds like on ones person.

All of the little gun “safes” are really like most other locks, just keep the honest or uneducated out. The wire cutters on my leatherman could cut the cable, if one had made an attempt to secure them to anything and then the whole “safe” could be taken.

Good to keep children out, even though a teenager could open one of they wanted to. However, if they don’t already know Dad would bust their butt for it by then, you already lost.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

My desk gun. Very quick to grab. It's under the keyboard tray Bed room guns my wifes and mine we keep behind our heads. On the head board shelf.

 

[Palladan44]

Sounds like on ones person.

All of the little gun “safes” are really like most other locks, just keep the honest or uneducated out. The wire cutters on my leatherman could cut the cable, if one had made an attempt to secure them to anything and then the whole “safe” could be taken.

Good to keep children out, even though a teenager could open one of they wanted to. However, if they don’t already know Dad would bust their butt for it by then, you already lost.

These are all thoughts that have crossed my mind.
If ever had a burglary and returned home to see I was missing a mini safe, then so be it. I'm pretty aware that a determined burglar could easily access or remove these so called "safes" My goal is to keep small children out. By the time they are teens, I'm hoping (keyword, hope) that I've taught them the right mindset and skill set to keep themselves safe.
That is TBD and a matter for the future.

 

[Palladan44]

My desk gun. Very quick to grab. It's under the keyboard tray Bed room guns my wifes and mine we keep behind our heads. On the head board shelf.
View attachment 1049350

Neat, keep a roll of $20s right next to it....so you can lead a robber right to "the money", and give him the stack of 20s with your left hand....maybe bobble it and drop it on the floor....remember to wait your turn.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

First of all, there are no "rapid deploy safes".

Most gun safes aren't really classified as "safes" in the first place, but for the sake of this thread let's go with them being "safes" to distinguish between them and other forms of containers.

What you're describing is really nothing more than a rapid access residential container. And, quite frankly, many of them provide exceptionally little actual security.

And when I say "security" in this instance, I'm talking about CHILD SECURITY.

Believe it or not, some of those "pistol vaults" can be opened by children in short order with no knowledge of the actual combination beforehand. Here's an example:

https://stopboxusa.com/products/stopbox

Disregarding the fact that this particular box is made of plastic, those four buttons on the side (with the push button operated by the thumb on the edge to pop the lock when the combination is entered) provide nearly NO child safety.

Why?

Because there are EXACTLY SIX POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS for that particular box. This applies for their chamber lock and, from what I've seen of the operation of their SB90 wall mount container, the same.

If you want to use a "pistol vault" of some kind, then do some research and be sure that what you get will be fairly secure against child tampering. Because it's inherent in young children to do EXACTLY that...and far too many adults radically underestimate a child's inquisitive capabilities, especially these days (when children are not expected to know much).

NOW...that said, we don't have a pistol vault of any kind, so I can't offer specific advice on what to get. I would recommend something that's not overly simplistic in how they make it easy to access.

 

[Palladan44]

First of all, there are no "rapid deploy safes".

Most gun safes aren't really classified as "safes" in the first place, but for the sake of this thread let's go with them being "safes" to distinguish between them and other forms of containers.

What you're describing is really nothing more than a rapid access residential container. And, quite frankly, many of them provide exceptionally little actual security.

And when I say "security" in this instance, I'm talking about CHILD SECURITY.

Believe it or not, some of those "pistol vaults" can be opened by children in short order with no knowledge of the actual combination beforehand. Here's an example:

https://stopboxusa.com/products/stopbox

Disregarding the fact that this particular box is made of plastic, those four buttons on the side (with the push button operated by the thumb on the edge to pop the lock when the combination is entered) provide nearly NO child safety.

Why?

Because there are EXACTLY SIX POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS for that particular box. This applies for their chamber lock and, from what I've seen of the operation of their SB90 wall mount container, the same.

If you want to use a "pistol vault" of some kind, then do some research and be sure that what you get will be fairly secure against child tampering. Because it's inherent in young children to do EXACTLY that...and far too many adults radically underestimate a child's inquisitive capabilities, especially these days (when children are not expected to know much).

NOW...that said, we don't have a pistol vault of any kind, so I can't offer specific advice on what to get. I would recommend something that's not overly simplistic in how they make it easy to access.

I'm in agreement with this.
There's a chance I won't be going on this venture if I can't get the proper "container".

 

[.38 Special]

I used the GunVault brand, with the electric keypad, for many years. It often would fail to open on the first or even second try (and this was perfectly calm in broad daylight - I can only imagine it in the dead of night, half-asleep and panicky) and eventually the battery failed without warning, locking me out. After tearing the house apart looking for the key, I ended up cutting the thing open with a hacksaw. So I am soured on any sort of electrically-operated vault/safe/whatever.

I personally am more concerned about gun safety now that my boys are teenagers. They learned gun safety and gun handling at a very young age, and knew that any time they wanted to handle a gun they just had to ask. As bright and responsible as they are, though, lord knows what wacky ideas are rolling around in those teenaged brains. So I've been looking for a new lockbox lately, without electronics, and am strongly considering a manual "Simplex" type box like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Fort-Knox-FTK-PB-Pistol-Handgun/dp/B004H6MKI8

 

[Zendude]

Take a look at V Line. No electrical components. www.vlineind.com

 

[shoobe01]

I have a carbine on a wall mount, visible to everyone but behind things around a corner in a closet so you'd have to know. A welded bracket sticks out, goes behind the trigger and has a hole. A pushbutton padlock (mechanical, for the blind if googling) is through it. I can get out of bed, have it in the hand and charged in maybe... 10 seconds. Not sure it's possible to go faster and be secure.

There are some similar storebought options, and esp if willing to install in walls, these are a very nice option, with a couple sizes:
https://www.vlineind.com/shop/closet-vault-ii-in-wall-firearms-and-valuables-quick-access-safe/
https://www.vlineind.com/shop/quick-vault-in-wall-handgun-safe/
https://www.vlineind.com/shop/quick-vault-xl/

Also note: pushbutton (no key, dial, etc) but mechanical. No electronics which ALWAYS fail and often are prone to electronic attack.


Do NOT use the concealment style that is all the rage, that hide it behind a piece of "art" or in a piece of furniture, etc. Thieves know all of these, and kids are as good as professional thieves at finding stuff. It MUST be locked as well. None of these I've seen have a useful optional lock.

If you do the V Line setup, no reason you can't go "I found the safe" mode, and hang a picture or mirror in front of it to not make the wife angry. Make sure the concealment device can be tossed aside with no damage. You don't need broken glass when you are up barefoot in the night getting into a fight.

 

[wiscoaster]

I have five of the little Vaultek pistol safes located in various rooms throughout my home, one gun ready to go in each safe. The safes are individually secured to something very heavy and immovable, or the house framing. My personal home defense strategy is to retreat away from the intruder to a room with a gun, lock the interior door, retrieve the gun, and call 911.

Guns locked in a safe don't do a bit of good if that's the room the bad guy is breaking into from the outside.

These Vaultek safes have been 100% reliable, and have been in place for more than a year, I test them about once a month, and the battery life indicators haven't even come off full-scale yet.

 

[Shak3s1977]

I have one of those wall safes. Holds 3 handguns, and keeps the kiddos out (though my kids grew up around guns, and honestly i never worried about them too much). It's hidden behind a picture.

It has a 4 digit code. If my concealed gun isn't on me, it's in there. It has never failed to open on me, and putting my concealed gun in there almost daily, helps me remember the code easier.

 

[hso]

 

[jmorris]

My goal is to keep small children out.

Hidden and simply out of reach works.

I always thought this one was clever, if you could reach a ceiling “vent” standing on your bed.



A bit more of an install than the method I used when my kid was little.

It was just a chest of drawers up against the wall.



but if you have arms that will reach 2 feet back and lift the firearm up another two feet to be able to pull it out, it’s quick and easy access.



My wife and I also both have these little sheet metal lock boxes that can keep small children out.



The white thing is a magnetic button that depending on push, double push or push and hold, I can control 2 different outside light circuits and one inside circuit, from anywhere I have it.

 

[FAS1]

If you keep your gun(s) in one all the time then theft might be a higher priority than something that will typically only keep a toddler out. Hidden with a little creativity is a bonus as long as it is secured (bolted down as well). Simplex locks are the most durable, reliable, as fast as anything, and no need to replace batteries. These safes are usually thicker steel and would make trying open with just something like a screwdriver a lot harder.

Any safe, especially quick access safes will only buy you some time. Most won't buy much since they are typically pretty thin steel like 16GA or less. V-Line uses 14GA a lot and 10GA on their Brute model. Ft Knox is a little heavier at 10GA on the body and 7GA (3/16") on the door. One thing to keep in mind is how and where you will mount them. These open like a cigar box which might limit your mounting options.



The FAS1 safes are the heaviest steel available in a handgun safe at 7GA on all sides and the body on all 5 size safes. They can be bolted from any side or bottom as you have to drill the appropriate mounting holes for your application. Since the gas spring will automatically open the door and present your holstered (can't grab trigger inadvertently) handgun to you these safes can be mounted in any orientation you like. There is also a deadbolt function option for added security when you want to eliminate anyone from opening the safe even if the correct combination is entered. It can also function as a backup key and the user can disable this function if they want.

 

[Tallinar]

You list your first requirement to be, "Keeping the guns secured with as little chance as possible that anyone but myself or my wife can access." If you truly mean "as little chance as possible," then you'll need to acknowledge that this priority is in direct conflict with your second requirement of speed of opening. The most secure systems are going to be slow to open by design. That's just how it is.

What you're really looking for is balance. How can I secure the gun as well as possible while retaining a reasonable speed of access. What that's going to lead you to is the conclusion that you can't have a system that protects against every kind of theft or unauthorized access. Compromises must be made.

Think 80/20 rule here. The vast majority of your daily risk are people who are authorized to be in your home, but unauthorized to access your guns. Therefore, that's your main interest when it comes to security. From there, you can consider the prospect of theft. There are different kinds of thieves. There's the thug who breaks in during the day and rummages through closets and drawers looking for easy valuables to snatch; and then there's the sophisticated thief who cases the joint and comes prepared at an opportune time when he knows you are going to be away for an extended period of time. Can you defend against all of these types of access without compromising ease of access? I don't think so.

My recommendation is that you look for something secure enough to prevent unauthorized access to unsupervised children, and secure enough to protect against "smash and grab" thieves. Don't concern yourself with preventing access to the determined thief. If a thief has enough time to spend alone in your home -- and is equipped with just a single power tool -- he will more than likely be able to overcome any gun safe that he comes across. Again, 80/20 rule.

I would take a look at something like the SecureIt Fast Box, bolted to a wall in a closet, or under your bed. Some folks may find them to be overpriced for what they are, but I think they satisfy the 80/20 rule very practically.

Good luck.

 

[herrwalther]

I recommend either the FAS safes already talked about above or a Ft Knox. I have used a lot of others such as Vline, Gun Vault, and Gun box only to have problems. The only change I made to my Ft Knox box was adding a motion activated light inside so I can see my guns.

https://www.gunsafes.com/Fort-Knox.html

 

[Armored farmer]

https://www.opticsplanet.com/hornady-rapid-safe-ar-gunlocker-98190.html
This is what I have under my bed.

It pops open with a wrist bracelet or a special magnet coin.
I keep the bracelet on the bedpost.
The lid pops open when the bracelet or coin is nearly touching the sensor.