Handgun Safe for Nighstand

[Skribs]

For a long time, I thought I could just hide my guns. Then I learned from a neighbor that one day he found his two year old out in the driveway with his 357 Magnum, trying to figure out how to get cartridges in it. The kid had found the "hidden" key, unlocked the drawer, taken out the revolver and ammo, and taken both out onto the driveway.

They were locked (maybe easy to find the key, but still locked) and STILL a 2-year-old was able to figure it out.

 

[GunnerShotz]

My own 2 cents, for what it's worth, is to agree with "it depends on the situation". Situational awareness is Always the determining factor, isn't it? What's the risk that Your gun will be picked up by the wrong hands? It's a continuum at best, or "what's Your worst scenario?". Do you have small children? Do you live in a relatively 'safe' neighborhood with a low crime rate? Or...

I'd go with the 'best' solution you can afford to the 'worst' scenario you can envision for your situation

 

[303tom]

How about we try a little Education...............I grew up with three younger siblings, firearms were always accessible but we did not play with them. I raised four boys & firearms have always been accessible & they never played with them, WHY ? Education...........

 

[jrdolall]

I have a pistol in my desk drawer in my office. I have one under my mattress in the BR. I have one in the console of my regular truck and my farm truck. My carry weapon is near me at all times either on the bedside table or beside me in the LR.

I have three kids with two still at home. They have been taught from infancy how to handle guns and everything about safety that I can teach. I do not have any of these guns in safe because they are there for SD and HD. When my kids were under 10 yrs old I did not have any guns besides my ccw that were not locked up. I had a small safe that I kept in the LR that was designed to keep the kids from being able to easily access the gun and my ccw was not available to them.

If you have guns at home then it is possible that kids or visiting adults can gain access no matter what precautions you take.

 

[Skribs]

Tom, I don't think that you can lump all kids together. Education works for some, locks are required for others. It also depends on how they are raised - these are not his kids, but his g/fs. Similarly, my sister wants to try to hide the fact that guns exist from her son, so it makes it hard for me to educate him to safely leave them alone if he comes over and finds one.

 

[bhesler]

I'm very glad to see people are locking up their guns. It's idiotically irresponsible not to do so. Everyone should.

I use the compact from V-Line.

This fit my needs because
a) It lies flat in a drawer and opens from the top
b) Does not use batteries
c) Is as secure as any and very fast to open in no-light conditions with minimal practice

Disadvantages:
a) It's somewhat noisy

b) The locking mechanism reduces the available space inside severly. Mine can hold one decent sized pistol only. A Kel-Tec P32 can also fit, but nothing wider because the lock protrudes into the safe too far, it hits on the gun and it will not close.

c) MOST SERIOUS - there is no spring loading of the top. This safe can be CLOSED BUT UNLOCKED. This is not acceptable because it's easy to assume it's locked when it is not. I added a spring to mine that holds the lid open unless the lock is closed and locked. [N.B. Its still possible to punch in the combo and not open the lid, which also is a closed but not locked position. In this case the knob must be turned first. Still not great, but the spring is far better than nothing. Ideally the the lock should retract automatically after punching in the combo. But it doesn't and there isn't much to be done here.] This also makes it much faster and easier to open in the dark.

Overall, I'd recommend a V-Line if you need to put it in a bedside drawer. Be sure the drawer will open far enough to allow the lid to open fully. I'd probably get the larger model if it will fit fit in the drawer, and add the hold-open spring to the lid. I used a large spring from a cheap plastic spring clip.

I agree on the V-Line and on its limitations. I went with the larger Top Draw version, because it fits perfectly in my nightstand drawer. I can fit a full frame Beretta and a Sig 380 if I arrange them around the lock mechanism. The drawer has to be fully open for the safe lid to stay open.

The only thing that I didn't like was the lack of a spring, which I have yet to add. I initially worried about securely mounting it, but with a home alarm, and living a few blocks away from the police station in a small town, I don't expect anyone to stick around very long after the alarm goes off.

Also, there are rarely children in the house, only when friends or family come by, and they are usually closely supervised.

 

[Panzercat]

Or if you're on a budget, you can get a fire chest. Water proof, reasonably fire proof and protects against most reasonable intrusion. Insert key, opens at the push of a single button. No, it's not perfect for everybody and every situation as noted over the last two pages, but it's an alternative.

 

[hang fire]

Wife and I have two gunsafes to keep our weapons under at night, they are called pillows.

 

[Captains1911]

Wife and I have two gunsafes to keep our weapons under at night, they are called pillows.

That's smart....

 

[Hugo]

Watch this video. It's by a locksmith/security expert who does security testing with a team. Just like in the movie Sneakers! Some "Nightstand" type gun lockboxes are horribly designed and are easy to pick open or just break open. In the video he tests several and presents this at a security conference.

Any police on this board please watch the video since it's pretty horrible how a burglar with a few brain cells can break into some of these with no evidence of forced entry. Biometric fingerprint safes are mostly pretty horrible at this. Insurance nightmare probably.

Warning: He does swear a little bit but just occasionally so watch this with headphones, not at work with speakers blaring the first time.

http://vimeo.com/31177302

And the speakers website. Deviant Ollam. www.deviating.net

Review your airline travel experience if you (legally of course) fly with a firearm here. Some airports and airlines are good, some nearly break the laws.
http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/accounts.html

Note: Vimeo is like youtube but the sound is always good and in sync and they don't have goofy or silly videos.

 

[mcdonl]

I have two teenage daughters, both are well versed in firearms, hunting and reloading. My guns are in my two gun cabinets in my den... My HD pistol is in my nightstand at night, and on me/in my car the rest of the time.

My kids have both taken hunter/firearm safety and are not going to sneak into my bedroom at night to play with my gun.

 

[FAS1]

Some "Nightstand" type gun lockboxes are horribly designed and are easy to pick open or just break open.

Most are only designed to keep your kids out and do an acceptable job of that. However, I personally would not have any electronics on a handgun safe. I wouldn't have anything with a tubular lock as well. A curious teenager can make a tubular lock pick for just a few bucks just to see if he can get in (I didn't always do what I was told as a teenager). All electronic operated ones will have some kind of keyed lock for when the mechanism or batteries fail. There are heavier safes out there and many use the mechanical push button lock and don't need a backup key. It is a s quick as anything out there, can be opened by feel in the dark and more reliable than most of the biometric and electronic ones. The heavier boxes when properly secured give a lot more protection for your HD gun than the cheaper ones designed to keep toddlers out.

 

[denton]

On the small electronic safes I'm familiar with, the batteries are accessible from the outside. I open my safe every night and close it every morning, and the batteries last a long time, like a year or more, IIRC.

I've always told my grandkids that they are welcome to come to me to ask to hold any firearm in either my big safe or my little one. They can dry fire them, work the bolt, or whatever. That way there is no mystery to be curious about.

 

[RBid]

"I've always told my grandkids that they are welcome to come to me to ask to hold any firearm in either my big safe or my little one. They can dry fire them, work the bolt, or whatever. That way there is no mystery to be curious about."

I wish more people understood this concept.

 

[303tom]

"I've always told my grandkids that they are welcome to come to me to ask to hold any firearm in either my big safe or my little one. They can dry fire them, work the bolt, or whatever. That way there is no mystery to be curious about."

I wish more people understood this concept.

Yeah Buddy..................

 

[Hugo]

"I've always told my grandkids that they are welcome to come to me to ask to hold any firearm in either my big safe or my little one. They can dry fire them, work the bolt, or whatever. That way there is no mystery to be curious about."

I wish more people understood this concept.

I so agree. Education is how you improve the world. Especially safety and familiarization training! Remember the mysterious stuff is attractive to kids. Take away the Mystery and it's not a big deal and the danger level goes way down.

 

[PaulKersey3]

About 18 years ago I saw an alarm clock bedside safe at a gun show. I looked just like a clunky 80s (this was 94) alarm clock. Guy showed the display model with digital, am/fm, snooze and a Glock 21. I recall him saying that even a crackhead won't steal an old alarm clock.

 

[Skribs]

I wouldn't count on someone not stealing old equipment. In 2007, someone broke into my parents' house (I was living with them while going to college) and stole a bunch of things. Among them was a laptop that was too old to run Windows 95 properly.

 

[jrdolall]

Education is definitely the key to most of the world's problems. My 12 year old daughter can field strip and re-assemble most of my pistols unless the slide is too stiff for her to operate. If I hand my kids a gun I always make sure they see mee confieming that it is not loaded and then they will re-confirm that it is not loaded before they look it over.

 

[KTXdm9]

To the OP's question, I like my LockSafe biometric.

 

[Pilot]

I really take offense at people trying to tell me what to do with firearms in my own home. Whether it be how to store them, or how to keep them to keep me safe. Advice is one thing, but a few posts seemed a little over the top.

My guns, my home, my rules. Period. And yes I have gun safes, and use them, but I really would rather not be told I have to.

 

[Hugo]

At the end of this video, (NSFW again, some casual swearing since it's a casual conference full of guys, still good info) he does recommend one "nightstand" safe that would do well in a drawer. The LOCKSAF PBR-001 was the best one he tested in this video. Others were laughable/scary easy to pick or bypass in seconds.

http://vimeo.com/31177302

 

[gbw]

...My guns, my home, my rules. Period.

Wrong. Try loading your guns with explosive ammunition, for example. Or set up a meth lab in your garage. It won’t be your home, or your rules, or your anything else for long. We live in society and there are always limits, even in our homes.

No offence intended, it's good you’ve accepted the responsibility that goes with gun ownership, and have and use your safes.

I did say that it’s idiotically irresponsible to leave guns lying around unattended. It is.

No gray areas; no 'what about his' or 'I'm different because of that', or 'think about this other'. No spinning, no lawyering, no twisted logic. Leaving guns lying around is irresponsible and dangerous. Small safes aren't perfect and they won’t stop thieves and no one claims otherwise. But they will stop most children, and that's reason enough.

I’ll go further – if enough of us gun owners continue to insist on our ‘right’ leave guns lying around, it won’t be too long ‘til more laws are passed that do tell you what you have to do in your own home with your own guns. Or worse.

Why take the risk, no matter how small? Leaving guns lying around does not make you safer. If a gun is not under your direct control, lock it up. If it saves one kid it’s worth it.

 

[TyGuy]

I keep a 4 digit combo hard box under my bed with a Glock 21, extra mag, and a light in it. I got it at Walmart for $30. It's not going to stop a thief, but it should keep prying eyes away.

 

[Skribs]

GBW, he wasn't talking about breaking the law. He's talking about how there are different rules in every household. Take mine, for example. I don't have kids. The only kid in my life is my nephew who lives across the state, and when I see him it isn't at my condo. The only people who ever go in my condo are me, my friend (who is a safety-oriented shooter and knows where my guns are), and my parents (who are safety-oriented shooters). They are kept out of sight, but at least one gun in every room of the house.

I dont want to have to carry around my condo, and I frequently go back and forth to the different rooms, depending if I'm on the computer, watching TV, or getting stuff from the kitchen. Should someone break in, I want to have quick access to a weapon. If someone breaks in while I'm not there and steals them...well, I'm insured, and I don't feel like a supplier (if they want a gun, they'll get a gun, whether or not they steal mine). Even then, if I had it in a small safe (which I have in the bedroom), it wouldn't be too hard to steal it.

So no, I don't feel it's dangerous. Every gun that is "lying around" is hidden from sight and in a holster. If my nephew came over, I would lock them up.

See, I take your posts to mean that you think I'm irresponsible because I do not lock up my guns. But I've thought through the positives and negatives, and I really don't see it any more dangerous my way. I do see it as safer, to have quick access anywhere.