Handgun Safe Opinions

[Stan the Man]

I was wondering what type of easy-access safe fellow THR'ers use to get to their HD weapons. I ordered this one direct from the manufacturer:

http://www.gunvault.com/multisafes.nxg

It's a Multi-Vault, and seemed to be well-reviewed from other sources. The only beef I have is that mine wasn't in stock, and it didn't make any mention of that on the web page or during the ordering process. I only found out when I called because it had been 2 weeks since I ordered it. They said it wouldn't ship until this Wednesday. That kind of ticked me off.

Any way, I like the fact that it isn't a combination lock that you can't see in the dark, and that you can disable the audible feedback when you press the keys. Does anyone have anything to say about them? I plan on storing two handguns inside it loaded with one in the chamber, assuming I'm confident after setting a combination.

 

[Confederate]

It should work just fine. I wouldn't leave anything too valuable in them, but a handgun should be fine providing, of course, that it's bolted down to something.

In addition to a larger gun safe, many use the popular Stack-On safes. The steel and locks are a bit more robust with the Stack-On, but each has its good points.

The best way to protect something is to determine the greatest threat. For fires, fire safes are best. For security, steel safes and good locking systems are better. And arguably better security can be obtained with some items by hiding them.

In short, your safe, despite the photos, probably should not be used for protecting expensive jewelry and such. It is good for securing your gun from children and small time crooks. I don't think it would hold up well against a professional.

The Stack-On. About $70. Uses
a key or keypad (AA batteries).
Heftier build, stronger lock, and
an A/B button for combinations.

I don't think this safe would
be great for protecting wads of
cash, expensive jewelry, bonds,
account numbers, etc. But for
a gun, it's fine.


.

 

[Stan the Man]

Like others have posted on other threads, there's not much that will stop a determined or professional thief. Our two biggest concerns are keeping them away from the kids and having easy access. Of course it'll be bolted down, and I'm not planning on keeping anything except our handguns in it. We have a full-size safe that holds our rifles and shotguns (bolted down as well) and our handguns until the small one comes in. It's in the other room, though, and I'm looking forward to having our handguns closer to me.

I picked the one I did because it has two shelves - one for each of our guns. The finger keys look like they'll be easier to manipulate in the dark, unlike combination dials or number pads.

When it arrives and I get it put in, I'll post back here to let everyone know how it works out.

 

[Stan the Man]

Your mention of hiding being a good option brought to mind a recent news story from out here.

A woman hid her old and priceless (to her) family jewelry in a container that looked like a Campbell's tomato soup can. She pulled out a bunch of cans of soup to donate to a food bank and..... do I need to finish? There are hundreds of pallets of canned food in the warehouse. She hopes an alert food bank worker will find it and return it to her.

Not that I'm against hiding. If I didn't have kids, I'd probably do it myself. I just thought it was a funny (but sad) story.

 

[Arcticfox]

I have one. It works fine.

 

[Dirtypacman]

I also have one and have been happy with it.

 

[earl_simmons]

Gunvaults have a critical weakness (the flimsy cable connecting the electric motor to the latch assembly) that can render the keypad useless (when the cable breaks), and good luck getting a human on the phone if you ever have a warranty issue.

 

[Unisaw]

My Gunvault just gave out after 5 years of service. I could open it with the key, but the motor would no longer unlatch the door.

I replaced it with a V-Line to avoid the whole issue of batteries running out of juice. The V-Line uses a Simplex lock.