Trigger locks - help needed

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Starter52

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Guys, I need to buy some trigger locks that will be used daily to lock up bolt action .22 rifles at summer camp. We have about 20 rifles in use.

I am looking for trigger locks that are easy to operate, locks that go on and off the guns with little effort. We've tried the typical two-piece locks and they work OK, but I'm really looking for something that goes on a bit faster.

I'm hoping someone knows of a brand that can be put into use quickly and will hold up to repeated opening and locking. A clam-shell style would be great. High security isn't needed; the guns go into a locked cabinet each night and the trigger locks are just added safety.

Any suggestions on finding some good locks would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
Doc7 beat me to it. Unless you're bound by a specific requirement, the best "trigger lock" for a bolt action rifle is a missing bolt.
 
I don't think it'd be smart to have a bag of bolts. If they are locked up every night and proper handling procedures are adhered to, I'd not bother with the trigger locks.
 
If the design of the rifle allows I would try and run a cable lock (something like a cable style bicycle lock) through the actions of the all the rifles at one time. One lock, all safe.
 
Doc and beatledog - I like the idea of removing the bolts and I have considered this option. I agree that this is the safest way to store .22 target rifles.

One concern: If this is going to be a daily process, and if youngsters are involved, I'm worried that the parts might get interchanged. IIRC the bolts don't have serial numbers or other markings, and I'm concerned about getting them mixed up.

I wonder if anyone makes a special storage box for rifle bolts, or if someone could tell me a good way to store the bolts. Our camp rifles are numbered with stick-on labels so we could match boxes with rifles easily enough.

Ideally, I would like to remove the bolts each evening, place them in boxes and store the boxes in the range safe. I just need a good way to do this. Maybe some kind of flat fishing lure box with adjustable spacers might work.

Any ideas, guys?
 
If they are magazine fed I would make a long cable with looped ends out of rubber covered, steel cable. Lock.
 
Starter52 said:
Doc and beatledog - I like the idea of removing the bolts and I have considered this option. I agree that this is the safest way to store .22 target rifles.

One concern: If this is going to be a daily process, and if youngsters are involved, I'm worried that the parts might get interchanged. IIRC the bolts don't have serial numbers or other markings, and I'm concerned about getting them mixed up.

I wonder if anyone makes a special storage box for rifle bolts, or if someone could tell me a good way to store the bolts. Our camp rifles are numbered with stick-on labels so we could match boxes with rifles easily enough.

Ideally, I would like to remove the bolts each evening, place them in boxes and store the boxes in the range safe. I just need a good way to do this. Maybe some kind of flat fishing lure box with adjustable spacers might work.

Any ideas, guys?
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Fishing lure box with each bolt going in the labeled compartment. Even if the kid needs to show the gun with stick on label to ensure no mistakes are made, this can be used as an added "unloaded" checkpoint anyway. Sounds like that's a great plan, lure boxes will only cost a couple dollars each.
 
In the past, I have used some epp foam and a soldering gun to make my own holders. This sounds hokey but bare with me. You take the heating element out of the soldering gun and replace it with a length of 12 gauge copper wire, something like romex works great. Cut the foam into a square or rectangle to fit whatever case you end up using. You then bend the copper wire into the shape that you want the holes to look like, making sure that they are about 1/4 inch undersize so you get a tight fit when you are done and use the soldering gun to melt out the holes. I did a real high tech drawing for you (Queue laughter) so you can visualize it. I do the T shape at the top because the T acts as a depth gauge for me.

I have used this method for years to do gun and RC stuff. Just do it outside. The fumes are not very healthy. Hope this helps.
 

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You could also electo pencil the bolts with the corresponding rifle number so you always know which ones match.
 
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The easy answer to the bolt problem is to mark them 1 through 20 to match the particular rifle. The rifles themselves can be secured by running a cable, fasteded to the rack, from one end to the other going through the trigger guards, and padlocking the cable at the far end. When the rifles are to be used, an adult instructor can check to be sure the numbered bolt matches the rifle it's inserted in. This system works better, is more secure, and less expensive then buying 20 trigger locks.
 
If they're going to be locked up every night, why bother "double locking" them? If you can't trust or monitor the children, throw them into a wheelbarrow or somesuch for ferrying to the range en masse.
 
I hear you. heh
I see no reason to prep them for standing in line at the DMV and not be trusted. And then there's the makework Rube Goldberg action. Again, the weapons are secured at night.
nevermind
 
Go buy 10 pair of new socks, trade them with 10 pair of your old socks, get some dye and put numbers on the socks, store bolts in socks in ammo can with pad lock attached.
 
Are all the rifles the same model? Would not interchanging the bolts simply prove that modern manufacturing techniques do indeed work?
 
Guys, thanks for all the good suggestions.

Doc and Dave, I think you are on the right track. Schwing, I like your idea of customizing the boxes to fit the rifle bolts. Kanook - your idea was beautifully simple. I love it.

As for cable locks, the rifles are mostly single shot and don't have a magazine well. In the past we have run a cable through the trigger guards, but in truth this isn't as secure as removing and storing the rifle bolts.

I'm going to try the bolt removal this summer. It seems the easiest and most effective method. I'll get some Plano boxes and customize them to fit. Thanks again, THR.
 
Something is bouncing around in my mind about the NRA or some big dot-org providing free trigger locks, but I don't remember who it was or what type of locks they were. Was it part of the Eddie Eagle program? SAAMI? Maybe it was just a local police department program, though.

If all the rifles are the same brand, you might contact the Mfr. to see if they can provide them all keyed the same. (Some of the "keys" are simple little plastic doohickeys all molded the same.)

Although headspacing ( 0.044" - 0.046") isn't all that critical in a .22 rimfire, sooner or later, unless some ID is inscribed on the bolts, they will get mixed up and you don't want a minimum bolt used in a minimum action, since this might cause slamfires when the bolt is closed --unlikely, but possible. Anything's possible with kids.
 
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