Ok, here's my dilemma.. normally i keep the 12 gauge in the closet, up high, not loaded, ammo in a butt stock holder... my son who is now 5, is getting to the point where i no longer want to keep the shotty in the closet.. i mean, it's hanging above the inside of the closet door, so he'd have to drag something in there, grow another 2' and maybe he can reach it, lift it UP off the hooks and then load it.. I've let him hold in the past and he can't even get he barrel off the ground, it's too long and heavy, etc and then have to load it and rack it, odds are VERY slim, but i dont want to chance it.. He also knows it's in there and could care less, right now..

 

so, I am no longer comfortable with this situation.... I know for HD your better off with a shotty, but i can't see how this could work, safely in my situation. I am looking into replacing the shotty with a handgun, and wanted to see if anyone has experience with a small, quick access safe, something that could possibly be mounted behind a night stand, like a gunvault or similar. The Gun Vault reviews are all over the place, and i cant seem to settle on what to do..

 

for now the shotty is in the safe, so if anyone breaks in, i'll ask them to wait a minute, run to the basement, open the safe and run back up stairs and we can resume good guy bad guy

 

My other thought was a small safe in the closet on the shelf, that i open each night and close each morning...

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

I use this one.... in bottom night table drawer

 

http://stack-on.com/securityplus/person ... s-500.html

I prefer this type of box with a simple "Simplex" 5 button lock.

It's worked for me for 30 years does not require a battery and can be opened in the dark by feel.

Here's a link but not the cheapest one or manufacturer.

 

Just posted for the style.

 

http://fortknox.epromo.com//product.i?s ... EPISTOLBOX

I haven't heard anything bad about my gunsafe, but I stopped reading about the once I bought mine about 9 years ago.

 

I think the mini vault is great. I have had no problems with it and it does what it doos supposed to.

I can't even think what the issue would be, unless the electonics have become less stable.

 

Or perhaps people want it to do more than it was desgned to do. I see it as a way to keep a weapon secure and have quick access. I can only get one extra mag in there but now that I live in a 15 round mag state that doesn't bother me.

 

What are the problems with Gun safe?

I have a Secure-It Pistol lock box that I keep in the bedroom. The newer versions use a combo lock, but mine is a keyed lock. That being said it takes a fair amount of routine to make it work. Every night I place the key in the lock and unlock it, every morning I turn the key to lock it and put the key in it's "keeping place". I don't take the key with me in case my wife was home alone and needed access to the pistol.

 

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0045006228564a.shtml

I think the mini vault is great.

 

I have a new mini vault and it works fine. Simple to open in the dark, internal night light, and battery back up.

 

http://www.gunvault.com/handgun-safes/m ... eluxe.html

I think the key is balancing accessibility with child safety. I know where you are coming from.

 

You have to create a risk management matrix and say: what is more dangerous an unlocked firearm or a locked firearm during a home invasion. I have two children, ages 4 and 7. Even though they have been around guns and fired a .22 Cricket, they are still kids and kids make bad decisions. You can always decrease your storage safety as the threat increases. If there were a hurricane and there was a very real chance of looting, then an unloaded, locked shotgun becomes a loaded shotgun that is always near you in the house. But unless that happens, you keep it locked up.

 

It sounds like you may be able to just get a cable lock and effectively disable the shotgun. My setup is like this. My shotgun is stored unloaded in the closet behind clothes with a cable lock that loops through a steel anchor. The shells are in a buttstock holder. This may not stop a determined criminal like a safe, but it will stop a curious 7 year old and balances safety with accessibility. If we all go away for the weekend, the shotgun goes in the safe in the basement.

 

 

You could do the same thing if you have a wall stud near the ejection port of your setup. For the key, we placed a magnet on the metal arm of a dresser drawer. The key attaches to he magnet. This effectively hides the key unless you know exactly where it is. You could also attach the magnet to a bedframe or inside of a drawer with crazy glue. The key doesn't normally stick up like this, it's normally hidden, I moved the key so that it is showing in this picture.

 

 

This setup works for our family as the right balance. Like I said, I think the threat of robbery is low, but so is the threat of a kitchen fire and I still have a fire extinguisher under my sink. I don't think you need to go out and buy a specialized safe when you could have something that works for the cost of a cable lock, an anchor, and a magnet... maybe $20 at the most? And you probably already have the cable lock.

 

Let us know how you work this out.

Do you have a dog ?

 

This along with the lock box.. The dog because you will not always be their and may also head off needing to open the lock box..

Got this Barska Biometric Safe offa Amazon. It's right next to my bed.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AQ ... ss_product

Got this Barska Biometric Safe offa Amazon. It's right next to my bed.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002AQ ... ss_product

 

That one has some good reviews.. thanks, a bit more than i wanted to spend, but not out of the running considering it's use..

Do you have a dog ?

 

This along with the lock box.. The dog because you will not always be their and may also head off needing to open the lock box..

 

I do, he's 12 now, but still barks at everything...

I think the key is balancing accessibility with child safety. I know where you are coming from.

 

You have to create a risk management matrix and say: what is more dangerous an unlocked firearm or a locked firearm during a home invasion. I have two children, ages 4 and 7. Even though they have been around guns and fired a .22 Cricket, they are still kids and kids make bad decisions. You can always decrease your storage safety as the threat increases. If there were a hurricane and there was a very real chance of looting, then an unloaded, locked shotgun becomes a loaded shotgun that is always near you in the house. But unless that happens, you keep it locked up.

 

Let us know how you work this out.

 

Thanks, this is an idea i could try, all i need to do is add the eye bolt.. Was looking to remove the key from the equation, but i may still do this with the shotty anyway.

I haven't heard anything bad about my gunsafe, but I stopped reading about the once I bought mine about 9 years ago.

 

I think the mini vault is great. I have had no problems with it and it does what it doos supposed to.

I can't even think what the issue would be, unless the electonics have become less stable.

 

Or perhaps people want it to do more than it was desgned to do. I see it as a way to keep a weapon secure and have quick access. I can only get one extra mag in there but now that I live in a 15 round mag state that doesn't bother me.

 

What are the problems with Gun safe?

 

Mixed reviews on various website, heres some..

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gunvault-GV1000C-DLX-Mini-Vault-Deluxe/dp/B002HOLG2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1283021035&sr=1-1

 

looks like it's hit or miss with quality..

[

Thanks, this is an idea i could try, all i need to do is add the eye bolt.. Was looking to remove the key from the equation, but i may still do this with the shotty anyway.

 

I've wondered about whether the whole key thing could work in an emergency. I think it can. My wife and I practice removing the key and opening the lock... probably once a month. And it seems to work for us. I have it down to about 15 seconds.

 

I'd imagine that you may have trouble opening a lock with a key if you are under duress and your hands are shaking, but the same would be equally true if you were trying to enter a combination. However, you can forget the combination to a lock. I was once in a car accident where I was so shaken up that I couldn't remember my phone number (this was back before cell phones). So to me, a combination lock would have two points of failure: hard to manipulate under stress and the potential to misremember the combination.

 

Of course a key can have two points as well, you may have trouble manipulating the lock and you may lose the key. But I think the odds of opening the keyed lock are better.

in there but now that I live in a 15 round mag state that doesn't bother me.

 

What are the problems with Gun safe?

 

Mixed reviews on various website, heres some..

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gunvault-GV1000C-DLX-Mini-Vault-Deluxe/dp/B002HOLG2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1283021035&sr=1-1

 

looks like it's hit or miss with quality..

 

yikes. Awful. It really looks like that brand has gone downhill, based on those reviews.

 

i also found this

http://wwww.mossberg.com/content.asp?id=519

 

 

the other day while researching add on for the new shotty. I think I am getting one

I've wondered about whether the whole key thing could work in an emergency. I think it can. My wife and I practice removing the key and opening the lock... probably once a month. And it seems to work for us. I have it down to about 15 seconds.

 

I'd imagine that you may have trouble opening a lock with a key if you are under duress and your hands are shaking, but the same would be equally true if you were trying to enter a combination. However, you can forget the combination to a lock. I was once in a car accident where I was so shaken up that I couldn't remember my phone number (this was back before cell phones). So to me, a combination lock would have two points of failure: hard to manipulate under stress and the potential to misremember the combination.

 

Of course a key can have two points as well, you may have trouble manipulating the lock and you may lose the key. But I think the odds of opening the keyed lock are better.

 

That's why I got a Biometric safe. Press a button, put my finger to it, and in less than 5 seconds I have access to my pistol.

No batteries = no problems

 

http://www.safetysafeguards.com/site/40 ... uct/FTK-PB

True. It does run on batteries. It does have a backup key as well as I think available power adapter.

humn, that fort knox simplex one is on sale, $139 is not bad at all.

 

I do like the idea of a biometric safe.... but you know when you most need it, you will run out of batteries or it would not take your finger print...

 

furthermore, dont your kids have nearly the same prints as you?

Nope - fingerprints are not hereditary