Need opinions on bedroom pistol safe

Mongo

Mongo

Joined
Nov 5, 2001
Messages
8,969
Greetings all,
I have gotten my *pre-Obama holy grail handgun, and am now considering a pistol safe for the bedroom. I currently have a wall mounted shotgun safe in my closet, but I have to: wake up, get out of bed, pass/climb over one to two dogs, find the key, push aside some clothes, unlock the safe door, and take shotgun out... then rack the action closed (already loaded) and rock n' roll. Better than nothing, but I'm thinking 13+1 of 45acp goodness closer would be a quicker option.

I have two kids, so lockability is a must. It must be boltable to something... even my cheapo IKEA dresser is acceptable. I have no nightstand on my side, if I do get one, it will have to match the cheapo IKEA crap I have.

So, what home/bedroom pistols safes do you have and recommend? Should I go finger touch pad, keyboard, or fingerprint/BioMETRX type?

* = Springfield XD45 tactical Bi-tone with thumb safety.:thumbup::D
 
most people i know seem to like the electronic keypad safes by gunvault.

i had one in my closet, then got an awful beeping when the batteries were dying. it didnt respond to my combination, so i called the 1-800 number.

came to find the company had been sold and bought by a sporting goods company.

had to keep the darn thing in my garage for a few days until they finally called back with a way to open it.

ill never use it again. how about a lockable file cabinet to use as a nightstand?
 
I have had good luck with the Gunvault. It has a set of keys in case the battery fails. I have the deluxe which has direct current and allows you to silence the beeps. I have mine cable bolted to a 500LB bed.
 
Needs to be accessable whilst half awake after bump/crash in the night.
 
i dont think mine has keys. ill have to check, but i would hope i am smart enough to have figured that out.

and mine had to be opened to silence the beeps, which i was maddeningly unable to do.
 
Mongo said:
Needs to be accessable whilst half awake after bump/crash in the night.
Click to expand...

anything that is locked, regardless of the type of lock, is going to require some fine motor skill.

at least with some type of combo/electronic lock, you dont need to go looking for the key.

im the only one i know of with the gunvault problem, so that seems to be a good choice. i dont have kids, so i just leave my gun(s) on the nightstand or dresser at night.

i suppose the only way to practice is to set your alarm for various times, wake up, and open the thing up.
 
I no longer use a bedside safe as I don't have kids in the house. My bedroom gun either goes from headboard to holster when I get up or into the floor safe if I carry something different that day.

When I was using one I used the V-Line Industries Hide-Away Pistol Safe. This one bolted to the under side of the bed and could easily be opened in the dark by touch. Simply open, let the door drop open and the drawer with the firearms slides out...worked very well even when woken out of a sound sleep by that mysterious "bump in the night".
 
My Da just drilled a hole in the side of his nightstand drawer and inserted a 4" nail to prevent unauthorized access. It was a tight fit and you needed fingernails to get it out -- and it was not visible from the front and had a bit of paint on the head to match the stain of the wood so it wasn't obvious from the side either. You had to feel around for it, then pull it out. Far easier to deal with than any sort of safe.

My uncle just stored his Colt 1911A1 with a full magazine and empty chamber, figuring that even if a child found the gun he/she wouldn't be able to figure out how to rack a round into it, and would lack the strength and coordination to do so.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are best. IMHO the only reason to invest in a gun safe is to prevent theft.
 
Have you thought about a small Safe of some kind for beside your bed, you could even use it as a Night Stand.
 
Mongo said:
Needs to be accessable whilst half awake after bump/crash in the night.
Click to expand...

If thats the concern, then any lock that will keep the kids safe is priority.
Personally I would just retrieve the gun before going to bed and keep it under the mattress. You wont be able to retreive it any faster than that unless you sleep with it in your hands.

Of course you would have to lock it up again every morning again.
And THAT is the biggest drawback.
 
I got a small safe at harbor freight that uses a keypad. You can program the code. The keys are nice and big. It also has a key. It was $39.
 
If I had kids I'd be inclined to use something with a Simplex mechanism: no batteries needed. I believe the above-mentioned V-Line products use Simplex, but I could be wrong.

I had a battery-operated pistol safe at one point and it failed on me unexpectedly. It was years ago so I unfortunately forget the make/model. I just won't trust battery operated safes after that and the backup key does no good if you have to go retrieve it from somewhere. If the backup key is already in the safe's lock (which would seem needed for night time retrieval) then the original safety of the safe has been negated.

Simplex can be cracked, for sure. There are plenty of guides online. But that would require a kid who is old enough, savvy enough, and dedicated enough to take on such an endeavor. Hopefully by the time your kids are that old, they are well-behaved and responsible enough that you don't have to worry about them trying such a thing.

Simplex might not be as secure as things like biometrics, but I feel that's a worthy trade-off for more reliability and no worry over electronic failure. It's not something I'd want on the front door of my house, but to keep a gun out of children's hands, I think it's perfect.
 
I concur with several of the posters who recommended safes with Simplex locks. I had a Simplex handgun vault for years, then got a fingerprint-recognition safe, and gave the Simplex to my son. Two mistakes there! The Simplex safe is reliable, versatile, and easy to use. Very unlikely that a child would ever figure out how to open the lock. If you make a mistake, you cannot retry, without first "resetting" the lock. As for the fingerprint safe, when it works, it works well, but as for relying on the safe to open immediately in a crisis - no way! There are too many minute variations in how you place your finger on the safe to have it work reliably. I even programmed all 15 of the accessible codes to one finger, and still have to fiddle around to get the safe to open. Also, the spring mechanism does not work well, you have to hold the door closed while you are trying to get the device to recognize your fingerprint. Then, when you hear the "click" that signifies that the lock is open, you have to immediately release the door, or it re-locks. All in all, not a system I want to rely on in a life or death emergency.
 
mr2blue said:
I have had good luck with the Gunvault. It has a set of keys in case the battery fails. I have the deluxe which has direct current and allows you to silence the beeps. I have mine cable bolted to a 500LB bed.
Click to expand...

+1

This is what I did for my home self defense handgun.
 
I keep the LW Commander in a holster on the bedpost empty and a loaded magazine in a leather holster around my neck while in bed (sleeping). In the morning, I load up and put it in my Jackslide.
 
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