This article appeared in Women and Guns magazine, June 1993. Permission is granted to distribute it free of charge, provided that it is accompanied by this notice.
If you have a handgun for protection, it is your responsibility to ensure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. The dilemma of every person who owns a handgun for defense is simply this: How can you protect your children with a firearm, and protect them FROM that firearm at the same time?
Even if you don't have kids, you ought to be sure that any visiting child, invited or not, will be safe from your firearms. I live in a neighborhood that is full of children, so I make absolutely sure that every gun in the house is locked up when the house is empty, or when kids are visiting. Curious youngsters might find my gun magazines, paw through boxes of empty holsters awaiting review in this magazine, or examine my gun cleaning equipment, but they would NOT be able to get to my guns.
So... the goal is to find a way to have a defensive gun ready as quickly as it might be needed, in a kid-proof, or at least kid-resistant, way. In this article, we examine a number of lock boxes that are designed to contain a loaded, ready-to-use firearm in a way that is almost instantly accessible by the adult(s) but not by children.
Why not use a full size gun safe? Many reasons: They are expensive. They are large, and very heavy, which limits where they can be placed in your home (the front hall closet, for example, probably won't do). But most important of all, they are impossibly slow to access in moments of stress - even if your shaking hands somehow manage not to overshoot the numbers on the dial, someone who has broken into your home might get to you before you could complete the dial combination.
Recently, a large number of lock boxes have come on the market. These are (compared to a full size safe) inexpensive, small, and light. They generally hold only one or two guns, and can be put in a lot of places that are unthinkable for a large safe: under the bed, on a closet shelf, on a boat, in a van or truck or R.V., beneath a desk, under a countertop, in a night stand, at the office, on a bookcase, in a drawer or cabinet. . . the possibilities are almost endless. A friend of mine keeps her Ruger SP101 in a lock box bolted to the floor near her bed - easy to access, hard to steal!
What do California, Maine, and Iowa have in common? They are some of the states that have laws requiring responsible storage of firearms. Such laws are likely to spread in the near future. Even if it isn't required by law where you live, as a responsible firearms owner you should understand what your storage options are, and choose the best for your own situation.
Every lock box consists of two components, the box itself, and the locking system that is used to open the box. Let's consider locks first. The questions to ask yourself about any locking system are: how hard is it to discover the combination? Can more than one person use it? If it depends on electrical power, what happens when the batteries or the circuitry fail? If it depends on mechanical operation, what can go wrong with it? Will you be able to operate it when your hands are sweating and shaking with fear? Locking systems include a key, a Simplex lock, electronic switches, and plastic plungers. Since many different lock box manufacturers use the same Simplex lock, let's take a close look at it first.
Simplex Locks
A Simplex lock consists of 5 pushbuttons and an elliptical knob. No keys, batteries, or electricity. To open the lock, you turn the knob counterclockwise, punch a sequence of buttons and then turn the knob clockwise. You may have to push two or more buttons simultaneously as part of the combination. This lock appears to have an enormous number of combinations, which is enough to discourage most kids from trying to figure out the combination by trial and error. But because each button can be used at most once, the actual number of possible combinations is 1081. (That number wasn't easy to figure out; try it yourself and you'll see what I mean!).
Several of the safes I reviewed here, from different manufacturers, had the same initial combination, leading me to believe that all Simplex locks come from the factory with that combination. So, if you don't want me and everyone else who has ever played with these locks to know your combination, CHANGE IT as soon as you get your box, and any time you think the security of the combination might have been compromised.
There are several differences between keeping guns away from kids who live in a house and thieves who break in. A thief generally has only a few minutes to try to get into a safe. Your kids might have a couple of hours home alone every day to try to figure out the combination. Figuring out the combination is MUCH easier if you have seen anyone open the safe, even once. "Ah, the first button on the right starts it, and then there are only two more motions." That sort of information greatly reduces the number of combinations they have to try. "I like the fact that you can reset the combination!", said one mother who looked at it. It's easy and quick to do, following the instructions provided.
When the lock opens and closes, a thin piece of sheet metal moves back and forth. Various box manufacturers use this metal tab differently, as we shall see below.
One excellent feature of the Simplex lock is that you can operate the raised pushbuttons quickly, even in the dark or when you can't see the buttons. The lock can be opened in under 2 seconds with a little practice.
The Test Panel
I asked three brothers to help me evaluate the security of these boxes: J. T. (5 years old), Jamie (11), and Christopher (12). Their sister, Brianna (6 months), did not participate in the activities, but looked on with interest. Although these boys have been raised around firearms and would have been safe with them, I put some money and candy in the boxes instead of guns, figuring that this would provide more incentive. (I bought candy that I like, knowing that I could take home and eat whatever remained in the safes they couldn't open!)
Most kids are basically good, though very curious. They wouldn't want to risk parental wrath by leaving obvious evidence of breaking into a gun box, so they might try to figure out the combination but wouldn't try to break the lock off with a hammer. But what if a child is so angry or uncaring that s/he wants that gun no matter what, and is willing to leave evidence of forced entry? To mimic both of these conditions, I established two phases of testing. The ground rules were: first, try to get into the boxes by figuring out the combination; if that fails, try tools!
"Can I use a Sawz-All?" was Chris' first question, which resulted in a new ground rule: no power saws. "And no explosives." I added, forestalling a question I hadn't anticipated until then. "Can we drop them?" they asked next. I decided that, although one manufacturer had urged me to do a drop test, this would not be very realistic because most of the boxes were intended to be bolted in place. Dropping them might invalidate more relevant attempts to defeat the locks, so ... no dropping. Undaunted, the kids set to work.
A panel of expert testers from Consumer Reports would have had a tough time doing a more thorough job than these kids. They each took a box and worked earnestly on the locks for more than 15 minutes before becoming frustrated. Not one of the locks succumbed, and it was clear that they wouldn't have much interest in trying to figure out the combination even if given a lot more time. OK, time for tools. Further results are described below.
Buck Security Products
William Buck's grandson once found his handgun in his apartment, fortunately without dire consequences. That incident inspired the development of this case, which is made of plastic, and has a handle for easy carrying. Unlike the other safes reviewed here, it cannot be mounted on a shelf or other permanent location, and it is the only product reviewed here that is designed only to keep out kids, but not necessarily burglars.
The lock mechanism is quite unique, and is being patented. It does not depend on a combination that you choose and then set. Instead, there are 4 plastic plungers in the box lid that you set for the length of your fingers. To open the box, you insert the fingers of your left hand into the openings and press the plungers to the maximum depth you can reach; while holding that position, push the latch with your thumb, and the box opens.
The theory is that when the box is set for the length of adult fingers, a child's fingers will not be able to depress the plungers to the necessary depth (or they won't have the coordination necessary to unlatch the box at the same time). A minor point: It is designed for a right handed person. If used by a left-hander, a little more time would be required to remove the left hand from the lock to pick up the gun.
In practice, if the box is set for an adult male's hand, it is true that most children's fingers won't be able to operate it. My hands are about average for a woman, and when the box was set for a man's hand, I could not open it easily (which might be a problem if two adults in the house need to have access to the gun). When it was set for my hand, two men with larger hands could open it. Chris and Jamie both have hands only a little smaller than mine, but the difference was enough so that their hand could not open the safe even after I showed them how the lock operated.
The makers claim that it can be used until kids are 8 or 9 years old, but four parents I asked said they thought 5 years old would be the maximum. After that, a child with large hands (or a strong mechanical aptitude) might be able to defeat it.
A bandaid on the finger (even on the end) would not prevent you from using this box, but something like a splint on a jammed finger or a ring that was high enough to prevent your finger from going into the slot might.
My fingernails were uncomfortable pushing against the plungers, but fortunately there is space above the pistons for the fingernails to go. My small fingers could actually slip above the pistons, so I had to be careful about finger placement before pressing.
The kids picked out this safe as the first one to try to get into, probably because of the plastic construction. But even the older kids could not open it the way it was intended to open. They tried pushing 2 pencils into the holes, without success. (After the boys' test, I tried one of my own by putting 4 pencils into the fingers of an adult-sized glove, and using it to push the plungers to the necessary depth - it took 3 tries to get the box open.)
Once the boys were allowed to use tools, we learned that with screwdriver it took only about 1 minute to pry this box open! The plastic sprung open easily, and the operation left no visible marks on the box.
This is a product at the low end of the cost spectrum that would be good for families on a tight budget with very young children. If you use it, you should plan to switch to another type of lock box as your children grow. Suggested retail for the Buck safe is $65, but you might be able to find it for around $49.
Insta Guard
Would you keep your gun in a lock box that has a big hole on each side of it? You might, after learning about the Insta Guard. Is it a box or a lock? The folks who make it couldn't seem to make up their minds, so they call it a "firearm protection device". It's shaped like a box, so I decided to include it in this review, though it operates more like a lock.
In this ingenious design the gun doesn't really go in the box, the box wraps around the action of the gun, leaving part of the barrel and grip sticking out of the holes. This allows the same lock to be used for shotguns and rifles as well as handguns. It will not conceal the fact that you have a gun; if anything, it proclaims the fact quite loudly.
Michael Fischer, the President of Necessary Concepts, says, "Insta Guard was designed 3 years ago after a tragedy involving a child of a family friend and a firearm. A shotgun, kept out of the safe to protect the family after a recent burglary, fell into the wrong hands and the child was killed. We designed Insta Guard to lock away the one firearm people keep to protect their family."
This box comes in two sizes: The Model 1100 fits most shotguns (without pistol grips) and handguns (except the Desert Eagle), and rifles without scopes. (One parent's comment: "Neat idea! Not a large box!") The larger Model 1200, which should be available by the time this article sees print, will fit most modern military weapons and pistol grip shotguns, and will also allow multiple guns (up to 3 handguns) to be contained by the same lock.
A Simplex pushbutton-and-knob lock controls access to the firearm. The thin metal tab that leads from the lock is not used as the latch; instead, a much stronger bolt (.30" diameter brass, "to resist forced entry") is attached via a well-designed mechanism that shields the metal tab from any prying tool.
The 1100 box is made of 16 gauge, marine stainless steel. (Like shotgun gauges, the smaller the gauge of steel, the bigger, thicker and stronger it is.) The hinge and spring are also stainless steel; the rubber lining is supposed to help protect the guns from rust, as well as from scratches. Details like that are important, particularly if you keep your firearm on a boat, or in a humid environment. The box can be bolted to almost any surface.
The stainless steel bolt that goes through the trigger guard can be repositioned as needed to fit your firearm. There's a rubber sleeve to put over the bolt, to further protect your gun from scratches. For a double action handgun, the bolt goes inside the trigger guard BEHIND the trigger; for a single action handgun (NO round in the chamber), two bolts are used, one in front of the trigger guard and one between the trigger and the guard; a long gun is held like a single action handgun, with one bolt adjusted against the receiver to minimize the movement of the gun.
The gun won't fire, but your little one might be able to remove a magazine, unscrew a barrel bushing, remove a barrel or other parts. This might create holes that could let little fingers get into the box. (This is purely hypothetical ... we didn't want to let any children try this!)
How secure is the Insta Guard against a determined attack by our testers? It took only about 5 minutes for Chris to pry it open with a screwdriver!
Worried about the exposed parts of the firearm? It really does seem that the locked gun can't be made to fire, but that's not the only thing to worry about. Remember the TV ad that showed a kid feeding oatmeal to the family VCR? Kids, particularly young ones, can be greatly fascinated by a partly exposed gun. Will little stones fit into the barrel? Doesn't the barrel seem like a good hiding place for used chewing gum? Gee, it sure is easy to work the butt-mounted magazine release of Mommy's European SIG 220. Might a tiny mouse decide to make a home in that shotgun barrel?
To prevent problems like that, consider mounting this lock in a place that's high enough to be out of reach of the little ones. You could put a small piece of tape over the muzzle to keep out dust and other foreign objects (it won't interfere with firing the gun in an emergency). Or you could mount it with the muzzle against the floor, wall, or other surface.
The Insta Guard is a much better way to keep a long gun handy for defense than simply having a loaded shotgun in the closet or under the bed.
Model 1100 is the smallest box we tested: 7" x 6" x 3". The retail price is $159, $229 for the 1200 (which will be 10" x 9" x 3").
Pistol Pal
The makers claim that it is child resistant, not child proof, which indicates admirable restraint, since their product is at least as child proof as safes that make that stronger claim.
This safe is the most compact of all those tested. It looks like a flat drawer, and indeed it pulls out just like one, so it can be mounted on the underside of a shelf, not just the top. It doesn't need any clearance above to open, so you can pile things on top of it. Very useful in small or crowded areas. One of the parents who helped me evaluate these safes plans to purchase this box and mount it under a floating nightstand near the bed.
The Simplex pushbutton lock is mounted on the front, not the top, of the box, with the advantage that you don't need clearance on top of the box for your hand, but with the disadvantage that the buttons on front might be seen by anyone in the room with you when you are opening it. You may want to get in the habit of shielding the lock with your body or your other hand whenever you open it.
It is made of 14 gauge steel, with some 12 gauge reinforcement here and there. The next production run will feature a hardened dead bolt and a black textured finish (to differentiate it from the gray textured finish of the model we tested, which had a plated steel dead bolt). In the tests we did, the weak point was not the bolt, however.
The smaller size of the box, as well as its excellent construction, made it difficult for one child alone to get leverage to pry, so they chose to double-team the box. With Chris with the screwdriver and Jamie on the pry bar, they managed to determine that the side of the safe could be pried away from the bolt. The kids got into this safe in a little more than 5 minutes.
Despite the fact that forced entry was possible, this is one of the best-constructed safes we examined. One of the parents who helped with this evaluation decided to get a Pistol Pal for home use. Like the Insta Guard, a heavy bolt is used for the latch. After the test, we were able to bend the Pistol Pal back into usable condition.
Pistol Pal makes a variety of boxes: there's a RiflePal (Model 100) for two long guns; the Lockup (7000) which will store 4 handguns in individual drawers with key locks; and PP Nightstand (5000) (3" x 8" x 11") which is the 1-gun model reviewed here. The PistolPal (1000) and PP Courier (2000) are identical in size at 14" x 14" x 4.75" and hold several handguns. The PP Steel Holster (3000) and Courier (4000) are 12" x 4.75" x 7.5", and the Wall Mount (6000) is approximately 14" x 3.75" x 8.5". Prices vary by model number: 1000 is $145; 2000 is $175; 3000 is $125; 5000 is $135; 7000 is $240; 100 is $299.
Cannon
Cannon makes a whole line of safes, including the QuickSafe Gun Box, Model 1. It's moderately sized at 8" x 12" x 4", and is padded with foam to protecting your gun from dings and scratches. Big enough for two handguns, it is made of 16 gauge steel (older models are 20 ga). The Model 1 has a Simplex lock on the top. (A keylock version is also available, Model 1K.)
The brochure claims. "...(T)he safe, practical answer for handgun owners that have had mixed feelings about keeping firearms in the house. . . . Unless you know the combination, it's impossible to open without damaging the box" Note: they don't say it is impossible to open.
Our young experts, armed with a short pry bar, got in in just a few minutes. It took very little force to snap the latch off completely, because this was the only safe that latched using the thin metal tab that is part of the Simplex lock, unreinforced in any way.
There are two small holes in the bottom of the box so it can be bolted in place. The top shelf of a closet is a great place to bolt it, not only because it is convenient and out-of-the-way, but because your kids will not be able to learn the combination by watching your fingers operate the lock.
One family I know has been perfectly happy with 2 Cannon boxes for more than 3 years, and those are the older model, which is lighter gauge metal; the newer Quick Safe is even sturdier. The box lid is hinged in back, so you need to have at least 8" of clearance above the box for the lid to open completely, which may affect where you place it.
Retail price: $85. Lifetime warrantee. Black, glossy finish with a large colorful eagle decal.
Bedford Technologies (BTI)
Steve Bedford is the President of Bedford Technologies Inc. When his first child was on the way, he decided that he wanted to have a firearm around for protection, but he realized that "instead of protecting my child, I might be making things more dangerous by bringing a gun into the house." To solve this dilemma, he used his background in electrical engineering to design a "child-proof" safe. Now he has two boys, ages 2 and 3, and is offering his lock box to other families.
The Mustang M-100 is a BIG, black cube (10" x 10" x 8.25") of 16 gauge steel with a door that sticks out in front, making the box look permanently half-open, but very secure.
It has both an electronic lock system and a key (to be used only if the batteries or electronic system fail). The electronic lock system is called "biometric scanning", but that's a meaningless name meant to impress rather than inform; the lock doesn't involve any scanning or measurement of biologic tissue. It is simply an electronic lock that is controlled by a 16 switches (two per finger) in 4 openings on each side of the door.
To open it, you reach for the box with both hands (or just one, if you've set the combination that way), and slide your fingers in the slots. Each finger touches two switches which are easily felt but which are not visible to you or anyone standing near you. Press the correct switches simultaneously (not in sequence like the Simplex lock), and at the same time push the door inward. The lock clicks, and the door falls open into your hands.
If in a moment of panic, you forget to push the door inward, and instead pull on it (as you might naturally do, if you are being attacked), IT WON'T OPEN! You must train yourself to remember that pushing action - it won't be natural under stress, but it is an additional safeguard against someone who doesn't know how the lock works.
This lock has 65,536 possible combinations, though not all of them are equally comfortable for the fingers. If you are an accordion player, or even a pianist, you can probably program the combination to be your favorite chords! You will need a screwdriver and a pen or pencil for setting the dip switches that control the combination, but resetting is easy to do (once you figure out that Figure 5 in the directions is upside down).
The switches can be powered by either alkaline batteries or rechargeable batteries; the 6 C-cells rest on the bottom of the safe under the egg-carton foam padding in the interior. A warning light flashes when there is about one month of power left. It's supposed to be possible to open the safe 250 to 300 times before the batteries give out; I didn't test this claim, but experienced no problem with about 100 openings.
This box had the fastest access of all boxes tested. Set it to a combination that doesn't stretch your fingers, and with just a little practice, you can open it in under a second.
Will it work if you have a bandaid on your fingers? Yes. Will it work if you have cuts, scabs, rash, swollen fingers, etc.? Yes. Will it work if you have large, bulky rings? Yes. The only condition I could think of that might make it impossible would be if you have fingers splinted so they can't curve to reach the switches.
It is intended to be used freestanding or as a small wall safe, since it is narrow enough to mount between 16" studs, but if you request it, the factory will make one with modifications that will allow it to be mounted on a surface. It claims to hold 2-3 handguns, but I found it most practical for just one. When the door is open, there is a metal edge at the bottom that might scratch the firearm if you drag it out of the box instead of lifting it.
The 16 switches each sense whether they are pressed or not (but do not sense how hard you press, since that will change under stress). Adult length fingers are needed to reach all the switches. I could reach them all, barely, but since it is possible to set a combination that doesn't use the little fingers (the ones most likely to not reach their switches), this is not a problem. "What about women with really, really small hands?" I asked the company president. "We'll give you a full refund if you can't use it," he answered promptly. You can't ask better than that.
I was quite sure that this big, heavy, safe-looking box would keep the kids out. The switch system frustrated them quickly, and I doubt that they would ever have managed to figure out the combination. But I was quite surprised when these by-now-experienced junior safecrackers pried open this box in about 5 minutes, using the same simple tools as on the previous boxes! (Oh well, I didn't want to eat all those M&M's and Junior Mints myself anyway.)
This box is well-constructed, and would have resisted the pry bar assault much longer if it had been the first safe tested instead of the last. Its intimidating appearance alone will go a long way toward discouraging unauthorized access, and its combination will probably never be discovered even if you let people watch you open it.
One year warranty. Satisfaction guaranteed - full refund available within 30 days of purchase. Priced at $158. BTI also offers the GSD-525, a 20" x 18" x 7.25" slide-out unit ($349), the GSW-750, a 14.5" x 3.5" x 16" wall safe ($198), and an oak night stand with a built-in place for the 525 ($172).
Lessons Learned
These little safes are relatively new products. There's a tremendous need for good products like this, but careful evaluation is necessary to determine quality. If the positive reaction of the manufacturers when informed of the testing results is any indication, you can look for changes and improvements in designs very shortly.
All the locks will do a fine job of defeating younger children. The Simplex and BTI locks will keep out older children as well. Although the BTI lock can have many more combinations than the Simplex locks on the other safes, kids probably won't figure out a Simplex combination unless they see you operate the lock (or get old enough to take a course in mathematical combinatorics and make your gun box their class project).
Eleven and 12 year old kids broke into every box we tested with simple tools. This was a result I did not expect - I really thought I'd get to keep some of the candy! These boys had a hammer and a baseball bat available, but chose screwdrivers and a pry bar, which worked wonderfully. Two kids working together can exert a lot more force than one, but probably anything 2 kids can do in 10 minutes 1 kid could do in a couple of hours. Just remember the final scores: empty-handed kids 0, boxes 5; kids with tools 5, boxes 0.
To make it as hard as possible to break into a lock box, mount the box to minimize the leverage available to pry it open. One reason the kids were able to get into these boxes as easily as they did was that they tested the boxes free standing, not bolted down. The Cannon and Pistol Pal boxes (and probably the Insta Guard), should be fastened NOT AT THE EDGE but a few inches back from the edge of a shelf. This makes them VERY MUCH HARDER TO OPEN, because there is less room to manipulate the prying object.
These boxes are just fine for temporary storage, when you are nearby. A sturdy lock box protects guns from casual theft, and from basically good kids who might fiddle with the lock from time to time but who don't want to risk the consequences of prying open the family gun box. It is not a good way to keep firearms out of the hands of serious juvenile delinquents, potentially suicidal teenagers, or tool-bearing burglars. In other words, a lock box is not a substitute for a full sized gun safe.
Look around your home. You can probably find a dozen places where you could put a lock box with a gun in it. If you choose one, and keep a loaded gun there only when you are nearby, you will be prepared for the emergency we all hope we never have to face. But these boxes are child- resistant, not child-proof. Knowing that, use one properly, and it can provide an important extra margin of safety for you and your family.
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