From: [a--a--e] at [microsoft.com] (Alan Ezekiel)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Handgun lock boxes
Date: 11 Jan 1994 00:56:27 -0500

[r--c--d] at [cmsa.gmr.com] (Ron Picard) writes:

# Can anyone recommend a good lock box for a handgun?  I've sent away for info
# from those that advertise in The American Rifleman, but would like to get some
# comments from current owners.


The May 1993 issue of "Gun Tests" contained a review of single-gun
safes.  I have appended selected pieces of this review, along with
their summary Buy/No Buy recommendations.

"Gun Tests" is a consumer's magazine for firearms enthusiasts.  They
accept neither advertising nor free evaluation copies of products; all
the products they review are purchased by them at retail outlets.  In
my opinion, they do not suffer from the bias and cheerleading which
cripples so many of the mainstream gun magazines.

                               -- Alane --
   /-----------------------------------------------------------------\
  /   NOBODY shares my opinions,    |    "I am a jelly doughnut"      \
 /    especially not my employer    |    -- President John F Kennedy   \
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------\


[The following text excerpted without permission from _Gun Tests_, May 1993]

Personal-defense rules have always prescribed keeping your handgun in
a place it can be reached quickly.  For many people, that meant
keeping the gun in a nightstand drawer or under the pillow.  However,
a growing concern over firearms accidents in the home, particularly
those involving children, has caused such practices to be
reconsidered.

As a matter of fact, if the individual gun owner hasn't reconsidered
the way his guns are secured, state, local, and federal governments
are insisting upon it.  In 10 states and Canada - the list is growing
at this writing - it is now a criminal offense if someone, especially
a child, is injured by an unsecured, loaded firearm.

This creates a problem in keeping a firearm for household defense. 
To be of any use, the gun must be readily accessible, yet to obey the
law, it must be securely stored.  Full-sized gun safes secure the
gun, but don't really meet the criteria of quick access.  The
solution to both your security and the safety (mandated or not) of
children may be one of the small, quick opening "ready lockers" that
will hold a loaded firearm ready for emergencies while resisting
unauthorized fingers, no matter the size.

[text deleted]

The growing concern over storage and potential accidents prompted us
to obtain nine small chests that would be suitable for one or more
handguns.  Each can be easily secured to the floor or wall, locked
quickly and opened rapidly.  All can be opened in the dark without
difficulty.  Two have base plates that can be permanently fastened
down, allowing the chest to be used conveniently in more than one
location.

While not considered high security, most of the chests we examined
are very child proof and moderately resistant to physical assault
even by a determined undesirable.  One was exceptionally resistant to
physical assault.  They are the answer to keeping a firearm out of
the hands of children, employees, cleaning staff, and other members
of the immediate family.

All but two of the chests we examined used a Simplex lock, a five
push-button "combination" lock that has been around for about 26
years.  They have a good reputation for reliability and convenience
and are surprisingly resistant to manipulation and - properly
installed - assault.  There are 1081 possible combinations in the
normal mode.

The Simplex locks are child-proof and hard enough to break into to
discourage the average thief.  However, if deemed necessary, a
high-security mode is available for the Simplex lock that makes it a
little more difficult to open normally and increases the number of
combinations to 22,000.  If you really feel that you need this
feature, contact the manufacturer or your locksmith.

[text deleted]

Security and convenience were our primary concerns in examining the
chests.  Factors affecting our judgements on convenience included
ease of opening, mounting, moving, and changing the combination.

Initial engineering judgements on the products' security were based
on their performance after being mounted to a wooden pallet and their
lids pulled vigorously with bare hands.  Three looked as if they
could be opened rather easily.  To our surprise, two popped with an
easy one-hand pull, another took both hands.  This was not
reassuring.  The rest resisted this type of assault handily.

We then moved up a level to a thin 9.5 inch pry bar.  This was unable
to defeat any of the survivors of the manual assault.  The final
assault was with a full-sized Stanley Wonderbar.  This proved too
thick to get into the space around the doors of several and wouldn't
break the rest.

Here are the results of our tests:

[detailed reviews of each safe, deleted.  Summary below]

Brand		Model			Price	Rating
-------		-------			------	----------
Metal Products	"MPC Handgun Case"	$149	Best buy
Amer. Security	"Pistol Packer"		$119	Excellent buy
PistolPAL	"1000"			$145	Good buy
PistolPAL	"2000"			$175	Good buy
PistolPAL	"Nightstand"		$135	Buy
PistolPAL	"Nightstand Courier"	$155	Buy
Securecase	"Armloc"  		$90	Don't buy
Sportsman's  "Ready Response Safe Box"	$83	Don't buy
Cannon		"Quick Safe"		$80	Don't buy