Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Nightstand lockbox for pistol

My child is getting to the age where i need to think about having my nightstand pistol locked up.

Looking for:
quick access - keypad?
small - just room for my pistol, not a bulky one
inexpensive - I'm not worried about theft resistance, just to keep it out of a child's hands.

The other thought I had was to just install a lock on the drawer of the nightstand. Does a quick-access keypad type lock exist for this purpose?

GunVault or one of the various similar units. 4 fingertip touch pads that can be programmed for up to 6 taps in any combination.

It takes up a bit of space, but I simply put my clock radio on top of it to eliminate the space issue. I've had it about 5 years (or since my kids were about 3) and I've only replaced the battery one time.

Tractor Supply Company has had the Mini Vault with keypad model on clearance for awhile now. They were listed on their website for $59.99

I picked up two at that price for use in various places....I too have small grandchildren running around the house.

That's a good price. Thanks for the heads-up, Grandpa Keith.

Hope all is well in your world.

Went with the same when I found them locally at TSC.

Harbor Freight has little microwave oven size safes for $65. Open the door before you go to bed, and close it first thing when you get up in the morning. Firearms can be left in the safe loaded, cocked, and safety off.

Kids are very crafty, clever, sneaky and can get into just about anything. I was always really careful what I left within reach of my boys whether it was locked up or not.

From a little age I knew where my dad's pistol was and if it was loaded. I never touched it,(because of this way he had of dealing with problems) but I knew where it was and easily could have. It was "out of sight and out of reach". Almost.

Gunvault works great. My early version had a known defect (a cable actuated latch would break the cable after lots of use). They warranty replaced it when it was out of warranty with a new and improved one. Yes, it did fail, as any lock can, but I am in mine at least twice a day for the past several years. I got the multi vault as I have more than one carry can and I wanted them to be easy to get to. It can hold 4 guns pretty easily.

Why lock your pistol when you are lying in bed next to it? If you need it available while you are in the house during the daytime, wear a belt holster. Lock boxes and trigger locks are both worthless if you need immediate access to your gun.

I managed to raise my kids without locking up the bedside pistol while I was sleeping next to it.
I am totally in agreement with locking every gun in a safe when you are not physically there, or supervising it.

There is a programmable combination lock that can be opened in the dark by sliding the center button to R,L, or Up and Down. You'd have to install a hasp on the drawer, of course.

Visualize the lock face as a clock. Three O'clock is the numbers 1, 2, and 3. Six O'clock is 4,5, and 6..... etc. I set mine to 4570, which meant I pushed down twice, left once, and up once.

I think I bought it at Lowe's.

10 to 1 if an assailant enters a house with no dogs, they'll be standing over the foot of your bed before you even know their there!

With dogs, there should be plenty of time to remove a handgun from a lock box, and the added security of not having a child miss handle it is well worth the trouble...

Most likely!


Phil

I picked up that one at TSC at that price a week ago thanks to a post here on the 'fire. It's about $40 cheaper than anywhere else.

This is what I use since I was blessed with grandkids, I have the double unit and keep two weapons and a flashlight in it. I leave it open when I go to bed and latch it during the day after removing my carry weapon.

have had 3 different makes

prefer the mechanical ones no batteries

at my dads house the only pistol he had was a Ruger MK I when I was growing up

we could look and handle it anytime with his permission and supervision. the penalty for handling it without his permission was belt across your azz till you couldn't sit down.

but I did so anyway, just never got caught for that transgression

soooo I got one for us when our kids were small

as others have said, when the kids are put to sleep you open it

in the a.m. you close it. easy peasy, cheap insurance from my view

I like the ones where there's enough room for handgun, spare mag, surefire and prepaid cell phone.

I was gone for extended periods when I was guiding and it just gave me the warm fuzzies that mom was prepared and the kids were safe.

the daughter was the only real risk in retrospect, she's like me, hard headed

oh and we've always had dogs, a valuable component imo&e for home security

Mackay Sagebrush came up with the best suggestion I've read so far.............a level 2 duty holster. It's "fast enough" while providing a reasonable level of security against curious little hands. I wouldn't trust a pistol laying around unattended like that, but it's enough security for nightstand use IMO.

Just got one.

My daughter asked me to unload my bedside revolver when the grand-kids were at our house. I told her that I have educated the grand-kids but she wasn't convinced. I also mentioned that an unloaded firearm is nothing more than an expensive club. She still wasn't comfortable and I guess I don't blame her. So I just picked up one of the Gun Vault mini safes on sale at TSC. No more reason for complaints. Thanks for the tip.

WyColoCowboy I was close enough to your house throw snowballs.

KC

Here is something to think about but not meant in a mean spirited manner. To those of you with children or grandchildren in the house suggesting opening it when you go to bed then locking it when you get up, I have a question. Have you ever been awakened in the middle of the night by your child at the side of your bed? I have.

I'd rather not have my 3 year old decide the middle of the night is the time to play with daddy's semi auto. My kids (3 and 7) are getting an ongoing education in gun safety but I still won't leave one out with ammo where they can get to it. It only takes an instant to have a tragedy.

As 2legit said, get one with a "mechanical lock". I had one of the touch pad electronic type and on two different occasions I went to use the touchpad and the batteries were dead. Now I cannot get my weapon. Think how that is going to go over in the middle of the night when you hear noises and cannot get your gun. I KNOW HOW IT FEELS, AND I DID NOT LIKE IT. Needless to say I threw the safe in the trash, I would not even give that junk to someone. OK, it was a "Gunvault"!

I purchased a Fort Knox unit that has a push button mechanical combination system and have been very happy with it, unfortunately it is pricey. Someone most likely makes a less expensive unit, but if not I would highly recommend spending what it takes to have something that actually works.