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Old April 22, 2002, 02:20 PM   #1
ump45
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Quick access gun safe for home

I'm looking at a VLine Top Draw gun safe with the Simplex quick access feature. Apparently, it won Best of Show at the 2002 Shot Show.

Anyone own one of these, or do you recommend another gun safe?

This will be for my new SIG P226.
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Old April 22, 2002, 03:14 PM   #2
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If their handgun safe is anything like their long gun safe, they're WAAAAAY too flimsy. A hatchet would get through them in no time.

Try http://www.handgunsafe.com . Same Simplex lock, and much heavier gauge steel.

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Old April 22, 2002, 03:32 PM   #3
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I STRONGLY second that opinion...

Check out the weight listed for the V-Line, and then the one for the R&D handgun safe. There's 15 to 20 POUNDS difference in some models.

Mine used 1/4" thick steel and weighs 24 pounds! When you handle them, you'll see that there's no contest.

On the outside of the box that R&D delivers their safes in, a sticker reads "If you drop me, I'll break your foot"

On top of that, the V-Line is lined with felt, while mine has a thick foam lining.

For SHEER DURABILITY, you cannot find a safe better than the Handgun safe. I have yet to see one that uses thicker steel.
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Old April 22, 2002, 03:35 PM   #4
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PMod is right on, I absolutely love mine.

The Simplex lock is cake to open by feel in a hurry, and it is not flimsy at all.

Matter of fact I'm picking up a second one.
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Old April 22, 2002, 03:41 PM   #5
ump45
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

Being a new gun owner, with a family (wife and 2 year old daughter), do you have any other good safety/security advice?
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Old April 22, 2002, 03:45 PM   #6
4V50 Gary
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Take the wife shooting and when your daughter is old enough, her too.
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Old April 22, 2002, 05:51 PM   #7
ump45
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Onslaught:

I noticed you have the 4811-S.

Have you seen the 401-S?

It looks like basically the same safe, except it opens from a lid on the top, instead of a door on the front.
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Old April 23, 2002, 11:20 AM   #8
Pan
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Another vote for the HandgunBox (http://www.handgunsafe.com/safes.htm) safes. I have one and it's built like a tank. Won't keep out a professional, but certainly child proof and amateur proof.

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Old April 23, 2002, 03:58 PM   #9
Onslaught
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UMP,

Yes, I've seen the new top opening one. It would be nice in a drawer, but I needed one under the bed, mounted ever-so-sturdily to the frame. I'm a fairly unorganized guy, so if I had something that opened on top, I'd have something stacked on it when I needed it.

I'd love to see a new model with a pull-out drawer inside. There are other brands that have this, but none of the vault-like thickness that the "handgunsafe.com" ones boast. My only beef with my safe is that you have to stick your hand into the fairly small opening to get your pistol out. But it's one tough monster.

If I could afford to trash it, I'd love to just poke, prod, and pry the HECK out of it to see just what it would take to get in it. I quickly trashed a Homak safe once when I couldn't find the keys anymore. That was fun. I Don't see me being able to do that with my 4811.
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Old April 23, 2002, 04:15 PM   #10
ump45
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Thanks for the reply Onslaught.

I've been trying to figure out where to mount the safe, as my nightstand is rather flimsy (made of particle board hehe) and the drawers are removable.

I'm going to look into mounting it under the bed on the frame. That looks like a great location.
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Old April 23, 2002, 04:36 PM   #11
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UMP,

Quote:
Being a new gun owner, with a family (wife and 2 year old daughter), do you have any other good safety/security advice?
Sure, I'm free with free advice!

Figure out what direction you can point the gun in where it won't hit anyone, even if a bullet penetrates the wall. Then keep the gun pointed in those directions whenever you handle it.

Check for chambered rounds before cleaning or dry-firing. If you didn't see any, check again.

If you'll be using a gun for home defense, you'll need to set up a plan. One that takes the whereabouts of your wife and daughter into account. This is WAY too involved for me to do a decent job of describing it here. Going through the NRA Self-protection course will help.

Oh, yeah. Train. Like Paxton Quigley says, strive to be an excellent shot.

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