I was gifted the box by a kind reader (Thank you very much once again) and the wife ordered to go under the tree till Christmas. So, as promised, I am doing the review today.
This is the box.
The specs according to Hornady are:
Dimensions: Interior: 9.75”x7.5”x2.25” Exterior: 10.25”x8”x2.75”
16 gauge steel housing and a 1500 Lb 3 foot steel cable. It comes with two tubular keys in a little pouch I forgot to take a picture.
It is about 6 pounds so it is heavier than the less expensive offerings out there and the impression you get is of a one solid box.
As you can see, a full size pistol has no problem fitting in the foam-covered interior and notice the two solid locking points:
This is the lock from the inside with what I presume is an anti-tampering shroud:
The view of the anchoring cable with the box anchor in place. It is stronger that I thought it would be.
One complain I have read about other boxes is the hinges. They are usually tacked by three points per side and might be an eventual weak point which can be cracked with a sharp hit. In this box, the hinges appear to be integral to the box itself, no welding, no rivets.
Hornady claims that the box meets TSA Airline Guidelines for firearms storage and I could very well see that.
Verdict: It is a very good box in my opinion…as long as you remember it is not a proper safe but an anti-theft delay device for the opportunistic, “untooled” burglar. Anybody with the right tools and time will break into anything deemed safe.
The package came with the NSSF’s “Own it? Respect it. Secure it” shield of project Childsafe. And yes, it will be a good box to keep small children from accessing the gun.
It is going in my truck. No argument there.
Some things I picked up watching DefCon videos:
Make sure there is no ingress to the box from holes. So that second attachment point needs to be plugged. Otherwise you can slide a probe into the box to reach towards the release mechanism.
Because it is using a tubular lock, make sure it doesn’t open to the bic pen attack. All of the pins are exposed, so if you can impression from those exposed pins you can make a simple key quickly. The soft plastic of the bic pen can feel the extra compression and makes a key.
Not ALL tubular locks are that easy to pick, but some are. If this one is, take the time to replace the lock, that is normally pretty easy. (I did that for my gun safe after I had to drill the lock because they left the freaking keys in the wrong state).
Last, enjoy. It is much better than nothing.
Now if it was only legal for me to put my carry weapon in that box in the parking lot of my local Post Office before I went in…
Agree with your points, but that means you are going to be attacked by somebody with time, tools and knowledge that a firearm or valuables are present in your vehicle. Knowing that most car burglaries do not last a minute and rae done by unskilled individuals without tools, you are running a higher percent security than just leaving the gun in the center console.
And if you are home, there is no need to leave the firearm in the vehicle.
We are just running percentages to tilt to our favor, there are never 100% guarantees. We run layers of security and distraction, there are not one single thing that covers it all.
We are in agreement. I’ve watched the physical pen testers walk through security so fast your head would spin. On the other hand, professionals. Not smash and grab (or open and grab) thugs looking for a quick profit.
I use a v-line style pistol safe for in the house. I KNOW that it has a limited number of combinations. I KNOW that if I was to put something valuable in it and allow unfretted long term access to the safe it would could be opened by somebody willing to put the time into it.
On the other hand, my kids and grand kids and kids friends aren’t going to have that uninterrupted time and if my kids want to handle my guns, then it is time for a break to run a safety lecture and then let them handle the firearms.
With the lock box you have, the must likely quick tool would be a pair of bolt cutters to take the safe with them.