Nightstand gun security safe?

[maroonandwhite]

Now that I have a little one roaming around it’s time to decide on a small safe for my nightstand gun. I’d prefer something that I could anchor down somehow but not a requirement. 
What have y’all found works best for fairly quick access? I’d only need one handgun capacity. 

[swiley383]

Hornady make several models. Fort Knox and Gettysburg and stack on just off the top of my head. I have an off brand but I am going to upgrade. The finger print reader dose not work very consistently.

[maroonandwhite]

6 minutes ago, swiley383 said:

Hornady make several models. Fort Knox and Gettysburg and stack on just off the top of my head. I have an off brand but I am going to upgrade. The finger print reader dose not work very consistently.

That’s what I’m concerned with. I want something that will open 100% of the time but still fairly quickly. 

[peejman]

Mine stays in a drawer when I'm home and locked in the safe when I'm not.  I found the fingerprint safes the same as above, a bit flakey.  The ones that seemed best had the mechanical fingertip buttons to push in sequence to unlock, but I never bothered to get one. 

[maroonandwhite]

8 minutes ago, peejman said:

Mine stays in a drawer when I'm home and locked in the safe when I'm not.  I found the fingerprint safes the same as above, a bit flakey.  The ones that seemed best had the mechanical fingertip buttons to push in sequence to unlock, but I never bothered to get one. 

That’s my setup now. I’m just wanting to add that extra layer of safety in case of human error. 

[hipower]

I've looked at these devices, manual and the newer biometric scanners. I chose the manually operated version. 

It's in my bedroom. But to be honest...I don't use. I also don't have little ones in the house, so the decision was easier.

If we have company, I can lock the bedroom door and just have my BBQ backup on my hip.

[tbenedict]

I switched to a semi-auto when we had kids.  I figured I could chamber a round quicker than opening a safe in the dark. Different approaches when they get bigger... 

[maroonandwhite]

1 minute ago, tbenedict said:

I switched to a semi-auto when we had kids.  I figured I could chamber a round quicker than opening a safe in the dark. Different approaches when they get bigger... 

Hadn’t thought of that. I’d just hate to forget to do it. 

[peejman]

Mine stays in a thumb break holster as an extra layer. My kids are old enough to know better, but I still put it away when I'm not home. 

[Danger Rane]

I have two of the Gun Vault nightstand safes, one biometric and one with the finger keypad entry. From a security standpoint I don’t think that either one would slow down a determined/knowledgeable thief more than a minute. They would just be too easy to defeat with a well placed shim or screwdriver. I have them just to keep my kids from getting ahold of a couple guns that I want to have handy around the house. One goes on my nightstand, another at the other end of my house. I would absolutely buy the keypad entry model again, as I have had not a single issue. It runs off of one 9v battery that I change every January when I do the smoke detector batteries. I have had the safe for about 7 years. It is currently available on Amazon for $70ish.
 

I would not buy the biometric version again. I’ve had mine about 5 years, and I think they currently go for $115ish. My issue was not so much the biometric not working properly, mine was that it was incredibly sensitive, which could make some think it is finicky. I’ve seen several videos on YouTube of the biometric being opened with random fingers and even a dog paw, leaving one to worry that their child would be able to gain access, which is of course what we are trying to prevent. The issue I ran into, is you have to slide your finger consistently every time, and if there is any variation/damage to your fingerprint it will not recognize it. Something as simple as a small paper cut deformation to your finger tip will make it not work. Slight moisture residue from washing your hands will make it not work. I can only imagine that blood on your hands would make it not work. Mine runs off of one 9v, though I have seen some that run off AAs.

My buddy has an RFID version from another company that came with a bracelet and a keycard, neither of which does he keep on him much of the time so he regrets that purchase.

[maroonandwhite]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I should steer clear of biometric.

[DaveTN]

You have to be creative for your own situation. When my kids were little I kept a loaded gun in the top of the closet. All I had to do was stand up and grab it. I took it with me or secured it when I got up.

I have plenty of semi-auto carry guns, but use a revolver for a nightstand gun. No worries about bumping the trigger, safeties, or my wife not being able to operate it. I don’t have kids around and can just leave guns laying out, but a revolver is harder for a small child to fire or bump into something and have a discharge.

Like most here; I wouldn’t use a mechanical device that may/may not open.