The best part of Dave Goetzinger’s (AKA Handgun Safe Research) total ownership of the Amarey HFGS-089 gun safe is that he shows a relatively difficult exploit to open it before showing the insanely easy one: “Bolting the safe down to prevent attack with a paperclip is pointless.” [via]
Amarey’s handgun safe is going to get somebody killed. That’s my prediction. Somebody, possibly a child, is going to take a hit with a hollow point, and aside from local newspaper coverage–a few dismal inches in a column of city news–no one will know about it.
He writes that this is the only device he’s examined “vulnerable enough that a child could open it” and that the manufacturer is no longer in the business. A common target of his investigations are cheap, Chinese-made biometric models imported by local companies who stamp red-blooded American branding on them.
Here’s another terrible gun safe, the GunVault SVB 500, which can be opened with a gum wrapper.
He recommends the AMSEC Heavy-Duty Pistol Safe, the Stealth Handgun Safe, and this auto model from Fort Knox [Amazon]. They’re much uglier and heavier than the cheap models, but this is where I’m keeping my Beanie Babies.