Are your guns really safe in that cabinet?

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Woody Williams
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Are your guns really safe in that cabinet?

Post by Woody Williams »

http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php...amp;c=2,1035941

QCTimes.com

Last Updated: 12:34 am, Saturday, September 25th, 2004

Gun cabinet locks no match for pen By Barb Ickes : Viewpoint

By putting two and two together, a Bettendorf father of three managed to break into his own gun cabinet using nothing but a Bic pen.

The man asked that only his first name, Mark, be used in this article, fearing that publishing his identity and the fact that he has guns in his home could invite trouble.

The company that made his gun cabinet was very familiar with Mark's name after he made several calls to them this week.

When news broke last week about a popular, high-end brand of bicycle lock, Kryptonite, being susceptible to a simple break-in method, the Bettendorf man recognized the type of tubular lock and round key that were described in the story. It sounded just like the lock on the gun cabinet bolted to the wall of his bedroom closet.

After reading the story, the man called Wauconda, Ill.-based Stack-On Products Co., which made his gun cabinet. Even though a company spokesperson assured him his cabinet was secure and the lock could not be opened with a pen, he was not convinced.

"I used three different kinds of pens," he said. "I need to be thorough. Ive got three kids living in my house."

After doing a little research on the Internet and reading about the flaw in the Kryptonite locks, the man went to a Staples store to buy a box of the Bic pens that were specifically cited as the break-in tool. He pulled the ink cartridge out of a pen and widened one end of the barrel slightly by scraping it with his pocket knife, just like a Web site instructed.

"I had run home for lunch and was in a hurry," he said. "Within 30
seconds, I was into the safe with that pen."

Another call went into Stack-On, he said, and, this time the same
employee told him an engineer would be dispatched to Bettendorf to inspect his gun cabinet.

On Wednesday afternoon, the man demonstrated how he could move the locking mechanism on his gun cabinet with a slightly altered Bic pen.

"You can find more expensive gun cabinets that will protect your weapons from fire and all that, but all I really needed was to keep my guns away from my kids," he said. "It turns out I had a false sense of security."

Susan Eckhoff, the vice president of administration for Stack-On, said the calls from Bettendorf launched the company's engineering department into an investigation of the tubular locks. She would neither confirm nor deny that the locks may be faulty.

"Right now, they're telling me they'll have something on our Web site next week -- Monday or Tuesday," she said. "Not everything is finalized."

"(The Bettendorf man) is the only phone call we had," she said. "We're very grateful that he did call."

To hear some area retailers tell it, many gun owners have become
increasingly security-savvy and are investing in more expensive gun safes and cabinets that use combination or electronic locks rather than the tubular locks. The less expensive models, such as the Stack-On cabinet that was opened with a Bic pen, are not as popular as they used to be, retailers say.

In fact, some stores have stopped stocking the tubular-lock models made by Stack-On.

"Security is a definite concern and thats why we stopped selling them," said Matt Meyer, a manager at K&K Hardware in Bettendorf. "If I wanted to keep my young children out of it, I would choose the heaviest-duty gun cabinet I could find."

"I have two kids and I wouldnt buy a cheap one."

The cabinets can range in price from less than $100 to well over $1,000, but, regardless of price, manufacturers boast that all of their cabinets are secure. In fact, the model the Bettendorf father owns is one of the products pictured on the Stack-On Web site, where it notes that the cabinet is "California Department of Justice Certified."

Even so, Kevin Nyberg, the manager of the Gander Mountain sporting goods store in Davenport, said an increasing number of gun owners are willing to pay the extra money for heavy-duty gun safes and cabinets. He estimated that, in the past six months, his store has sold only a couple of the Stack-On models that use a tubular lock.

Nyberg also said he is confident Stack-On will correct the problem.

"I would'nt doubt at all that they'll be sending lock upgrades... or
complete return-to-vendor offers," he said. "Stack-On is a stand-up company, and I'm sure that when their engineers figure it out, theyll do something to fix the problem."

While the Bettendorf man said he is most alarmed by the apparent vulnerability of tubular locks on gun safes, he wonders how many other products are at risk.

"I'm guessing well be seeing Bic pens sticking out of vending machines, pay phones and file cabinets all over the place," he said. "But security doesn't get any more important than when you're talking about keeping guns out of the hands of children."

Barb Ickes can be contacted at (563) 383-2316 or [email protected].
Woody Williams

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GREY OWL
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Post by GREY OWL »

As far as gun cabinets go, I don't think I would even buy one, any one. What I have plans of doing is building a false wall in my basement, and put my guns in there. My kids will know where they are, but its not the kids I'm worried about, its thieves beaking into our home. I'll still have a lock through the trigger guard, but I'm designing it so that I'll look like a wall with plumbing pipes coming out and into it, of different sizes. So any stranger breaking into the house, it'll look to him just like another wall with plumbing service.

If I build it myself, I figure it'll cost me less than an expensive gun cabinet and not take up any more room.

Grey Owl
ecoaster
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Post by ecoaster »

My dad used to have a gun cabinet that could be opened with just about anything flat and pointed. Knife, nail file, etc. I used to open it like that as a kid to get my BB gun. I later told my dad and he replaced the lock, not because he didn't trust me with guns, but to make it more difficult for theives. I laugh every time I see a locked gun case with the door made of glass :shock: . Stupid idea if you ask me.
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Guest

Post by Guest »

"I laugh every time I see a locked gun case with the door made of glass . Stupid idea if you ask me"

Looks good though doesn't it :D
chris4570
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Post by chris4570 »

A gun cabinet is better than nothing. I have one. It has a regular key type lock, but also has places for two padlocks. I use both a combo lock and a keyed padlock. The keys are locked up in a hidden location. The cabinet is screwed into the wall studs.

It's not impossible for someone to break into, but then again with the right tools and experience any safe or cabinet can be broken into.
Guest

Post by Guest »

My idea of a gun cabinet is two 75 lbs. dogs roaming through the house, and a loaded sidearm within arms reach. :twisted: :wink:
RichardS
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Post by RichardS »

I like Carl's method the best!

I bet it is very effective! :D
-Richard-
Red Label

Post by Red Label »

The trouble with Carl's method (at least in Canuckistan) is that if the dogs laid into someone you'd be the one up the creek, not the gun grabbers!

Mikey Vee
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Post by Guest »

The dogs would probably just lick the thieves silly. :wink: But the three ATTACK cats in the house would be dangerous. :wink: :lol:

If all else fails, I have a couple of stoppers close by for dirtbag medicine. :wink:

RL,
As soon as an intruder crosses the thresh hold of the door at night (armed or not), they're legally considered cannon/dog fodder in Vermont.
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GaryM
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Post by GaryM »

When I was a kid my dad had a big steel desk in the basement that came out of the GE plant where he worked. If you locked the desk drawer, all the other drawers locked as well. My younger brother was determined to break into the desk. He ended up doing it with a thin piece of brass shim stock. He cut it the shape of a key and it was thin enough to get past the zig zag in the key opening. He painted the end with magic marker or something similar and inserted it into the lock. After jiggling it back and forth for a bit, he took it out and the location of the tumbler pins were clearly visible where they scratched into the magic marker. He used a file and followed the outline of the marks, producing a key that worked every time. *Never* underestimate a youngster.
Jim C
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Post by Jim C »

I have a couple of those type lockers but I only keep stuff like 22's in them. The more valuable stuff are in the big (1500 pound alarmed) safes with sophisticated locks.

The claymore mines rigged to blow when someone opens them up with a torch or a blade or drill helps too :D
A.W
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Post by A.W »

I think if somebody wants into them then they will. All you can do is make it as awkward as possible.
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Allan
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Post by Allan »

Hiding them is the best method. I too have a false wall. It is located at the back of a broom closet.
boogap
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Post by boogap »

All locks and safes can be defeated. A couple of years back a gang around here broke into stores at night and opened those giant store safes in a few hours using sledges and prybars.
Most break and enters are kids and amateurs, who dont wan't to spend time and make noise.
The main reason people here in Canada have them is because if you don't and someone steals your guns, the cops will charge you with unsafe storage!!!!!
Sliver
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Post by Sliver »

boogap wrote:All locks and safes can be defeated. !
Remember,,Locks and safes are for honest law abidding people,, Locks won't stop the criminal element...Sad but thats the reality of the society we live in today.
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