Safe Storage

Some states (CA, MA, I'm looking at you) have "safe storage" laws. NY doesn't, and I'm glad of it. There's no reason a stuffed suit in Albany should be able to tell me how to store my guns. I keep them in a safe to protect my investment, but I sometimes wish I felt comfortable with display cases and wall hangers.

In that vein, I got a new product announcement from Remington last night. They're introducing The Remington RAC Mountable Secured Storage System. It's designed as a surface-mounted gun lock, and locks through the trigger guard and around the wrist or grip of the weapon. Neat idea, and I can see how it could be useful.

But I see one HUGE problem: this provides no way to prevent the action of the weapon from operating. The slide on a pistol can cycle, the bolt has clearance on a rifle, and a shotgun is a gimme. The trigger is not only freely accessible, it's pressed against the lock's post. This is a recipe for a negligent discharge - as someone drops a magazine but forgets to clear the chamber, or does neither as they "just run in to the ____ real quick" and promptly puts a hole in the car door...

In my opinion, the reason to put a lock on a gun is to prevent someone from loading and firing it. Period. If you're going to use one, my preferred type of lock is the cable that runs through the magazine well and ejection port. A distant second is an "around the trigger" type, which can usually be fiddled with enough to pull the trigger at least once without ever removing the lock.

So, Remington, it's a neat product, but it's not there yet. Based on the photos and description, I wouldn't recommend one. (And I'm not going to ask for a T&E model either, because I'm just a nobody. And I sure won't spend $60 of my own money on something I wouldn't trust.)

(Mossberg tried sometime vaguely similar a few years ago with their Loc-Box system. This is MUCH more effective and appropriate, but has since been discontinued.)