By Dave Goetzinger of Handgun Safe Research
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- When I began my 2015 investigation into the industry of cheaply made handgun safes, one of the first safes I opened via covert means was GunVault’s Minivault Standard, model GV1000S.
As a result of recent correspondence from people wanting to know if I might recommend a “biometric safe”, that is, a safe with a fingerprint reader, I decided to look at another GunVault product, the Minivault Biometric, model GVB1000. It’s basically a dressed-up version of the Minivault Standard.
The GVB1000 is a California DOJ approved firearms safety device. Page four of GunVault’s online catalog tells us that, “GunVault’s products exceed these standards to give you peace of mind when securing your handgun or other possessions.” Anyone interested in learning just how little California DOJ approval actually means should read my discussion of California’s so-called “firearms safety devices” on HandgunSafeResearch.com.
Most U.S. manufacturers of handgun safes, or importers, as is more often the case, have their own version of a biometric handgun safe, often several. I don’t want to sound dismissive of biometric technology, because it’s hugely popular. But I’ll admit that I’m uninterested in biometrics. I’ve found that the security of a handgun safe is far more dependent on how well protected the locking mechanism is than on how one interacts with the mechanism.
Unfortunately for GunVault’s Minivault Biometric, the locking mechanism is not at all protected. The safe has extraneous holes in its sides, and the holes are located next to the housing inside that contains the locking mechanism. Worse, in order for that housing to accommodate the keyed bypass lock, it has a gaping hole of its own in the side of it. To break into the safe, I simply inserted an unfolded paperclip through one of the holes in the side and into the locking mechanism, where I pushed on the release-wire.
GunVault’s Minivault Biometric is one of those safes I call “a paperclip job.” A paperclip job requires nothing but an unfolded paperclip to open. Bighorn’s P-20 Security Safe is a paperclip job. So is Hornady’s RAPiD Safe. A paperclip job is good for a laugh, easy to return undamaged, and fun to demonstrate to retailers. There’s nothing quite like watching somebody’s mouth drop open.
Knowing the security limitations you can buy the GunVault Biometric GVB1000 MiniVault Safe online at Amazon : https://tiny.cc/4j8q9x
About Dave Goetzinger
I began while writing a piece of investigative journalism titled “Safe Cracking Is Too Easy,” published in the September 2015, issue of American Shooting Journal. The piece looked at defectively designed handgun safes, and was first posted online at ASJ on July 21, 2015, under the title “It’s Too Easy To Crack Your Gun Safe.”
About Handgun Safe Research
This site exposes the design defects and security vulnerabilities of popular handgun safes. Visit : www.handgunsaferesearch.com
Well now that gives me a real warm fuzzy feeling….
Dave,
I went to your site, but I didn’t find any gun safes that you would deem appropriate for storing a firearm. Do you know of any that you would approve of, or at least say are relatively safe compared to the others?
Judas Priest…
1. Why on earth would they boast about it being approved by the Commiefonia DOJ, a state that CLEARLY knows nothing about guns, let alone devices to prevent unauthorized people from handling them?!
2. What is GunVault’s reply to a video like this? Have there been changes to it? Have designers been fired over this at least?
The GunVault safes are not meant to prevent someone from stealing your gun, as they could just walk away with the safe and open it at a later time. It’s more for keeping the gun out of reach of your children, while still making it easily accessible to the adult who might need it. I think they do a GREAT job of that. My kids wouldn’t be able (nor know how to) get into this safe. Serves its purpose.
If they have access to the Internet they can find out how to open your safe.
They can be and should be bolted to the floor or other places then they will not be stolen so easy.
Are you going to do a review on “The Gun Box”? I have search this site and also Handgun Safe Research and found nothing. Thanks for the great information on these bad designs.