Customer Reviews

HOMAK HS10036684 Electronic Access Pistol Box, 10 X 5.5 X 7.5 Inch

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This is my first easy access gun vault. After reviewing numerous other small vaults I chose this one for it's size, features and price. It's size is large enough to carry up to 3 small to mid-size pistols such as HK USP Compact and Glock 27. The box is heavy gauge steel and feels very sturdy. It would not be easy to break into and children definitely won't gain access without the combination. Depending on the size of your combination you should be able to have it open in 1-2 seconds easily. Each press of the soft buttons is confirmed with a green light. With too many incorrect attempts to open it the box will shut down for a short period and not allow more unauthorized trys to get in. A flashing light will warn you when your batteries need to be replaced, and if they die beforehand you can still gain access with a 9 volt battery.

Mine is mounted within a master bathroom cabinet. In case of a home invasion this allows retreat to behind 2 locked doors. A button light mounted above the vault provides light to see the combination buttons without turning on additional lights, and a strong flashlight is kept next to the vault.

I liked the Homak Pistol Bobby enough to buy another as a gift for my dad.

Hi all;

There are some very good reviews here about the features of this unit, and its shortcomings as the 'ultimate' in theft prevention. I just want to provide a couple of insights from my own experience:

1) This box is a very inexpensive way to secure a handgun and some magazines for quick access. I am currently storing a 1937 Luger and two magazines and 50+ rounds of ammo in my office down hall from bedroom. I'm in the office a lot, and the box is very inconspicuous mounted on a shelf surrounded by 'black' CD/DVD cases, books, papers, you wouldn't even notice the box unless you were looking for it. 2 holes are stud secured, 2 are dry wall anchors ... but unless you take a crow bar to it, its nicely secured from a simple 'take-away'.

2) My purpose was to give myself fairly rapid access to the gun FOR MYSELF ONLY. My wife knows nothing of guns and I don't want her to get 'curious' without training ... hence the box. She doesn't know the code, and no one else does either. I do not have curious kids who might try and break in, although I sometimes wonder about my Australian Sheperd, who's so damn smart its scary and luckily has paws instead of digits and opposable thumbs!! ... in the end it gives me peace of mind.

3) This is a great 'starter box' and provides infinitely better security than simply keeping guns in a drawer, as my old man did, may he rest in peace ... it's got me thinking and my next box will be more sophisticated for bedroom/auto/truck for a newer more modern pistol, as in .45 polymer or traditional 1911 Colt.

4) In short, great value if you are on a budget and the product matches your expectations. By the way, I really liked that this is a 'tall, shallow' form factor instead of 'long and deep' ... it is VERY easy to look in and SEE where everything is and quickly get it, perfect for a single pistol/magazines/ammo. I had two pistols in it, a 32 colt police revolver (small) and the Luger, but it was crowded ... I put the .32 in a gun safe since I don't really intend to use it, and opened up all space for the Luger 9mm and it's perfect.

5) These are so cheap, you could buy several, code them all the same, and have one (1) method for accessing arms in several locations ... that is actually a pretty good tactical advantage for a very low-cost ... good for a BIG house possibly.

Hope this helps someone, I've been quite satisfied.

I bought this after having a bad experience with another, similar product which turned out to be VERY flimsy and badly designed (would pop open if you so much as dropped it).

Took a hit on that (wound up throwing it out) and did without a pistol safe, thinking they were all junk. Still, wanted a secure means of storing a pistol near my bed at night...

Decided to try the HOMAK unit. Not too expensive, liked the design (low profile), electronic opening, etc. Decided I would give it a once over after receiving it and send it back if it looked anything like the previous model I tried.

It's actually - not bad. It is made of sturdy steel and has substantial overall heft to it. The door secures solidly and has a respectable "no pry" design. The servo that opens the door works well. It is easy to reprogram the entry code. It is large enough to hold a Sig P220 which can be positioned such that the grip drops just outside the door, when the door is opened (which is how I leave it at night and no, I don't have any kids).

Mounted secirly to the wall next to my bed, I feel pretty comfortable with it as far as having direct access to my firearm and having it secured when I'm not around. Beats storing it in the safe, in the closet, on the other side of the room.

Only thing I would suggest would be a bit larger on the door dimension.

Side note: Why can't somebody design a pistol safe with a holster integrated into the door so the firearm is "presented" in a ready position when the safe is opened?

We bought this safe to keep our carry guns by the door for easy access when leaving the house or emergency access if we can't get to our other safes in the house.

The safe comes with a pre-configured 5 digit code. You have the option to enter your own code of 4-6 digits. We opted to do this to make it easier to remember. We used the safe for 4 months with no trouble. We never changed the code after that initial time when we got home. One Friday, we went into the safe, got out one of our guns (we left my LCP in there), closed it up, and went out of town for the weekend. Upon returning on Sunday, our code didn't work. We thought maybe the batteries died so we tried their 9V to the front backup plan. Nada. We eventually noticed it wouldn't give the blinking red "not a valid code" signal until we entered 6 digits. So, we went out looking for information on the internet. We discovered that these safes like to periodically revert back to their factory programmed code. Sometimes it does this because the battery dies, sometimes for no reason whatsoever (as in our case).

So we emailed Homak. They gave us a number to call to get the codes. I called several times to no avail. I finally got ahold of them by calling during my lunch hour (their work hours are my work hours so I can't call from home where my safe is). They apparently have a total of 28 codes and will give them to you to try, 3 at a time, no closer than 15 minutes apart. Since I am busy at work, I manage to call about once per day, try the 3 codes in the evening and call back the next day. I'm on set 5 and still have not managed to find a code that works. I will continue through the 28 and then get a crow bar to get my gun out. I will probably purposely damage the thing to prevent something else getting stuck in there, as I will NEVER lock anything I own in there again. 100% useless.

This safe is not intended to keep criminals out. I didn't expect it to. I only wanted security from my friends and family getting into it and easy access for grabbing our guns when we go out. It would've been perfect for us - simple and cheap - if only it worked. It *was* perfect for us for 4 months. But it is useless if you cannot retrieve your gun from it! What good is a safe that keeps the owner out?

The people in their customer service are perfectly nice and obviously well versed in this 3-codes-at-a-time saga to help owners get into their safes, but nice won't help me if I need my gun and cannot get to it. There are other cheap safes out there, like our stack-on, that work perfectly well for simple security and easy access.

If you are looking for a sturdy lock box with quick access for a low price, consider this one. It will keep the grand kids away from my home protection pistol, yet the gun remains quickly accessible to me. The box is constructed of surprisingly sturdy steel gauge with a nice powder coated finish. It says in the owners manual "Made in China" so if that is a consideration be forewarned.
I bought the mid-sized lock box and it is just right to hold my holstered Glock 17 and spare clips. I am glad I didn't go with Homak's smaller box for this gun.
The battery operated latching/locking mechanism is smooth (4 AA batteries not included). I didn't experience any trouble resetting the personal access code after reading the directions thoroughly. As a back-up feature in case of a dead battery, you have the ability to utilize a 9 volt battery with the original access code to open the box so you can replenish the AA batteries inside. That means don't lose the original access code. The battery pack is held out of harms way with velcro although concerns that others have with the batteries being exposed is valid - although minor. Since my gun remains holstered in storage it is not a concern at all for me.
Obviously, if the batteries are dead you will not have quick access to your weapon to defend yourself from an intruder. It has a visual low battery warning signal. In my opinion, if you allow this to happen then you likely also have not practiced shooting and handling your handgun at the range as often as you should have and you might be safer without it - lest you shoot yourself in the foot.
Although not described in the owners manual, there is a small access panel in the back of the box. It is approx. 2X2 inches and is held in place with rivets. It looks to be strategically located directly behind the latching mechanism. My guess is that in a situation where the lock box electronics have failed or been damaged, a locksmith (or yourself) could gain access to the inside door latch via this panel. For those that would consider not permanently mounting the lock box, be advised that a curious teenager with mechanical intuition and the right tools, could figure out how to access this box too.
I permanently mounted my lock box with the included lag bolts to prevent it from wandering off. This also eliminates the concern of someone gaining unauthorized access via the back panel but it creates another; Since the mounting bolts are accessed from inside the box, how do you remove the box to take it to a lock smith if needed? I'll deal with that if the time ever comes.
I have another lock box which uses a barrel key as back-up for the electronic entry. It also has provision for a power supply so the batteries are only relied upon as back-up to your house power. But these features also drive the purchase price up.

I'm not sure what you are buying this for, if you think it's a safe it's not. I bought this as an emergency vault for my Glock 19 for use while I am in the house. I'll leave it there also if I'm out of the house but won't be away for a long time. If I'm out for an extended period the pistol goes into my gun safe that is much more secure and much heavier than this gun box/vault. The vault locks and unlocks quickly and is secure, I think you would have to rip it off the wall or take a good amount of time with tools that will make a lot of noise to open it. I live in a suburban area and the noise needed to break into the box will hopefully alert my neighbors if someone tries to break into it. I did have one problem setting the unit up though. The button you have to press to change the combination is not as easy to find as I would have hoped and the electronic panel came off of the box when I was trying to find the button. Once you find it try to remember where it is for future use. It took awhile to get back together but now is secure and working properly. I did not mount it as the manufacturer recommends but instead built it into a wall and put a picture over it so it is not obvious to intruders if I happen to be out. By the way I have children in the house and it is secure enough that I have few concerns about them being able to get at the pistol as it is that secure. Good product for the cost. I recommend it.

I am a ccw permit holder and have two young curious children. I needed a secure pistol box to place my firearm for the night after returning home from work. This pistol box was the perfect size and price. After receiving the pistol box, it took little time to reprogram the entry code. After successfully accessing the box 3x's the code failed and the unit went back to its factory settings. This happened twice. After I was convinced that I finally had it set and that it wasn't going to "reset" itself I mounted the unit to the wall in a kitchen cabinet. It worked well for 1 day. Then, it seemed, the electronics completely failed.. no lights, no beeps.. nothing. I attempted to "jump start" the unit with a nine volt battery per the instructions.. no success. I contacted the factory and they said that the batteries probably died. Though they were fresh the day before. I had to rip the unit out of the cabinet and pry it open to retrieve my pistol. I returned the product the next day. Save yourself some aggravation and buy a "GunVault" pistol box. More than twice the price but worth every penny. On the bright side.. Amazon handled my return quickly with no hassles.

I installed this safe this afternoon. The price is great, but the features are well thought out.

1. The safe has contacts on the outside just in case the batteries (which are in the inside) die so temporary power can be added to open the safe.
2. If the batteries die the safe reverts to the factory code. Greast feature. Just keep the instructions in safe place to retrieve the code.
3. When you register the safe you provide the code with them so you can call them for YOUR code. Each safe has its own code.

I wanted a safe which will allow me to access my pistol in a hurry. I have kids in the house. The safe is hidden and it locked. But I can get to it fast in an emergency; which is exactly what I wanted in this safe.

I highly recommend this product and for this price...WOW

I have a medium and large I purchased a few days ago, and I just bought another medium. Great for keeping little kids from your pistol, but not super strong or fireproof. Quick easy access to weapon, and it has a nice external battery contact if the internal batteries fail. Great alternative to keeping under mattress.

This is not the final stop in security, and I wouldn't trust this to be even remotely tamper proof against a burglar, even a sloppy one. This review is based on the fact that I bought it to make sure my kids cannot access my pistol when I'm home, or gone for a short while, but I can access it quickly in the event of a home invasion. THIS IS NOT A SAFE! A burglar can pry this off your studs with a crowbar or even cut out your wall and carry this away. This is a secure, quick access weapon box designed to keep curious children/teenagers at bay, and for that, I give it 5 stars. The coated metal is heavy and durable and it can open in 2 or 3 seconds. I mounted mine behind a door about 6 feet off the ground. It fits my Sig Sauer p226 or my Glock 17. It can fit both, but not very comfortably and its awkward to quickly take them out. Perhaps a full size semi with a compact or even sub-compact/hammerless revolver will make a better fit. My only complaint is that even though the back of this unit has 4 holes to mount onto the wall, they are not spaced 16" apart, meaning only two holes are actually mounted into the stud (2x4 behind the wall) and the other two holes are just wallboard/drywall. I used two anchors for the other two holes, but those won't hold up at all against a pry bar. If you have kids and want to keep a loaded weapon on hand, this is the unit for you. If you have many weapons/valuables and care about ultimate security when you go on vacation for a couple weeks, buy a $2000 safe and professionally install it behind a false wall or get a safety deposit box.

***EDIT***

I'd knock off a star or two for this. I recently attempted to open the homak "safe" using the same code that I set when I first received it - it didn't work. I attempted again and again to open this safe, but the light kept flashing red. I decided to break my way in, and was able to do so - with no more than a mere hammer. A couple of really good whacks to the dead center of the door bent it enough so that the locking mechanism at the top bowed out, allowing me to open the door with just my fingers. This took all of 45 seconds, and it wasn't very loud. At the time, I had a 1 year old sleeping in the room next to me, and he didn't even wake up from the noise I generated. I knew this was easy to get into , but not that easy. I'll echo what I said above THIS IS NOT A SAFE, THIS IS JUST A DEVICE TO KEEP SMALL HANDGUNS OUT OF REACH FOR CHILDREN AND (MAYBE) TEENAGERS. I would now give it 2.5 stars, not because of it's ease of being broke into, but because if it was the dead of night and someone broke into the house, I need to access a handgun QUICKLY not enter a code and have it flash red over and over again. Definately not a bulletproof or intellegent design by any means.