Lock'Er Down Console Safe

10canyon53

I just finished installing this in my wife's Suburban so that she will have a secure place to keep her Shield when she is in school (she is a teacher).  First I did a test assembly on the workbench and mounted a holster to the inside wall to keep random stuff out of the trigger.

 

And the completed installation.  Just like any other safe, it will not prevent a truly determined, skilled and equipped thief who has enough time on his hands.  However, being built out of 12 gauge steel it will absolutely prevent a smash and grab.  With the holster mounted in it my wife will have reasonably quick access to her gun if needed.

This is not meant to be a primary way to carry.  It is meant to be secure storage when she can't legally carry.

There were two events that triggered this project:

First, the recent school shooting in Parkland, FL.  My wife is a teacher and two of our kids attend the school where she works.

Second, about a week after the school shooting, my wife and daughter had to take cover in a dressing room at the mall when a fight broke out in the store they were in.  The fight resulted in a shooting a few feet away from my wife and daughter.  The experience of being on the phone with my wife while she is hiding from a gunman while I am sitting helplessly in a hotel room 80 miles away is one I hope to never have again.  The silver lining is that I have finally won the battle to convince my wife to carry anywhere she legally can, and to have her gun locked up nearby when she can't.  She now understands why I am so insistent that she be armed and why I am always armed, with spare magazines.  She has always had to leave her gun in the safe at home when going to work, now she will always have it nearby.  To her credit, the day of the shooting at the mall, she did go home after school and retrieve her gun before going to the mall.  She would not have been defenseless had the gunman come her way.  In fact, he would have found an armed Mama Bear defending her cub. 

NN

nice work

10canyon53

Thanks!  The only thing I did other than follow the manufacturer's installation instructions was to figure out a way to mount the holster.  I used an Alien Gear paddle holster I no longer used to carry with.  All I had to do was remove the paddle, drill matching holes in the side plate and use the screws that had secured the paddle to secure the holster to the side plate.  Fairly easy assembly.

10canyon53

I was leaning towards the Hornady until I discovered nobody had it in stock.  That made me take a closer look at the hidden console design and I think it is a better fit for my application.  By the way, the Lock'Er down safe for my wife's Suburban had to be assembled in the console.  If I remember correctly, the one for the Tacoma just drops in.

10canyon53

After inspecting the completed install my wife is making noises about wanting another Shield to keep in the truck full-time instead of having to transfer to and from her purse.  I told her she could have my 9mm Shield for the spare and I would get a Shield .45..........she is actually willing to entertain that idea.

 

10canyon53

Shipping was fast.  I placed the order at 10:00 am and at 4:45 had an email from FedEx with the tracking number and stating that they had picked it up.

zorba

Very clever product! I'm toying with the idea of the Hornady or something similar as neither of my vehicles have consoles.

avmech

Have been thinking about a console vault for my 03 Sierra and 07 Yukon. I really like the idea of mounting a holster in them for security. Well done! 

Teach

Hmmmmm- - - - -that would make for some interesting conversation during a phony "I smell weed" vehicle search after a traffic stop!

Jerry