GOSAFE Mobile Mag: Locked, Loaded, And Safe

SAFETY IS NUMBER ONE

There are a lot of gimmicks out there to keep your guns safe. Even something as simple as the common safe sees increasing amounts of crap loaded onto them with every passing year. Every SHOT Show, there is some new wiz-bang idea that I get roped into looking at, oftentimes when I’m trying to eat lunch because that’s when the sales guy can pounce on you. 

But every once in a long while, I get wind of one that looks like it might have some promise. GOSAFE is one of those. One of those rare diamonds that are worthy of consideration.

I wouldn’t call it perfect or the solution to everyone’s problem, but I think it works, it works well, and it does something no other safety device can do.

WHAT IS IT?

GOSAFE Mobile Mag and the Mobile Safe are a magazine and lock combined into one unit. Right now, they are only compatible with Glock 17, 19, 19x & 34. SIG and M&P mags are coming soon.

The Mobile Mag holds ten rounds of ammo. When locked, the slide can move back and forth but cannot fire. The magazine also cannot be removed when locked. When unlocked, the gun functions normally, and the Mobile Mag can be removed.

Mobile Safe works the same, except it doesn’t hold ammo, and the slide cannot be racked when the mag is locked.

DOES IT WORK?

Bottomline, this does work as they claim, something that is honestly surprising when it comes to most of the products in this space.

I’m really not qualified to speak on how hardened the system is against attack, but I’ll tell you what I know. While some kids go through a magician phase, I went through a lock-picking phase. I still keep a set of tools and some locks around to dork around with, but I’m no Lockpicking Lawyer.

For what it is worth, my big dumb amateur attempts at defeating it all failed. Given enough time, no lock is truly safe. But I don’t think your average anyone would be able to just bust through the GOSAFE.

Think of this as kind of like a steering wheel lock on your Glock. While someone can still walk off with your gun, they can’t practically use it. But with a key and a moment’s notice, you can.

ON THE RANGE

If a product wants to function like a magazine, that is its most critical function to me. Magazines are by far the number one source of malfunctions in a firearm and the easiest place to get something wrong during development and manufacturing. 

With that in mind, I wanted to make sure the GOSAFE actually worked as a magazine, first and foremost. 

While I wouldn’t call this an exhaustive test, I feel 250 rounds of malfunction-free fire is good enough to put my mind at ease.

This isn’t a magazine that you would carry in a gun. It shouldn’t ever see dust, mud, or anything else that might gunk it up. I wouldn’t even recommend live fire with this magazine if you don’t have to just to help ensure it stays as like new as possible.

Training with your firearm should be done using normal magazines. Training with your GOSAFE should be done dry. I don’t see a need to do really any live-fire with the GOSAFE outside of maybe a box when you first get it, just to make sure you’re good to go.

All of that said — the GOSAFE Mobile Mag worked. Nothing special to report, no issues occurred, it simply worked. 

FEEDBACK

I’ve spent several hours using the Mobile Safe and Mobile Mag doing dry fire drills in addition to the live fire I’ve done on the range. Overall, I like the system. But it isn’t perfect.

Top of my list of drawbacks is that this isn’t a system that is super, super easy to use when under stress. If you hear a car window crash in the night, I think the key and lock work pretty well. But what if someone is banging on your bedroom door? Crank the stress up to 11, and the wheels might come off.

The fact that the key needs to be at the right angles to work is a major miss. I don’t know a lot about how these keys and locks work, but it seems to me that if the key were symmetrical, it would be able to work at 3 and 9 o’clock, moving to 6 or 12 o’clock instead of it having to be from 3 to 6 only.

Under stress, you need to remember that the basically circular key needs to go in at the right angle and the right one only. Since the key and the lock are a circle, it would have been nice to have two options, at least. 

But maybe that just isn’t possible because I don’t know how it works. 

Either way, I would like the key to be easier to insert. Maybe some kind of beveling on the key or the lock, kind of like a mag well for a gun. As it is, the key isn’t hard to get in – but if you’re stressed, tired, just woke up, something a little more friendly would have been a lot nicer.

Last on my list is the capacity. I’m guessing that 10 rounds were chosen since that makes it 50-state legal. But I would much rather have seen a 15 or more option also. 

Who Is This For?

Securing firearms is a personal choice that comes in many forms. For me, the majority of my firearms are locked in a hardened room or in a traditional safe, while I keep designated home defense weapons in condition 3 (loaded magazine, empty chamber, safety on.) 

I don’t have kids, my family members are well-versed in firearm safety, and I generally don’t have to worry about unauthorized users unless there is a break-in. 

For me, the Mobile Mag and Mobile Safe don’t answer a problem that I have.

But for people with kids in the home or maybe living in shared housing with roommates, I think the GOSAFE options are something to consider.

I’m not a fan of biometric safes or anything that needs power. The Mobile Mag, while it isn’t perfect, allows you to keep a firearm loaded and ready but also totally safe. 

For the price, the quality, and the fact that it just works well, I would recommend GOSAFE.

Mobile Safe Vs. Mobile Mag

These are basically the same thing, except the Safe doesn’t hold any ammo, so it isn’t a real magazine when you need it to be.

Maybe I’m the weird one, but I don’t really see much point in the Mobile Safe. If you don’t want ammo in the gun, just don’t load the Mobile Mag. The cost is only slightly higher for the Mag and has a critical function added that seems almost mandatory. 

I wouldn’t say the Mobile Safe is a bad option, it’s just not what I would pick or recommend.

If you’re interested in this system, I say get the Mobile Mag.

LOOSE ROUNDS

The price of the Mobile Safe and Mobile Mag are attractive, and they work pretty well. All safes have downsides and drawbacks, and I don’t think GOSAFE has any more than most others. They’re just different. 

The upsides are pretty strong, and for a lot of people, I think this will be a great option to keep their gun ready but safe.

My biggest recommendation for anyone who owns one: Pratice. A lot. Train with using the key, do it on the clock, and don’t stop practicing with it. I would say practice every day for the first couple of weeks, and then keep practicing at least once a month forever after.

Make sure you do so safely and with no live ammo. And don’t forget to get to the range also.

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