ShotLock AR Solo-Vault: Home Defense Ready? Maybe.

Let's be frank here, there's not a whole lot of excitement that comes with secure gun storage. Yes, there are flags with hidden compartments, crazy furniture, and about everything Tactical Walls makes, but most of your run-of-the-mill solutions aren't super sexy. A heavy, anchored, quality gun safe in conjunction with other layered security measures are going to be the hardest to defeat for your standard residential home.

But if you want to keep a rifle at the ready, there's going to be some compromises made for the sake of speed. Well, at least if you want to keep tiny hands away or perhaps delay a lazy burglar during a quick smash and grab, that is. While there are numerous options for rapid-access pistol containers, the same isn't true for rifles.

One option we've been using is the ShotLock AR Solo-Vault, and as the name implies, it's designed to hold a single AR-15. The design itself is rather minimalist, with most of the rifle itself being outside of the container with the action and fun parts covered.

The AR Solo-Vault has nine holes in the back so it can be mounted horizontally or vertically, on a wall, floor, or car trunk. Obviously, a stud or concrete wall or floor is the most secure option. It's constructed of 14-gauge steel, so don't have any misconceptions that this will survive an aggressive attack.

Something we like about the AR Solo-Vault is that it has a mechanical, push-button lock. You don't get an infinite number of combinations (around 1,000), but it doesn't rely on keys, dials, fingerprints, or RFIDs to open. Press your combo in, twist the knob, and it pops open. This process takes maybe two or three seconds.

An AR can also be stored loaded with a standard capacity magazine hot and ready to go, something that some other minimalist AR-containers don't accommodate.

There's a little shelf inside for a small flashlight or something of similar size. We took the extra step of putting some sticky-back Velcro on the front to attach a little blowout kit, because why not?

What we didn't like is that many of our ARs simply didn't fit. The AR Solo-Vault has a cutout to allow for most red dots or grandpa's carry handle, but we couldn't get a single one of our variable optics to work with it. There's also a decent chance that your buttstock will have to be extended to fit properly. Your forend attachments like vert grips or the like may also get in the way, which we ran into when trying to put an SBR inside. If you're rocking a standard carbine and a red dot, you should be fine.

ShotLock also makes a model specifically for shotguns, which costs significantly less ($125 vs $199) for some reason. Are they assuming AR owners are rich, or that shotgun owners are poor?

All told, it's more secure than simply leaving a gun out and it's fast to deploy–provided you're running a rifle that fits.

[You can find ShotLock online here]

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