Have you used the integral lock on a gun?

Have you used an intregal lock on a gun.

  • HAVE USED an intregal lock.

    Votes: 22 10.7%

  • Have one but HAVE NOT USED it.

    Votes: 118 57.6%

  • Do not own one yet.

    Votes: 20 9.8%

  • WOULD NOT own one.

    Votes: 45 22.0%
  • Total voters
    205
  • Poll closed .
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G

griz

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Location
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I was wondering how common it is for people to use the built in locks that are now common on new guns. For purposes of this poll, "use" means that you have used it to lock the gun and stored it that way when not in use. Trying it out does not count.
 
Never Used it

I used it once while in the gun shop right after I purchased it. I have not used it since, other than to show the 'feature' to my father once and that was over over a year ago.
 
It is legally meaningless around here in that it doesn't qualify as a gun lock for transportation or anything else... and if you take it to an indoor range with the bolt closed/slide back/whatever they'll still get uptight if they are an "open action before it comes into the building" shop... so why bother? A zipper case with a toy padlock is less secure but more legal.
 
I've gone out of my way to either buy an older model without a lock (S&W) or to replace the part as soon as possible (Springfield 1911).. so I guess I fit in the last category. Partly from principle, partly 'cause I don't trust mechanical afterthoughts shoved into an existing design (same reason I don't buy a cross-bolt safety levergun)... but mostly 'cause I know butterfingers scatterbrained me would somehow find a way to lock the darn thing and lose the key the very same day I actually needed it :eek:

(Did I ever tell ya the time I handcuffed myself to my brother, forgetting I'd lost the key? Momma had to take us to the police station to get unhitched. What can I say, I loved my brother. :) )
 
My M700 has the ISS bolt lock. I turned it off when I took it out of the box and I think that if I had to, I might be able to dig around an find one of the keys.

I didn't know my HK USP had a lock on it until just recently, and I've owned the thing for over 3 years.

I don't like the locks. Hell my preferred sidearm, a Glock, barely has a safety. I'd rather my firearms were lock-free. But at the same time, I am not going to turn down a perfectly good gun because it has a lock, nor am I desperate enough to be without them to say, buy an aftermarket bolt shroud for my M700 that doesn't have the ISS lock on it.

Now things like magazine disconnects on autopistols...that really leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Locks you can just ignore without voiding the warrenty. Magazine disconnects and that sort of garbage, you can't.
 
I have a Springfield 1911 with the a lock. I have no use for it. If the handgun is not is use, it is in the safe.

At least Springfield designed it so that if you really don't want it, all you need to do is swap out the mainspring housing.
 
I wouldn't have a problem buying one with the lock, I just wouldnt be likly to use it.

I can see though where it would be useful if you have kids or want to lock it before storage incase of theft. Not advocating them, but I am sure they have their use if you want to find one.
 
I am a little confused about a couple things... The purpose of having your gun out of your safe (lockable location) is because your going to use it, or you may need to use it. you certainly dont want to activate the ILS at these times. When its not in use (cleaning, firing, being carried) it's in the safe or locked up. The only time I could see this "feature" being useful is when you want to leave your gun laying around irresponsible people (kids, middle-aged kids, criminals, pissed off wives, etc.), but who does that in the first place? I suppose it might be helpful if your one of those people that "clean" your guns by wiping down the slide with a round in the chamber. You can put all the "safety" features you want on a gun but the only surefire way to prevent accidents is to buy guns that don't work at all! It's not going to prevent anyone from stealing the gun. It's really a dumb "feature" if you ask me.

The other confusion I have is; Why have some of you 'disabled' or 'replaced' the lock feature? Is there really a chance of it locking unintentionally? Seems to me that if you just don't lock it, well its the same as not having the lock in the first place. Your not going to take all the locks off the doors in your house just because you never lock them. Or maybe you have? I just don't see how the effort would pay off. Maybe I'm missing some info on this one?
 
I Hate Integral Locks

The only gun I have that has this feature is a Walther P22 and I didnt know the gun had it when I bought it. If I had proably wouldnt have bought it. The main reason for me feeling this way is because one of my friends had bought a Tarus Raging Bull in 454. and said we would go shoot the gun the next day. Well that night he locked the gun really just for the heck of it and way later that night his wife came home and decided to do a little tidying up and not knowing he had bought a new gun I guess just figured the plastic piece laying on the counter was some useless thing and threw it away. This might not have been to bad a thing if garbage day hadnt been the next day. To make a long story short he didget a replacement ket but it took about 3 weeks for it to arrive and when it did he unlocked the gun and threw away the key once again. The day he got the key we proable shot 100 rounds a peice threw the gun 50 454 and 50 colt each. 454 is not that bad it really seemed to have more of a push than a flip in that gun anyway. Well thats why I hate them you can loose the key really easily and raelly whats the point I dont even use the bicycle type lock that came with most of my guns. The only thing i ever used one of those for was to lock a uhal up.
 
I have a Ruger New Vaquero with one and am considering swapping grip frames to bird's head which would eliminate it.

The new Ruger Single Action revolver lock is a "sorta lock" in that you have to take the grip panels off to use it. If you really need it, there is a dimple on one inside face of a panel that you drill out to provide key access without pulling the grips. Otherwise it is completely invisible and so far, none have ever engaged accidentally that have been reported online. In examining mine I'm pretty sure it couldn't accidentally engage. As locks go this is as good as it gets I think.

You can't swap grip frames to the larger XR3-RED or even bigger SuperBlackHawk grip frames, or Bisley or Bird's Head or whatever and retain the lock. The gun is basically compatible with all of those plus various aftermarket grip frames, you just have to swap mainspring strut and mainspring to "Old Vaquero" length parts too.
 
My walther P22 has a lock. When I bought it new I locked it and unlocked it to see how it worked, it was very stiff and hard to use, the key tended to slip in the groove rather than turn, it was a PITA. I leave it unlocked and the key is in the plastic bag full of bits that came with it in the hard case. But I keep it like others either locked in the safe, or else locked up in the case with the cable lock that came with it. I usually wrap the cable lock around the hard case handle tightly and lock it.

Now how is that for double useless redundancy? My P22 came with a cable lock AND a frame lock. The cable lock was a nice Master brand one.


IMHO the frame locks are kind of like the cheap ass lug wrenches that come with new vehicles nowadays. Leave it in the back of the trunk and put in a nice forged 4-way lug wrench.
 
Now a days it's tough to buy a handgun in CA w/o one I simply unlock it & lose the key
Click to expand...
S&Ws can lock themselves without the key, sometimes requiring the gun to be disassembled before it can be used again. This could be inconvenient if it happens while you're trying to use the gun to defend yourself. In such situations, you should appeal to your wouldbe murderer's sense of fair play and ask him to pause in his attempts to murder you until you can return your firearm to working condition. Or at least that's probably what S&W would tell you anyway...
 
I vote with my dollars. A lock on a gun is an automatic NO SALE for me. There's enough good guns out there that I don't have to spend my money on a locker and support the lock push.
 
Integral locks create the illusion that a gun can be somehow put into a "safe" state.

There is no safe state.


"eez gon. eez dangerous."
 
I havent used the one on my Model 85. I removed the one on my SA Mil Spec, not because it was a lock, but because it was in an arched MSH, I prefer a flat.
 
I test the lock on my 642-2 on a weekly basis
but i'am going to buy a airweight without the
lock. I'll use the non lock for carry and the one
with the lock for the range.
 
A couple of times I engaged the integral lock on my Rem 870 when I knew I was going to be out of the house (certain trusted people have access to the house with our permission when we're not there). I don't like guns in my house being accessible when I'm not there so I locked the gun. Then I started getting scared that I would lose the little key and not be able to use the gun in an emergency so I unlocked it and tossed the key.
 
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