Earlier today I got an email from Brownell's asking me to help evaluate a new safety product for handguns. After a few questions, they presented a video of what appears to be a 10 round magazine fitted for Glock pistols with a lock on the bottom. When a key is inserted, the magazine is locked into the gun and the gun won't fire. They did not state whether the rounds were captured in the magazine or the internals of the gun were disabled. The survey seemed to want to know what other types of semi-auto's people owned, so I would assume that the rounds were captured in the magazine and thus making this a more universal design. The gun is then deemed safe for storage around children, in a car, or on a person. When the gun is needed, the key is inserted and the magazine unlocked. This allows the gun to function and the magazine to be removed.
They pitched this as an alternative to the home pistol safe with the advantage being that you don't have to open the safe to access the handgun. I am confused about this for several reasons. You still have to insert a key into the bottom of a magazine to have a functioning weapon. A biometric safe seems like a much faster solution than trying to insert a key into a small opening possible under stress and/or in the dark. A safe that is mounted in your home also slows down thieves and prevents them from just throwing a locked pistol in the pillow case and leaving. But, OK...they had even more uses.....
They also proposed that someone could carry the gun locked and on their person. When the gun was needed a person could unlock the gun and then use it for self-defense. If the gun was somehow stolen from your person, it would be harder for the thief to use. I can't imagine needing a gun for a legitimate threat, unholstering, finding the key, unlocking the gun, and then being able to use it successfully. I guess I could see some use in a riot type situation to prevent the gun from being used immediately if a person was overtaken be a mob. Maybe kind of???
None of these scenarios make sense to me. The magazine in the video did appear to be 3d printed (perhaps just a prototype) but the quality of the video was very good. Someone is sinking a good bit a cash into this idea. The lowest price range they suggested was 50 dollars and they asked if I thought it would be worth up to 200 dollars. Am I missing something big here? I am usually the last person to participate in a fad, change my taste in music or switch from Scotch to hard seltzers, so I would not be surprised if those more in the know see something I don't.
Did anyone else get this email and see the proposed product? Does anyone see a use for something like this?