Quick Draw Your AR? Hornady’s RAPID Safe AR Wall Lock – Hands On Review.

The Hornady RAPID Safe AR Wall Lock offers users a quick-access storage system for their AR.

The more I accept the responsibility I have as a new father, the more I realize I have been living like a complete savage. Perhaps functioning degenerate is a more appropriate term. Anyway, as my son learns to grab things it is becoming less and less of a good idea to leave hardware, bullets, and razor sharp steel laying around willy nilly. But I still want things accessible in case the Shadow Army shows up at my doorstep and I need to burn them to the ground with my avenging angel of aluminum and plastic. Fortunately, this is America, and they sell a solution for that.

This week, I got my hands on the new Hornady RAPID Safe AR Wall Lock. A pretty ingenious design, the safe basically covers over the important parts of an AR, like the safety, trigger, and chamber, with a cutout area for optics. It accepts a rifle with a magazine inserted, though you will need to have an empty chamber and the action locked open. The rifle sits with a block in the ejection port to prevent it from rattling around in the device.

The Wall Lock covers the action of your AR and requires that you have the action locked open, but you can have a magazine inserted.

The safe feels like it is well built; she is hefty for sure. That is a key indicator of what I am looking for when it comes to firearm security. You aren’t cutting this bad boy apart without some labor. The locking lugs are a serious affair, and they would not be fun to defeat for certain. Installation is monkey proof, or at least monkey resistant, as the Wall Lock is predrilled for 4x included lag bolts. Also included is a paper template of the Wall Lock, so you don’t have to try and hold it in place while you draw the holes.

Hands On

Access to your AR is lighting quick. Option one is a programmable four or six digit code. The numbers are large and spaced apart, making a screw up when the clock is ticking less likely. Other included opening methods are an RFID bracelet, key fob, and two RFID stickers you can put on a phone case or nearby object. And of course back up physical keys, in case the electronics all go to hell in a hand basket (which is pretty unlikely).

The safe is padded and sized to accept a rifle with a 30-round magazine installed.

The author found the Wall Lock to be easy to install on the wall.

So, why would you use this instead of a conventional safe? There are actually a variety of reasons. It is much quicker to access than any safe I have owned. Your spouse is less likely to be unhappy if you keep it in the master suite, as it takes up a lot less room. Maybe you only own one rifle. (Probably not, considering the website we are on. But maybe.)

The most important reasons are not those, though. As the Hornady guys told me when we were talking about this thing, its not a replacement for a conventional safe, but rather a supplementary system. I see it as a way to balance speed and security for one rifle. Can you defeat this system? Sure. With enough time, you can defeat anything. I have cut safes open with quickie saws, as have most other SOF guys from this war. All part of the job. It’s loud, and it takes some time, but it works. Anything can be beat with enough time, including bank vaults. This device offers enough security for one firearm to stay out of your kids’ hands, or not walk out the door if you throw a kegger. This is enough lock to keep the honest people honest. And fast enough to deal with the other kind of threat if it shows up in the middle of the night. So, if you want to be able to fast draw your AR, then definitely take a look at the Hornady RAPID Safe AR Wall Lock.

For more information, visit https://www.hornady.com/store/RAPiD-Safe-AR-Wall-Lock.