The Sooway is a gun safe that takes precautions to secure firearms and prevent unauthorized access by children or anyone. And also a major factor in reducing gun-related injuries and death.
So, let’s take a look at the Sooway Gun Safe (Model 450).
Appearance looks solid and holding it feels heavy. Just what you want to see in a gun safe. The Sooway Gun Safe is made of black alloy steel, with a handle on one end, while the front shows a key lock. The other side, you will see a hole which is for a high-strength steel security cable if you need to secure it in a vehicle or during a trip, so no one can yank and steal it.
You are provided with two keys as one way for accessing the internal section of the gun safe. And the Sooway Gun Safe allows for two other ways to get into the safe and that is by pass code and programming a fingerprint.
So, what else does this gun safe come with?
– You get four AA batteries
– Screwdriver for the battery compartment cover
– Anti-Theft high-strength steel security cable
– Screw and extra screw for the battery compartment cover and to lock in the anti-theft cable
– USB-C cable
– Screen cleaner
Now when you look directly at the case, it’s important to note that the dimensions provided are: 11.4″ x 7.1″ x 2.5″ but remember that there is a half inch of foam, so you would deduct that half inch when trying to figure out if your handgun can fit.
So, for example, if you own an XR920 or MR920 Shadow Systems Pistol, You know the pistol length for an XR920 is 7.25 and height is 5.25 and an MR920 is 7 1/8 x 4 3/4. So, you know that these two pistols will work with this case and can fit a 10-round magazines or a Glock 19 Gen 3/4/5 magazine. So,, there is ample space to fit your pistol and a magazine.
Once you put the batteries inside the compartment, you will notice the front will light up briefly. You will see four buttons and the screen display will show the real-time temperature and humidity.
The first thing you will need to do is program it.
Inside the Sooway Gun Safe, lift up the bottom foam and you will see a button. Press the button and you will see the buttons and finger printer area flash, press (1) and you will be able to add a 6-8 numeric code and then it will turn green when completed. If you prefer to use the fingerprint method, press (3) and when it flashes, put your finger and you will need it to read different part of your fingerprint until it turns green. Now it’s ready to go. Please note that the initial default factory code is: 111111, so remember to change that immediately.
This time around, if you use the pin or the finger print, when you are able to open the gun safe, you will see two LED lights, lighting the interior.
There is also a way to enable “silent mode” to disable audio beeps. All you have to do is the same to program the buttons and finger print, but instead of hitting (1) or (3), you hold the 4 button longer than 2 seconds. Lights will flash and silent/mute mode will be activated. Do it again, if you want the sounds to be audible again.
Now what is the USB-C cable for? Let’s say the batteries die, the USB-C cable will allow you to plug it into a powerbank or power strip with a USB and it will power the unit, so you can easily get in there and change the batteries. The USB-C is not for recharging but giving you another power source if batteries are dead.
JUDGMENT CALL:
The Sooway Gun Safe works extremely well, is very durable and the ability to have three secure ways to access the locker is a plus. Granted, you will probably need to hide those keys of even lock it in the safe and I can only hope the memory to keep the fingerprint or pin code to last.
At under $66, it’s an affordable and really well-made gun safe. One reviewer said the case is too thick for his vehicle, for my vehicle, it’s not. 2.5″ in height isn’t too bad for my vehicle as I have about 4 inches to work with.
It’s also important for one to do their due diligence in regards to transporting firearms (unloaded) in a gun safe in their vehicle. In California, the law is you can’t keep it in the glove compartment, utility compartment or center console (no problem as it’s too big for that). Unless you have a locked trunk the best way to conceal this from public view is under your car seat (drivers or passenger side). In California, is must be placed out of plain view and the gun inside can’t be loaded. And when transporting, the firearm must be in a locked container/safe. Just remember that the loaded magazine can’t be inside your gun. Magazine can be loaded but not inside the gun while locked in the gun safe.
But overall, a solid gun safe that is affordable, durable and gets the job done in preventing children and people from getting into the Sooway gun safe.
