I am sure that we all have encountered that place where we cannot legally bring a firearm. I am sometimes forced to leave it in my vehicle or hotel room, etc.  As a result I have been using a Gun Vault NV300 for about a year primarily leaving it in my vehicle, sometimes dragging it into a hotel room or even at home (when leaving a loaded firearm on the night stand may not be a good idea).

I have been happy with it, but decided to purchase a second lock box for the home so I can leave it there to use whenever I need it. I also had the idea that a 3-digit combination in the car was not a good idea since I can be gone from the car for hours - If you have the time, there are only 1000 possible combinations to go through. The box itself is also very small and light, so I thought maybe a bigger/heavier one might be better and hoped for a beefier lock mechanism.

I purchased the Hornady TriPoint for these reasons. They were both in the $30 range and use a similar setup: locking box padded with foam and both have a cable lock attachment (a hole drilled through the side) that you can loop it onto something stable to keep it secure. Basically it works like a bicycle cable lock.

The Hornady is definitely larger and heavier. This actually was a detriment in my case. It was noticeably harder to hide as the Gun Vault was able to slip under my front seat and be easily covered with the floor mat. The Hornady was very noticeable. I am going to try getting an additional floor mat and make it look like a part of the car (just another unexplained hump?). The big advantage to the Hornady for me are the three locking points vs the single latch of the Gun Vault (see pics below). Another plus to me is that it uses a barrel lock key. I think the pics will explain better than I can write.

Click on any pic for full-size

Here you can see the physical size difference and 3-digit combo vs barrel lock:

Here they are both opened up:

Another pic for size comparison:

Here is the Hornady 3-point latch system (aka "TriPoint" ):

Single latch of the Gun Vault NV300:

Hornady's 3-points locking points in the frame:

Closeup of one of the Hornady's locking points:

Here is a closeup of the Gun Vaults locking point. Not sure why there are 2 notches since it only has a single latch:

Here are both the units open. Notice that they hinge open on opposite sides (Gun Vault top, Hornady bottom):

Closeup of the Hornady cable. Notice that the side that actually goes in the lock box has a spacer:

Close up of the Gun Vault. The diameter of the 2 cables is about the same although the Gun Vault might be a little thicker. Notice that the loop-through loop is noticeably has a larger opening. This makes it much easier to attach it to things:

For fun here is a pic of the underside of my Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK) seat where I looped the cable through a bar:

Here is an alternate Jeep Grand Cherokee (WK) mounting point. Underneath the passenger seat. I then stretched the cable forward and placed the box under the driver's seat. Makes it easy to access from the rear passenger seat.

At home or hotels I attach it to anything that I can. I usually attach it to the bed frame. They can take the box but they will have to take the bed frame with them. I am going to see if I can hide the Hornady, I feel safer with it since it (appears) to be more pry resistant. If I can't however, I will just switch it out for the Gun Vault and keep the Hornady at home.

However, either of these boxes is a worthy investment at about $30. As always, safety first!