Sometimes the need to secure a rifle arises, but a full-on safe is too expensive and heavy to make sense, or is impossible to fit in a given location. Securely mounting an AR-15 to a wall, such as inside of a closet, to a truck roll bar, trunk, or other place is the ARmA15 locking bracket’s raison d’être. It’s a pretty simple solution for safely storing a single rifle while still allowing relatively quick access. . .
The concept here is pretty simple, and the execution is clean and solid. Powdercoated, 7-gauge steel is used for the majority of the bracket body, and 2-gauge steel (about 0.26″ thick) and a hardened pin are used for the locking mechanism. Two, self-drilling — I still recommend drilling pilot holes! — lag screws are included along with a Torx bit.
These are designed to secure the ARmA15 to a wall stud. Apparently with this hardware it takes nearly 3,500 lbs of force to rip the ARmA15 unit from a wall. The company also sells a roll bar mount, and with a little ingenuity one could easily bolt it to the support bracing inside of a vehicle’s trunk — keep your trunk gun mounted to the roof of the trunk! — behind/under the seat of a pickup, on a concrete wall, etc.
In the middle of the bracket is a polymer magazine well block, just like the ones made for bench vices for gunsmithing purposes. The AR-15 slides down onto the mag block and the magazine catch latches it in place. In fact, the rifle never touches metal and metal never touches it. When the rifle is in place, the mounting bolts are inaccessible.
You’ll need to have the bolt locked back to the rear, because the polymer mag well block will occupy that space behind the ejection port. In fact, it also prevents anything from being inserted into the chamber. Flip the spring-loaded cover of the ARmA15 up and into the ejection port…
Use the thumb lever to push the locking mechanism up, which raises the steel pin, locking the cover shut…
This is where your padlock goes. Key lock, combo lock, slick Master Lock Speed Dial — whatever you want.
While ARmA15 sells this Quick Wall Mount specifically for AR-15s, it’s worth mentioning that it will work with a lot of rifles and “pistols” that accept AR-15 magazines. For instance, it works just fine with the Tavor…
Just keep in mind that a vertical rifle installation means only one lag screw will be in a stud. Well, unless you happen to have a horizontal stud in the right place. Anyway, you’ll want to put one in the stud and the other into a burly anchor.
Conclusions:
I like this thing. It’s a simple solution for securing a rifle in a place where you don’t want or need a safe, and it’s significantly more secure than the “vaults” or “locking cabinets” that a lot of people mistakenly refer to as safes. The quality is very high and it functions just as advertised — remove the padlock and the cover plate flips open, push the magazine release, remove the firearm. In ARmA15’s YouTube video, they take the rifle from locked up to chambered and ready-to-go in about 3 seconds.
Mine has been bolted in a bedroom closet in a family cabin. As I’m only there occasionally, I’m not going to purchase and schlep a safe out there, which would also take up too much closet space. I do like to bring a rifle to the cabin, though, and now it has its own spot, inaccessible to kids, guests, bears, sasquatches, etc.
My only real complaint is the price. It isn’t outrageous, but at $129.99 I can’t help but feel that it’s more expensive than I’d expect to pay. Maybe if it had its own, integrated lock system I’d be better able to get behind that MSRP. I’d like to see a version that’s specifically designed to hold the rifle vertically, too.
Specifications (ARmA15 AR15 Quick Wall Mount):
Material: 7 gauge and 2 gauge, powdercoated steel. ABS polymer magazine block
Included: Torx self-drilling lag screws (5/16 x 3″), Torx bit
Not Included: padlock
Optional: 2.25″ roll bar mount
Fits: AR-15 rifles and pistols. Some other firearms that accept AR-15 magazines.
MSRP: $129.99
Ratings (out of five stars):
Ease of Installation * * * *
If you can use a stud finder (mine always freaks out when it’s within a few feet of me) and a drill, you’ll have no problem whatsoever installing the ARmA15. It’s infinitely easier than “installing” a many-hundred-pound safe!
Quality / Security * * * *
It’s definitely solid. The hinge is likely the weak point, although it’s properly welded in and the pin is a thick piece of solid steel, and I’m not sure the cover could be removed from the firearm even if the pin were broken/drilled out anyway. If ARmA15’s claim that it takes almost 3,500 lbs to rip it off the wall is even half way true, even Khalid Bin Mohsen Shaari couldn’t get the thing off.
Firearm Access Speed * * * *
How fast and simple it is to remove the firearm is going to depend a lot on the lock used. That Master Lock Speed Dial is pretty sweet, and with one of those in place on the ARmA15 it’s faster and easier to get the gun in play than with most safes, vaults, trigger locks, etc.
Price * *
Again, I don’t think it’s out of “acceptable” range and I definitely think there’s still good value here, but if I had guessed the MSRP up front it likely wouldn’t have been much more than half of actual. That said, $130 is still a heck of a lot less than a safe.
Overall Rating * * * *
Simple, strong, versatile, fast. Not all situations require securing a firearm, but the ARmA15 fills a niche for those that do.