When I received SecureIt’s Business Development Manager Karen Hunter invitation to attend a two-day training seminar, I wondered what exactly the two days would consist of. Why two days to “train” on gun storage? Hunter, who I have known for years, assured me it would be worth the time to attend. That was good enough for me. I was glad I listened to her.
The first evening of the gathering made it clear the SecureIt event was not your typical “feed & seed” media event. Up in front with SecureIt brain trust, including CEO Tom Kubiniec, was Paramount Tactical Solutions’ owner and lead instructor Gary Melton along with two of his core training cadre instructors, Tyler Houston and Derek Rogers. When the agenda was distributed you could sense a stirring in the room. Instead of being confined to hours of meeting rooms, we were going out to Paramount Tactical Solutions’ home base at Summit Point Training Facility for two days of hands on training and scenario driven exercises, including force-on-force training in a state-of-the-art shoot house.
LIFESTYLE
The event illustrates SecureIt’s commitment to a lifestyle of firearms training and proper gun storage. SecureIt feels you owe it…no…it is a responsibility…of gun owners to train with and become proficient with their firearms. SecureIt has taken the time and made the investment in creating its “Beyond The Gun” safe training curriculum. As SecureIt points out, you are not always going to start with your firearm in hand when a defensive encounter starts, especially at home. This ties back into SecureIt’s decentralized storage concept of locating firearms in strategic locations at home, place of work, etc. The company offers a variety of products that serve this purpose well.
SecureIt does not merely want to sell you a gun safe or cabinet and walk away; they want to change your entire concept of how you securely store your firearms. The struggle between balancing weapon access with security is real. Having a basic, yet flexible, plan made in advance is crucial. Pertinent questions are: how best to access and locate personal defense items? Can you even make it to where the secured firearm is before yourself or a family member comes into contact with an intruder? Do you have the fine motor skills necessary to open your gun safe in an adrenaline induced situation? These are questions that SecureIt safes, inserts, and bundles are designed to help answer.
SecureIt’s approach is to store firearms in decentralized locations. It offers far more than merely hiding your weapon in a sock drawer or within the coats in your closet. The company’s products are made from hardened steel and provide lockable solutions preventing thieves, as well as any other unauthorized person easy access to your firearms. Decentralized, yet accountable secure storage, spread around the home per security needs is the way to go.
Even cursory research into SecureIt’s webpage and other media sources leaves no doubt that SecureIt’s CEO Tom Kubiniec is on a mission to better serve the consumer versus defaulting to traditional, vault-based storage methods. SecureIt’s experience with the often fluid needs of U.S. Special Forces and Marines pay dividends in its service to civilian consumers. These DOD customers did not have the time or patience for more traditional hard safe arrangements. Who wants a thousand-pound behemoth with limited practical space for modern optic, light, laser, pistol grip equipped weapons—albeit long arm or handgun?
SecureIt offers superior alternatives to traditional hard safes. Their products cost less, provide more readily access, and have the ability to be placed around the home for the greatest tactical benefit. It has put together packages for the civilian looking to take advantage of decentralized storge. For example, a Level 2 Decentralized Storage Bundle consisting of two SecureIt Fast Box Model 47 Gun Safes and the Agile Ultralight Model 52 Pro Gun Safe. The Fast Box Model 20 and Model 36D are other options. All of these products were present at the SecureIT training and media event.
The Fast Box Model 47 can be configured for horizontal or vertical placement, accommodating one to two long arms in a vertical orientation. A handgun can be snuggled in, as well. Think horizontal, under a bed, or vertical, in a foyer closet. The Fast Box Model 47 weighs 39 pounds.
The Agile Model 52 is assembled after it arrives. SecureIt has come up with ingenious design that maximizes security. It takes about 20 minutes to put together (with help suggested) once the door component is ready to mount. A customizable 6-digit electronic push-button keypad and swing bolt lock system is found with the door. The lock system provides silent access in a matter of seconds. A key override is also included. The Agile Model 52 is meant to be mounted to the floor or wall for added protection. The Model 52 weighs 105 pounds. This provides stoutness while still enabling placement in the most optimum locations. You can even change your mind without having to contact a professional mover to relocate. The Agile Model 52’s external dimensions of 52 x 20 1/4 x 15 1/4 inches allow for placement in closets or smaller nooks and crannies in various rooms around the house. Door organizer, metal trays and magnetic hooks that also arrive with the Agile Model 52 Pro enable handguns and other items to be secured. SecureIT also offers small, medium, and large bins that offer flexibility for organized storage of other sensitive items—ammunition, magazines, etc.
HANDS ON EXPERIENCE
Any chance to train with subject matter experts such as Paramount Tactical Solution should be embraced. A hands-on event is the best way to get a point across, versus just sitting in room talking about it. Force on force training quickly dispels any preconceived notions. The first day was flat range work with Paramount Tactical. Various models of Walther PDPs with Trijicon SRO optics were handed out for use. Nice touch there. Crossbreed Holsters and Federated Ordnance ammunition were other important items used, as were Wiley X eye protection and Shellshock ear pro. Range bags from 5.11 Tactical kept everything together.
The second day of the event had us arriving at Paramount Tactical Solution’s Pro Shop located at the Summit Point Training Facility. We then headed back to a shoot house to drill basic CQB tactics before commencing with force-on-force drills that incorporated various SecureIt products. All participants were briefed on SecureIT safes that were located in the shoot house rooms with Simunition-equipped pistols inside.
SecureIt’s Beyond the Gun curriculum gets into the details of how best to orientate designated personal defense firearm inside a safe for efficient access, how best to remove it, pass codes, backlight colors, and so forth. The most crucial thing urged was the importance of training to get into your safe in a regular, repeatable way so there are no surprises if you need to do it for real. We covered getting into a safe in the dark, learning how to manipulate keypad by touch, etc. I noticed that SecureIt has adapted its products based on feedback from previous events. For example, the keypad on the Agile 52 was altered to six large, tactile numbers that light up when the code is entered versus the previous, smaller keypad that had all nine numbers shown with no real “feel” to them. It’s refreshing to see a company enhancinh its products based on end-user feedback.
Paramount Tactical Solutions instructors began scenarios by briefing participants on plausible situations one might encounter in the home. Most started with loud, aggressive knocking on door. Others were just full-blown home invasion with “good” side scrambling towards a SecureIt safe, entering the pass code to gain access, and grabbing a pistol to begin responding to threat. Fifteen seconds was the given time to access the Fast Box or Agile safe. This was generous. Only about 5 seconds was needed, even with the heavy protective gear we were wearing (including gloves.) The new, larger SecureIt keypad and backlit function was appreciated with the Agile 52 and the distinct buttons on the Fast Boxes were easy to operate.
DECENTRALIZATION
SecureIt specializes in lightweight, modular gun storage solutions. Traditional gun safes are heavy, difficult to move, and not efficient in storing modern firearms. More importantly, accessing a firearm when needed in a hurry can be problematic. SecureIt products allow you to store firearms anywhere in your home. Its solution is an integrated home defense system. This is far superior to a lockbox next to your nightstand or large safe isolated to the most convenient place to put it, as opposed to the most strategic location.
