Blocker set to put safety device into production
A Butler County company that formed about two years ago has already set its sights on revolutionizing firearm safety.
Rich Wilson of Center Township, along with two local partners with decades of experience in the firearms industry, started gunBlocker with the goal of saving lives and protecting Americans' Second Amendment rights.
Today, that vision is set to go into production.
gunBlocker makes a new type of internal gun lock designed to turn a stored gun into nothing more than a paperweight — an object that is incapable of being fired accidentally and valueless to a thief. It would also provide peace of mind and protection for the owner.
Wilson said he and his partners knew there was a demand in the gun community for a more secure lock that was easy to use. So, they decided to take a different approach.
Wilson said most gun locks included at the time of sale — those that fit through the trigger guard and cable locks that loop through the magazine and ejection ports — are external and can be easily broken or removed without having a key or combination. For example, a cable lock can be cut with hand-held wire cutters.
The gunBlocker lock, which is patent-pending intellectual property, is comprised of three components: a blocker, a barrel stick, and the nondescript installation and removal tool the owner can carry or store elsewhere.
The blocker fits inside the chamber and ejection port, and the barrel stick fits inside the barrel. The owner then inserts the tool down the barrel and locks together the blocker and barrel stick in a matter of seconds.Once engaged, the lock blocks the magazine well, the barrel and the action, and also prevents removal of the slide.The blocker is visible in the ejection port, and a small tab on top of it can be used to mount the gun on a wall or hang it in a safe.“We decided we needed to do this,” Wilson said. “If we can save one child — and we know it will — it will all be worth it.”He said children often know where guns are stored in their homes and can even manage to unlock gun safes.Also, Wilson, a retired police officer and lifelong gun advocate active with the state political action committee Firearm Owners Against Crime, said crimes often are not committed by the gun owner or carrier, but rather from unauthorized access.In fact, Wilson said much of the inspiration for gunBlocker came from his more than 20 years of work in the Zelienople Police Department.He said some of the worst aspects of the job involved informing families about tragedies related to shootings.Plus, he learned the market for stolen firearms is always strong.He said gunBlocker hopes to put a dent in that market.Wilson said a gun locked with a gunBlocker will deter a thief because attempting to remove the lock without the proper tool would take too long and likely damage the firearm.He said firearms experts proved that fact on a European testing ground. After many attempts, they determined the only way they could open the lock would be to take the gun to a gunsmith, and even then, removing the lock would likely damage the firearm.Wilson said there are very few internal gun locks on the market — and none like gunBlocker — and after years of prototyping, the product is set for its first official production run in late spring or early summer.The lock will be injection molded out of high-end, military-grade polymer, which is a hard and dense material already used in many firearm components
A Southern California manufacturer that specializes in polymers and does military contracting will be making the device, Wilson said.“We wanted to keep it in the United States, and we also wanted it to be of the strength that nobody's going to break it or try to do anything with it to get it out,” he said.Initially, the lock will be available for most common semi-automatic pistols, including 9 mm, .40-caliber, .45-caliber and .380-caliber.The cost for the bright orange polymer lock will be about $20. A machined, brushed aluminum version will be available for about $50.However, gunBlocker recently unveiled a prototype that fits AR-15-style assault rifles and plans to produce locks for revolvers and shotguns in the future.Wilson said gunBlocker will continue to work on developing locks to stay ahead of criminals.“We're always looking at it from the perspective that if I were somebody who stole guns, what would I try to do to beat this?” he said.Wilson said gunBlocker decided to prioritize semi-automatic handguns and assault rifles because those are the weapons most commonly used in unlawful shootings.To raise awareness of the product, he has been targeting private gun owners, major gun dealers and government officials.He said there is significant potential because law enforcement agencies and the military could use gunBlockers to secure firearms when not in use or to secure those being held as evidence.Also, because the U.S. Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 mandates all firearms sold or transferred to include a safety device, there is room for gunBlocker to be used in place of trigger and cable locks.Wilson, who has spent his post-police career as a businessman and business coach, is excited about his first start-up company.He displayed gunBlocker in January to much industry support at the 2015 SHOT Show in Las Vegas.And then in April, gunBlocker again garnered a lot of attention during the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits in Nashville, where it was recognized by the Blue Book of Gun Values as one of the top 10 firearm innovations of 2015.“The response we got was unbelievable,” he said.Wilson and gunBlocker also will be appearing at the InventHelp INPEX Trade Show June 16 to 18 in Monroeville.The largest invention trade show in the U.S., this will be Wilson's first year on the inventor side after having been a judge for a number of years.
