A chamber lock is a method of securing a firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

 against accidental discharge

Accidental discharge

Accidental discharge is the event of a firearm discharging at a time not intended by the user. Perhaps most commonly, accidental discharges occur when the trigger of the firearm is deliberately pulled for a purpose other than shooting—dry-fire practice, demonstration,...

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Chamber locks are used to prevent live ammunition from loading into a firearm by blocking the chamber with a dummy (fake) cartridge. The cartridge is sometimes wedged into place with the use of a tool, in essence jamming the gun. Another type is one in which a steel rod is locked into the safety cartridge with a key. As long as the rod and safety cartridge are engaged, the dummy round cannot eject nor can live ammunition be loaded into the firearm.

Chamber locks work with most firearm types including revolver

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

s, pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

s, rifles and shotgun

Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

s. They are available in any caliber

Caliber

In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....

 and length, and may include such features as unique keying, rapid removal, and rigorous testing and certification by major state departments such as the California Department of Justice

California Department of Justice

The California Department of Justice is the department in the California executive branch under the leadership of the California Attorney General.-Description:It has 5344 employees and a budget of $791 million...

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Major manufacturers include:

• Interbore
• Omega Lock
• VisuaLock

External links

http://www.chamberlock.com/product.htm
http://depts.washington.edu/lokitup/locks.html