My son is going to buy a gun safe. He is thinking about one w/ key pad. I advised him to go with the combination. A gun safe is a life long thing he will own. Realistically electric solenoids will wear out and fail. I have one that went bad. Luckily I have a skeleton key that hangs in safe #1 and can open it. Now my keypad proudly has a NRA sticker over the numbers. Anyone have input to settle the arguments?
Father/son argument! Electronic gun safe vs combination
- Thread starter gmitchell
- Start date
Mark M.
Silver $$ Contributor
Combo dial all the way, and here's the reason why,
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Everyone I know with a digital has had a locksmith out within 2 years of purchase, and were advised to change over to a combination style. Which they did, and no problems since. Just my personal experience.
Paul
Paul
sparky123321
Silver $$ Contributor
I've had both, including 2 with keypads over the last 10 years. Never had a problem with either. Keypads are just soooo much quicker and easier as my eyes and hands get older. If push came to shove I'd probably go with a tumbler, but seems like it's easier to find gun safes with keypads these days. BTW I've never seen real Burglar Rated tumblers on a gun safe. I'm sure they are out there, but I've never seen them. They have "Zero" forgiveness. You can't be even a little off on your number.
Worst case, remember most gun safes are not "Burglar Rated", even your 800-1,000+ pound 2+ hour fire rated safe, and are very easy to break into. All that weight is just drywall and not thick metal plate like you find in a true Burglar Rated safe. We have a small Burglar, Fire and Drop Rated safe and there is just no comparison.
That's another point, Drop Rated, that is probably more important than tumbler versus keypad. Many people do not have their gun safes on the bottom floor(basement, garage or 1st floor if no basement). In a severe fire your safe is going to fall thru the floor and it is no longer considered or guaranteed to be Fire Rated.
Last point that says it all. I drove Armored Cars for 10+ years in my younger days and after I retired and I can tell you almost all, if not all, new bank safes and ATMs now use electronic keypads.
Worst case, remember most gun safes are not "Burglar Rated", even your 800-1,000+ pound 2+ hour fire rated safe, and are very easy to break into. All that weight is just drywall and not thick metal plate like you find in a true Burglar Rated safe. We have a small Burglar, Fire and Drop Rated safe and there is just no comparison.
That's another point, Drop Rated, that is probably more important than tumbler versus keypad. Many people do not have their gun safes on the bottom floor(basement, garage or 1st floor if no basement). In a severe fire your safe is going to fall thru the floor and it is no longer considered or guaranteed to be Fire Rated.
Last point that says it all. I drove Armored Cars for 10+ years in my younger days and after I retired and I can tell you almost all, if not all, new bank safes and ATMs now use electronic keypads.
sparky123321
Silver $$ Contributor
Good idea to keep an abacus and slide ruler around for that EMP. Just being a wise guy! : - )
pikespeakgoat
Gold $$ Contributor
Redundancy is good....
Downside is that they are a bit costly at about $325.
Downside is that they are a bit costly at about $325.
Combination for me. I just don't have the confidence in the electronic locks, just my opinion based on nothing more than my gut feeling. Any lock can be defeated, just like any safe, well any safe I would buy.
For an eye opener take a look at this youtube Chanel : Lock-picking Lawyer
For an eye opener take a look at this youtube Chanel : Lock-picking Lawyer
I have both, would never buy electronic again, combo all the Way
I have had the same argument with a few friends. I choose a tumbler with a brass S&G combo. Had it for 20 years not a problem. A friend is a locksmith and he recommended a tumbler style instead of the combo. He said he has had to break into to many safes when the key pad fails or he batteries died. Just my 2 cents.
Jason
Jason
I've worked on (lubed, rebuilt, reset) combination locks manufactured from the '60s through the '00s, and not a one showed enough wear to matter, even the cash-locker lock that was opened 2x a day for decades. The door hinges show more wear.
Judging from the robust fleaBay market for electronic lock parts. . . I don't want one on anything that doesn't have a back door.
Judging from the robust fleaBay market for electronic lock parts. . . I don't want one on anything that doesn't have a back door.
Talked to a locksmith before I bought. He said go with combination lock,because keypad will fail you just don't know when.
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