Mechanical vs. Electronic lock on gun safe?

[Jacks Grampa]

Which is preferred?

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Gun Safe Locks -- Electronic vs. Mechanical



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[Gary in MD]

I’ve had a mechanical locked safe for over 20 years. Never had a problem. (Hopefully I can keep remembering the combination)
My buddy had one about a year and got one with electronics and has already had to have a guy come to the house to fix/replace faulty electronics in the safe.
YMMV

 

[Oso]

Electronics fail. The only safe fail stories I hear is from guys with electronic combinations.

… and if you are a “”Prepper” then you’re familiar with the “doomsday nightmare” where either a man-made EMP or massive Solar Flare fries all electronics, including your safe’s electronic combo. No way to get to your gear and somebody is coming for your can of Weenie Beanies

 

[PatMiles]

Kind of a no brainer decision.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

There are threads here on this subject from many years. The answer is always the same....mechanical/combo locks prevail every time.

As PatMiles above said, it's a no brainer really.

 

[farmerjohn]

Hey Feller
No brainer is right , ever thing above plus my own 40yrs experience... John

 

[farmerjohn]

I will add that I have one safe that was built in the 1890s, 5 number, nitro proof, 7 step double door jeweler's safe that weighs 3200#, and has been in use since new. Several years ago the dial got stiff, probably from lack of use, took the back of the door off, flushed the tumblery out with brake cleaner and sprayed it with lock ease and it feels like it's on ball bearings again... not much maintenance for over a hundred years and no batteries.... John

 

[Doug Beach]

Mechanical lock on my safe went out, but it was a slow progression. It became pickier and pickier about how exactly you moved the dial. Eventually I replaced it myself, which was a fairly easy & interesting process.
I would never choose any kind of electronic lock.

 

[Will Henry]

For me, a padlocked door is the only answer. This is because I will inevitably forget the combination or lose the key. Then, all I have to do is remember where I put the angle grinder. Sure, this makes it easier for thieves, but I figure, once they are in the house, nothing will stop them anyway. This unless I happen to come home. In that case, I'll just have to remember where I put the key for the excavator. WH

 

[charlie b]

Look up Youtube videos for the Lockpicking Lawyer. Almost makes you want to give up on locks entirely.

Keep in mind the secure vaults I've worked with (government) were certified to 20 min before someone would break through in one way or another.

When I had a "safe" I was lucky enough to get a couple of mechanical Greenleaf combination locks to use on it. The government changed over to the newer electronic versions and the older mechanical ones ended up in surplus.

 

[Rwfish]

My mechanical locks have never failed. My last Liberty safe, electronic lock failed first week. Replacement was easy to obtain and install but it still happened…. Access may be quicker with electronics but the reliability just isn’t there..

 

[6.5 forever]

My mechanical locks have never failed. My last Liberty safe, electronic lock failed first week. Replacement was easy to obtain and install but it still happened…. Access may be quicker with electronics but the reliability just isn’t there..

Any Utube how to video on making the change?

 

[Bottom Fodder]

I was never good at typing was always better at spinning

 

[mtncwru]

Mechanical, always. Far more reliable and less maintenance. I've had my safe for the past 15 years, and I've needed exactly one (1) service call to a locksmith. And that was most likely due to the lock body having a mounting screw loose from the factory.

Any Utube how to video on making the change?

Yep! Assuming your safe uses a standard lock pattern, this should help:

 

[PhilC]

I like spinning the dial helps keep my memory sharp.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I'm a mechanical guy myself but the electronic locks aren't as bad as people act. They have fail safes that are generally enough. That said, I have a friend that had one to give trouble recently and the first couple of fixes didn't fix it. I don't remember the details enough to get into it much more than that but he did finally get into his. It was getting to the point that he had just about given up hope before something finally worked, though. Electronic is bad and has its benefits, too. I'm just old school though and like the mechanical, like most on here, apparently.

 

[Kyle Schultz]

My wife keeps her jewelry in the safe. She much prefers the convenience of an electronic lock. ‘Nuf said.

And truthfully, if I’m making life decisions based on surviving an EMP attack, which lock to install on my safe is pretty far down the priority list. Good luck.

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Don’t most electronic ones have a long key for if they fail? Mine does.

 

[charlie b]

The good ones don't.

When I had to remember a lot of combinations (8) I used the keypad method. The letters on each of the numbers can represent a word. 6 letters for most combos (three number type).

So isabel becomes 47-22-33. I'd figure out a weird sentence I could remember and that would fix it for all 8 combinations. Yes, it is not really recommended by security experts, because you don't use 1 or 0. But you can include those as the letters I or O (which I sometimes did). If you go into a secure area many of the safes will have the keypad printed and taped to the front to make it easy to 'translate'.