To those looking for a gun safe

[VacaDuck]

Check your local Costco.

Mine (Vacaville) has the Winchester 12 gun, with electronic lock, for $499. Limited stock on hand.

This has been your good buy announcement for the day.

[FS00008]

I don't like safes with electronic locks. Much prefer old school combo locks.

[greasemonkey]

Same here, that's not being paranoid to not like the e-locks, is it? I forgot about Costco having safes. I just upgraded my membership to an excutive, too!

[K5Cruiser]

There's also a section on this forum dedicated to talking about safes with lots of info...

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/forumdisplay.php?f=74

[greasemonkey]

Thanks K5, probably no need for me to derail the thread to features!

Duck, that's cheap for that safe! If only Costco would sell reloading supplies and diesel fuel, then I'd only have to shop at PRK and Costco.

[jaymz]

Nothing wrong with electronic locks. I was hesitant myself, but bought the Winchester anyway. That was about 5 years ago. I'm on my second 9v, and my safe gets opened regularly.

[k1dude]

My local safe retailer has switched all his personal and work safes over to electronic locks. He's been in business forever, so I figured he knows way more than I. He recommends them highly, but not the cheap no-name ones that come on some inexpensive safes. So make sure the brand of electronic lock is a good one.

[WeekendWarrior]

I was reading on a safe site that you can upgrade the electronic locks on gun safes really easily to a lock that will supposedly last a lifetime and not have any issues.

Here is a great Guide to buying gun safes I took this quote from

Locking Device--Mechanical Dial vs. Digital Locks
Recommendation: UL Group II mechanical dial lock or commercial-grade electronic.
For gun safes, we prefer rotary-combination dial locks, although commercial-grade electronic locks are now very good. While less convenient, and slower to open than electronic locks, combination locks are still more durable and trouble-free than the digital locks found on many low- to medium-cost gun safes. Among the combination locks, the Sargent & Greenleaf model 6730 (UL Group II) remains an industry standard. The director of Sturdy Safes noted: "An S&G 6730 will be working fine when your grandchildren have grandchildren." For home use, we also recommend the standard, high-visibility "front-read" white on black dial. There are "Spyproof" dials which shield the index marks from frontal view. This may be useful for a retail safe placed behind the counter, but at home, it just makes the dial much more difficult to see (you have to look down at an angle).

Avoid the cheap, imported electronic locks. These are known for failing relatively quickly--the keypad internals just wear out. With some of these designs, if the lock fails while the door is closed, you'll have to employ a professional gunsmith to drill your safe and replace the locking assembly and keypad. With any electronic lock, re-program your combination now and then so that keypad wear patterns don't reveal the numbers you push to open the safe. But when you change the combination, be sure to record the new setting.

With a dial lock, choose a design that meets UL Group II (or better) certification. If you choose a digital lock, we strongly recommend that you select a UL Type I, Commercial Grade lock from LaGard, Sargent & Greenleaf, or Kaba Mas. Commercial-grade locks, such as the S&G Comptronic" 6120 or LaGard "SafeGard" are much more robust and are designed to be used 20 times a day or more in retail and banking environments. A good commercial digital keypad lock should give 10 years or more of continuous use before replacement is required. With any digital lock, however, you should replace the battery at least once a year. Normally this can be done without professional assistance.

What do the experts say? We polled a half-dozen safe manufacturers and most of them leaned toward digital locks--but primarily because that's what customers prefer. However, Mark Zanotti of Zanotti Armor tells us "10% of the safes I sell have digital locks, but they represent 90% of the problems down the road. Anything electronic is prone to failure at some point." With digital locks you have to replace the batteries regularly. The keypads can and do fail. Safemakers tell us one common problem with digital locks stems from the ease with which the combination can be re-programmed. Customers reprogram their locks and then forget the combination.

What is the major problem with conventional dial locks? User error--owners forget to relock their safe after opening it. When you shut the door on a digitally-equipped safe, the door locks automatically. However, with a manual combination lock, you need to spin the dial after shutting the door and working the handle. Closing the handle moves the locking bolts, but does NOT re-activate the lock. So all a thief needs to do is turn the handle and he's in the safe. So, if you choose a manual lock, be sure to spin the dial every time you close the safe.

Oh and the Winchester safe at Costco is actually a 24 gun model, weighing 499lbs dry, and is constructed with 12 gauge steel. This steel is a little thin, but if you want a safe that cannot be carried out of your home or apartment by burglers, this is a good way to go. 12 gauge steel is vulnerable to being broken into with power tools or hand tools (the steel on these safes can be pierced with tools like a fire axe). I bought this safe and am very happy with it. If you dont live in an apartment building where you have neighbors looking out for you, I would recommed 10 or 8 gauge steel exterior, as having a home with no neighbors close at hand gives burglers a chance to try and open the safe without anyone noticing what they are doing.

[Seesm]

So far so good on my electronic version... I always struggled figuring the proper way of opening the normal dials... So digital is the way for me.