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Check out Rogue Safe's website and watch the video of two guys breaking into a "big box" store safe in just over a minute. Although they are in Medford Oregon they deliver throughout the northwest. You will pay more, but you will get an AMERICAN built safe that will last several lifetimes. Mine is a larger version, weighs a ton....as in 2000 pounds. 1/2 inch steel throughout, with an excellent fire rating, customizable insides, built to YOUR order. Just my 2 cents.
 
I can only address tumbler lock vs. digital lock. I bought a large gun safe a few years back and was originally convinced that I didn't want a digital lock as the digital locks might be more prone to failure than the traditional tumbler lock.

The dealer I bought my safe from convinced me to go digital based on the fact that the way most all tumbler locks work, if you dial the wrong combo three times in a row, they tumblers lock up and you can't open the safe short of calling a locksmith. He explained to me how with my digital lock, even if someone tries to open my safe with the wrong combo and it locks up, I can still get into my safe. With the safe I bought, I can remove the digital lock from the face of the safe and there is an opening for a key (which I have hidden in a very safe location) that will unlock the tumblers and allow me to open the safe. At that point I can reset my combo on the digital lock after reinstalling it on the face of the safe door.

Bought my safe from Charlie with Mountain View Safe in Boring, OR.

<broken link removed>

He sells off the back of the truck or at some of the gun shows.

My $.02 worth.



Got me one too for the same reason(s). 1050 lbs. bone dry (delivered for an extra fee), it ain't going anywhere too easily.
 
Has anyone here ever looked at the YouTube videos on how easy it is to open many of the "Digital Safes"? In many it's merely a matter of removing the keypad, fishing for the motor/solenoid wires, and using a 9v Battery with jumpers, open the safe. No sledge hammer, torch, or diamond coated drills needed.

For the Combo/Key safes, check to see if the safe of your dreams has a "Re-Lock" feature where any attempt with impact tools locks the bolts in place, period.

As for me, a key lock safe isn't much more than a "Lock Box". Key locks can be manipulated far easier than a combination lock, even those fancy "tubular" locks.



Do you have a link for the video? My search-fu doesn't seem to be finding anything other than the small portable safes that can be carried out by a burglar. I have a Fort Knox Defender safe with a Sergeant and Greenleaf electronic lock and I'm happy with everything about it other than every once in a while having to replace the two 9V batteries, which is really easy to do.
 
Google digital lock failure and just count the number of people who had these locks fail. When it does fail, you are talking about $200-400 for a locksmith to get inside the safe and then the cost of a new lock. My local safe company, largest in WA state, highly recommended against digital locks. They said the failure rate was extremely high.

My S&G mechanical combo lock will outlast me with good care, and I can get inside in less than 8 seconds with very little practice. Just some good for thought.

P.S. I'm super jealous of those HUGE Fort Knox safes, beautiful!
 
If those electronic locks are so reliable, why doesn't Cannon warranty them against failure? I emailed them and asked that question. They told me it's because "they don't make the lock." But they have no problem selling it to you, do they!

I responded that Cannon didn't smelt the steel either, but they warrantied it against defects, so why not the lock? They answered that the failure rate was "only" [insert some factional percentage], to which I replied that if it was really that low, they could and would warranty it against failure without any problem.

The whole email thread from Cannon was pure BS. They unload their cheap safes through CostCo on the unwary. But don't believe me - search the many comments from enraged owners with failed electronic locks.

I bought a Liberty with a S&G Group 1 dial lock, and it cost $60 to deliver, including gently removing it from the pallet and placing it in the corner.
 
Check out Rogue Safe's website and watch the video of two guys breaking into a "big box" store safe in just over a minute. Although they are in Medford Oregon they deliver throughout the northwest. You will pay more, but you will get an AMERICAN built safe that will last several lifetimes. Mine is a larger version, weighs a ton....as in 2000 pounds. 1/2 inch steel throughout, with an excellent fire rating, customizable insides, built to YOUR order. Just my 2 cents.

OK, the video on that site was nothing but pure bovine excrement. The supposed "premium safe" that the bad guys were breaking in to was nothing more than an EMPTY STEEL SHELL. You can totally see it in the video. They tip it over like it's a cardboard box, and the door is wobbling up and down like a flimsy sheet as they're breaking into the box. What a joke.

My Bighorn safe from Costco is made from heavy gauge steel, is BOLTED to the floor so it can't be tipped (easily), has 1½ inch locking bolts on all sides of the door, and has a re-locker if the digital keypad is tampered with. This thing weighs 830# empty. I'm not saying it can't be defeated, but the VAST majority of home burglaries are smash & grab jobs. I feel quite safe with my safe thank you.
 
I have a Ft Knox and a Liberty. Both have digital Combo locks. Digitals are convenient and quick. Both Safes weigh over 600 lbs empty. If EMP Hits (Which evidence has shown won't harm most of what alarmists say) you got bigger things to worry about.

Dials are cheaper. Digitals are convenient. Go with that.

A few years back I did a lot of research and decided on the National Security. I felt the Fort Knox was a very close second but lost out on fire ratings which were important for some items other than guns.

I chose the mechanical S&G lock because I don't like putting any more things in my life that break and need batteries.

If you have a link regarding the EMP evidence I would be interested in reading through it. I could not find anything like that.
 
Yup, NW Safe in Enumclaw. They are extremely knowledgable, and have a great inventory. I simply went down there with a budget in mind and they walked me through picking the right safe for the money.

Northwest Safe Company - 888-404-7233 - Home Page

That torture test was fun.I would have loved it if an old Okie would have rolled up with his weldin' rig and plasma cut it open and took the grand.
Guess they don't wanna give anyone ideas on Nat.TV huh?

And @ ironbar,the only time you have to worry about the safe is when someone is targeting it. You're right,a smash and grab won' do more than try to get in,but if they came for the safe then they could have a good plan.

Ultimately,all we can do is try our hardest.There is always a chance the bad guys can get in.
 
OK, the video on that site was nothing but pure bovine excrement. The supposed "premium safe" that the bad guys were breaking in to was nothing more than an EMPTY STEEL SHELL. You can totally see it in the video. They tip it over like it's a cardboard box, and the door is wobbling up and down like a flimsy sheet as they're breaking into the box. What a joke.

My Bighorn safe from Costco is made from heavy gauge steel, is BOLTED to the floor so it can't be tipped (easily), has 1½ inch locking bolts on all sides of the door, and has a re-locker if the digital keypad is tampered with. This thing weighs 830# empty. I'm not saying it can't be defeated, but the VAST majority of home burglaries are smash & grab jobs. I feel quite safe with my safe thank you.

The best way to get into a safe is via the side and not by prying a door open. I bet your Costco safe has no better than a 12 gauge sheet metal sides and can be torn apart in no time, no need to tip it over. Take a look at this pic (a 12 gauge side safe)
 
That torture test was fun.I would have loved it if an old Okie would have rolled up with his weldin' rig and plasma cut it open and took the grand.
Guess they don't wanna give anyone ideas on Nat.TV huh?

And @ ironbar,the only time you have to worry about the safe is when someone is targeting it. You're right,a smash and grab won' do more than try to get in,but if they came for the safe then they could have a good plan.

Ultimately,all we can do is try our hardest.There is always a chance the bad guys can get in.

When you look at Safe Ratings they are based on the type of tools that are required and the amount of time on average it takes to get into the safe. Larger "Numbers" merely means that it will take a little longer to get in. Every safe can be breached. It's just a matter of how much time it will take and how large your tool set needs to be. Give me a 5' burning bar and an acetylene torch to get started, I'll go through 6" of the best safe making steel in a relatively short period of time.

It's the cheap safes that give one a sense of security and all to often people find them opened by literal amateurs in no time at all.

As for me, my safe is only one of several security measures protecting my firearms and I'm not talking about them.
 
Man made it, man can take it apart. Some of these methods to get in would fully remove the motivation of most thieves. What good are the contents if they are smashed or burnt up?

A locksmith or capable metalworker gone wrong could get in but it's going to take some time.
 
Man made it, man can take it apart. Some of these methods to get in would fully remove the motivation of most thieves. What good are the contents if they are smashed or burnt up?

A locksmith or capable metalworker gone wrong could get in but it's going to take some time.

OK O/A torch is a bit much,as is a plasma cutter.But if I took a big grinder and a thin blade,I could cut the top of a safe off in minutes.
Again,if they are targeting the safe you are screwed.

So basically ignorance is your friend.The less people that know about the contents the better. Put the safe in the corner with junk around it.Have a room for the safe so nobody sees the safe

One member on here from Puyallup showed all his FALs leaning on the side of his FJ.How smart is that? So the neighbors know what you got in the house?
So the neighbor's kid's friend can tell some jackalope that his mom is dating?

Keep things quiet about the guns and the safe.Most of these type robberies are done by someone you know.
 
So basically ignorance is your friend.The less people that know about the contents the better. Put the safe in the corner with junk around it.Have a room for the safe so nobody sees the safe

One member on here from Puyallup showed all his FALs leaning on the side of his FJ.How smart is that? So the neighbors know what you got in the house?
So the neighbor's kid's friend can tell some jackalope that his mom is dating?

Keep things quiet about the guns and the safe.Most of these type robberies are done by someone you know.

But you don't understand. Some think that most of the fun in owning firearms, especially those who have "tacticool" models, is showing them off:cool::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

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