Some 7 or 8 years ago I bought an inexpensive $50ish dollar Stack One safe from Gander Mountain. It's no frills, but my daughter was starting to move and toddle, so I wanted to limit the access to my bedside gun without breaking the bank.
It's been a great little safe, if a bit shallow. I keep my bump in the night handgun in it along with whatever pocket pistol I will be carrying the next day and a couple documents like my passport (mainly so I dont lose the thing in between my very infrequent international trips).
Anyway, this model is battery operated with a 4 digit programmable code. As the batteries weaken, it gives you a pretty good amount of time to replace them. If you don't, a hidden key cover can be pried off. I think I've replaced the batteries maybe 2 times.
Two days ago, I went to get my pistol out of the safe. I touched the buttons...no beeps. Dang it. I don't remember any warming beeps going off, but whatever. I look for my back up key stuffed somewhere in my drawer...no dice. Well, just great. I hadn't seen it since we moved 5 years ago.
I check the Stack On website. 15 bucks for a spare key and i need to register my safe first...ugh, hard pass.
So i buy a little lock pick set. I figure, why not. I studied the broken english manual. Pretty cool little skill to pick up and I get pretty good at jimmying the clear practice lock. I go to my Stack on and use my tools and pick and pry and cuss and spit.
OK. Time to hit up You Tube. What am I doing wrong?
First video I bump into is a 11-12 boy doing a tutorial on how to use a paperclip on how to pick a Stack On safe. I start watching hoping to figure out how he bends it a special way to get it engage this devil lock.
About 15 seconds in he just shoves the clip in stock and pushes it left. The lug rotates at he opens the door
Well this has got to be fake.
I take a paperclip, shove it in, push left....safe opens
So, if you have an entry level Stack On safe, you can defeat the lock with a paperclip. Not the most secure design, but obviously I didnt buy it to be a venerable Fort Knox.
The problem with my safe and why it died all at once? I guess I dropped the door too hard and the battery cover came loose killing power to it. A bit of super strong duct tape fixed that.
Now, can anyone recommend a small mechanical button lock safe? It doesnt have to be high dollar at all. Actually, now that my daughter is 9 and doesnt have any interest in guns, I dont feel the need to protect HER from getting ahold of it. However, we do have her friends over from time to time, so I like to keep my loaded guns secure....not that they should be rooting around in my underwear drawer
Thanks for reading.
It's been a great little safe, if a bit shallow. I keep my bump in the night handgun in it along with whatever pocket pistol I will be carrying the next day and a couple documents like my passport (mainly so I dont lose the thing in between my very infrequent international trips).
Anyway, this model is battery operated with a 4 digit programmable code. As the batteries weaken, it gives you a pretty good amount of time to replace them. If you don't, a hidden key cover can be pried off. I think I've replaced the batteries maybe 2 times.
Two days ago, I went to get my pistol out of the safe. I touched the buttons...no beeps. Dang it. I don't remember any warming beeps going off, but whatever. I look for my back up key stuffed somewhere in my drawer...no dice. Well, just great. I hadn't seen it since we moved 5 years ago.
I check the Stack On website. 15 bucks for a spare key and i need to register my safe first...ugh, hard pass.
So i buy a little lock pick set. I figure, why not. I studied the broken english manual. Pretty cool little skill to pick up and I get pretty good at jimmying the clear practice lock. I go to my Stack on and use my tools and pick and pry and cuss and spit.
OK. Time to hit up You Tube. What am I doing wrong?
First video I bump into is a 11-12 boy doing a tutorial on how to use a paperclip on how to pick a Stack On safe. I start watching hoping to figure out how he bends it a special way to get it engage this devil lock.
About 15 seconds in he just shoves the clip in stock and pushes it left. The lug rotates at he opens the door
Well this has got to be fake.I take a paperclip, shove it in, push left....safe opens
So, if you have an entry level Stack On safe, you can defeat the lock with a paperclip. Not the most secure design, but obviously I didnt buy it to be a venerable Fort Knox.
The problem with my safe and why it died all at once? I guess I dropped the door too hard and the battery cover came loose killing power to it. A bit of super strong duct tape fixed that.
Now, can anyone recommend a small mechanical button lock safe? It doesnt have to be high dollar at all. Actually, now that my daughter is 9 and doesnt have any interest in guns, I dont feel the need to protect HER from getting ahold of it. However, we do have her friends over from time to time, so I like to keep my loaded guns secure....not that they should be rooting around in my underwear drawer
Thanks for reading.
You also hit another nail on the head: attack the safe where it is weakest, not where it is strongest. So many of these biometric "super secure" bedside gun safes still have a simple tubular lock somewhere. Sure, I won't be able to trick the fingerprint scanner, but that doesn't matter if I have a tubular lock pick available (or if I can just get a coat hanger to release the latch).
