Wanted a new rifle. Ended up buying a safe. Question for safe owners

[Rockrivr1]

Just like the title says. I was looking to get myself a new rifle and as I contemplated the purchase I started to realize I had no room to put it in my existing safe. Or as some call it - Residential Storage Container.

As I was pondering over my situation I drove by a local safe company that is down the road from where I live. They were having a tent sale on all safes in their inventory. I stopped and before I knew it I had bought a new safe. It was a pretty good deal. I ended up getting a Cannon American Eagle 22 for around $700 brand new in the box. The brochure says it will hold 28 long guns or 14 long guns and 14 handguns. I'm sure it will be less, but then again, I don't have 28 guns in total anyway so I have room to grow.

Yep, I got the safe and I needed it. BUT, I'm just not excited about it. Yeah it will be great to have, but nothing will compare to shooting a new rifle for the first time. Oh well, practicality before excitement. Hummm, maybe I'll get a rifle anyway! Credit cards are a good thing, right?!?!?!

Question for everyone. The dealer is giving the same price for either the electronic combination keypad or the combination dial. I'm thinking of going with the E-Combo, but was wondering what you all though.

Let me know. Thanks

 

[taliv]

definitely go electric key pad, and nothing wrong at all with buying safes instead of guns. it's a smart move.

and yes, the number of guns they claim you can fit in the safe is based on the number of notches that are in a little insert. they're so close together, i suspect safe mfgs think everyone owns mostly youth-sized 22lr. not manly EBRs

in order to get even half of that number of rifles in the safe, you will have to
1. remove all magazines, slings, optics, foregrips and other protrusions.
2. stack them in such a way that if you want the one in the back, you've got to move 10 other guns to get to it.
3. be very careful not to scratch guns as you drag them past one another.

 

[Stickjockey]

Personally, I'd go with the standard dial lock. No batteries to worry about. YMMV.

 

[sako_75]

Standard dial is more reliable, keypad is much faster. I went with the dial on mine solely for the look.

 

[Ryder]

Got good eyes? I couldn't see a dial good enough to open a safe in the store no matter how much time I was given. The key pad is super slick. Bip-bip, bip-bip, bip-bip, Open! Nice big white numbers. Real sweet.

 

[rick_reno]

Standard dial will work after an EMP pulse, while that electronic thing probably won't.

 

[NavajoNPaleFace]

I have the "key pad" style safe which has a utility key that can over ride the electronics should it fail or the battery go dead.

For the MOST part it would appear that the pushing of a series of numbers would be quicker than dialing in the three or so numbers on the other style.

However, I have noticed that sometimes the mechanism would not release and unlock after entering the correct numbers and it might take re-entering the numbers as many as three more times before it opens.

I'm sure it's the make of the safe that accounts for the sometimes difficult entering of the numbers to unlock the safe but it's still a pain in the butt at ttimes.

 

[GE-Mini-Gun]

Standard dial will work after an EMP pulse, while that electronic thing probably won't.

We get so many of these.

 

[Don Gwinn]

Not that I'm going to bother, but if you have stuff you want to protect from EMP, it's not that hard to do.

Google "faraday cage emp faq" to get started.

 

[toolmaker]

When I was shopping for a safe, the technician at my local dealer (actually a banking equipment retailer and installer) told me he really liked the electronic lock models because repairing and opening them when they failed brought him a lot of business. I bought a mechanical lock model. I keep things I may need IMMEDIATELY in another easier access area.

 

[mcmoyer]

Standard dial will work after an EMP pulse, while that electronic thing probably won't.

Wrap it in tin foil!!

 

[taliv]

When I was shopping for a safe, the technician at my local dealer (actually a banking equipment retailer and installer) told me he really liked the electronic lock models because repairing and opening them when they failed brought him a lot of business.

i don't want to start a dueling anecdotes thread, but i've had two safes with electronic keypads for several years, and go in and out several times/day. never had a problem with either, and none of my friends who have them have ever mentioned a problem.

locksmiths have been on call a long time before electronic keypads. i'm not saying one type is more reliable than the other, but i would be interested in hearing the results of a study, or even just actual data about incidence of failure.