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Need a pistol safe - non electronic lock

11K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  TMan 
#1 ·
I'm in the market for a pistol safe. Main purpose it to keep my home protection handgun out of the reach of my 5 year old son. His interest in firearms is overwhelming - thank you "Pirates of the Carribean". :D (just a joke).

I did not want an electronic lock safe - I've heard too many poor reviews on them. However, nobody in my area has a non-electronic lock version. The salesman at Bass Pro Shops talked me into a Winchester pistol safe yesterday. Electronic 4 pushbutton lock, 8 AA batteries or a wall plug. Cannot use "rechargables" according to the instructions or it will damage the circuitry according to them (don't know how... but that's not important right now). I came home and pushed in the "default" code. It would click, but not open. So I used the backup key to get in. Changed the code to one of my own. Closed the door and tried it - same thing. "Click!", but the door won't open. Tried it 5 times. On the fifth try, it opened. Closed it and tried again - again, it took about 5 tries to get it to open. On all the failed attempts, it wasn't due to a wrong code. It was clicking like it was trying to let the door pop open, but the door just stayed where it was. I tried everything I knew of - same thing. About 5 tries every time. I can't have that. A burgular could rob me blind and kill my entire family by the time I get that safe open. I'm returning it today.

So, I need a gun safe - in a bad way. This week. Prior to Friday if possible. I found one at Cabelas that has a pushbutton lock - all mechanical, no electronics. But there is no backup key lock or anything, so if the lock fails, I'm screwed. It did get high reviews though.

Can anyone recommend a good pistol safe - preferably non electronic lock?

All the best,
Glenn
 
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#2 ·
I had one with 5 buttons on the top. Don't recall the brand but never had a lick of trouble with it. Need to get another one, and if I can figure out what I had, I'll get another.

The lack of a second key didn't bother me at all. It was pretty light metal so wouldn't be impossible to get into if the lock failed.
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
Someone sent me a link to those exact ones. I'm trying to find them locally, but nobody has them. I emailed Stack-On, and their reply to me said that only two places in the entire country carry them in stock. I think that is incorrect, but I can't find anyone locally that carries them or can order them. I guess I'm stuck with mail order. Shipping is going to cost me almost as much as the gun cabinet.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.
All the best,
Glenn
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the link Andy. I ordered one today. - the PB-201.

I returned the Winchester safe to BPS today - got my $150 back. So after I spent $40 on the Stack-On, I have an extra $110 left over. Hmmmm... what ammo do I need??? :D

Thanks for the help everyone. I appreciate it.

All the best,
Glenn
 
#7 ·
One of the most economical storage units is the Honeywell lock box sold by Pepboys. These are both electronic and key lock. They usually sell for about $20. I mount these on the wall of my closets and keep my handguns secure from my grandson. At this price, you can afford to put one in several locations.
 
#9 ·
It depends

When I needed handgun safes, I bought a few used small office safes for next to nothing. These have combination locks and work every time and hold about a dozen handguns. A local safe company sells used safes. When I had a long gun safe delivered, I was told by the crew that my office safes have very high fire ratings and were quality safes. All the best...
Gil
 
#10 ·
With those little light safes, be sure to secure them to something. This may go with out saying, but I'm short one Colt Pony cause the criminals were able to just take my little safe.

best of luck
 
#12 ·
I had a Fort Knox handgun safe and it worked every time. It's got a 4-button keypad. You have to push 2 buttons together, then a single. It's resettable for various combos and built well. All I can say is don't leave it by the bed wondering what to bolt it down to for very long, or it will be ripped off by a burglar like mine was. He took off with the safe and the gun. The only thing I can hope for is that a torch was used to open it!
 
#13 ·
If you value the lives of your children and the security of your firearms, stay away from Stack-On safes. Read the following article at Forbes from July 2012 to understand why:

Unsafe Gun Safes Can Be Opened By A Three-Year Old - Forbes

There are other brands that are equally unreliable and easy to open. Stay away from them, too. They're cheap, and next-to-worthless. Some popular electronic lock safes used in hotel rooms and cruise ship staterooms can be opened by thumping them with the palm of the hand and a twist of the knob faster than you can punch in the combination.
 
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