Which kind of safe lock?

[Flatrock]

Hey guys, I'm going to buy a gun safe shortly and am wondering what type of lock everyone prefers and pros/cons? I was planning on getting an electronic one just for ease of use but then when I was talking to the sales guy, he said "well, it's electronic and more than likely, some day it's going to fail and then you'll be locked out of your safe. Chances are good it'll be right before you're going on a big hunt." Hadn't thought about that and he's probably right. He said he has an electronic one but if he was going to buy another one, he'd go mechanical. What do you guys prefer? By the way, I'm planning on getting the Browning Heavyweight 34.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I've got an electric lock on my Liberty. Never had a problem with it in 2 years. The mechanical ones are solid, and a design that's been around as long as safes. I'd feel comfortable with either.

 

[charliebravo77]

The electronic Sargent and Greenleaf locks on Liberty and likely other manufacturers' safes can evidently be defeated 'easily' and without a trace.

“What you do here is place the resistor in series with the battery and the lock, and by monitoring voltage across that resistor we can learn how much current the lock is drawing at any particular time. And from that we learn something about the state of the lock,” Plore explained. As the lock’s memory checked the input against its stored number sequence, the current on the data line would fluctuate depending on whether the bits storing each number in the code were a 0 or a 1. This essentially spelled out the correct key code until Plore had all of its digits in sequence and could just enter them to unlock the safe. Bafflingly easy.

More: https://www.wired.com/2016/08/hacker-unlocks-high-security-electronic-safes-without-trace/

 

[Speeddmn]

I have electronic one but with backup keys.

 

[7mm08mo]

^^^^^+1 This has never failed me yet, and I have two of them. Batteries have died but changed them and back to normal.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I had two safes with the dial lock. I had no problem with them. As I got older, it got harder to see the numbers, and if you overshot the number even by one, you had to start all over. With the electronic lock on my Browning, I am able to open it even in low light, in about 5 seconds.
I had to start using a flashlight to shine on the numbers of the mechanical dial to see them. On the electronic lock, I had to replace the battery several times in the 10 years I have had it (9 volt, done from underneath the touchpad without opening the safe). If I had to do it again I would certainly go with the electronic lock again. The combo can be set to anything you want making it easier to remember. The mechanical lock comes with the combo set, so you have to figure out a way to remember the combo, or safely store it somewhere.

My electronic lock does not have keys .

 

[Curvebow]

I have heard the "tales" of electronic failures too.... However, I have 2 safes, both with electronic locks. I like them and am not going to change them. And, mine don't have the safety key thing either.

 

[Flatrock]

Ok thanks fellas. Give me a little more to think about.