A gun safe cabinet is one of the wisest investments you can make if you own a licensed gun and you would not want your children playing with your ammunitions. Part of making this investment though is to make sure you know some of the lock and locking bolt recommendations that will make you use the safe to your advantage. These locks are often incorporated with your gun safe’s door construction. Here are things you should consider in this regard:
Dial locks
Your gun safe can come with different types of locks. You can opt for the combination dial lock version or opt for fingerprint locks or electronic locks instead. Choosing from these locks will basically depend on some factors and of course on how some manufacturers may convince you with making a purchase of the type of lock they offer. To help you sort things out as you make a choice, you can consider these.
Combination dial locks are often said to be slower to open when compared to electronic locks. While this is the case, there are some who have favoured the former because of their durability. Add to that, people who have invested in such for their gun safe has proven that combination dial locks are trouble-free too. Remember though that you should relock the gun safe using the combination by spinning and working the handle.
Opting for digital locks
Digital locks are the more advanced types of locks and are popular to majority of customers due to the fact that they can be opened and closed faster when compared to dial locks. These locks open and close automatically plus they boast of added security by allowing gun safe owners to change their number combination from time to time. They include batteries in them which have to be changed yearly. Many of the gun safe cabinets sold in the market these days already contain these digital locks on them.
On minimum number of locking bolts
There is a rule to follow when it comes to the minimum number of locking bolts that should be found on your gun safe. It is best to go for cabinets that have two locking bolts found on each of the four sides of the safe. In case hinges are found outside the safe, you have to ensure that the locking bolts are found on each side of the door.
There is reason enough for you to worry if the gun safe’s bolts can only be found on the left side of the door. When this is the case, the door can be easily removed thus defeating the real purpose on why you are investing in a gun safe. Make sure you avoid buying gun safe with bolts found only on one or three sides of the door. It is good to check on whether the bolts are cut-off or not. Basically, you can go for gun safe with more locking bolts but the number should not exceed 12 bolts.
The locking bolts and their diameter
When speaking of locking bolts, you should not simply stick to the number of bolts that the gun safe has. It is also imperative to check on the bolt’s diameter. Typical gun safes have 9/16 inch diameter in their bolts. This is somehow below the requirement which is set in between one inch (1″) to one and one half inch (1 ½”).
Investing in relockers
Aside from locks and locking bolts, you should also look for relockers in your gun safe. The relocker is great if you want to make sure that the safe will remain locked during theft and burglar attacks. Relockers work on the principle of either blocking the safe’s door or blocking the safe’s main bolt from opening.
Other things to look into when investing in a gun safe
The lock and locking bolts make up bulk of your consideration when investing in a gun safe. Apart from these basic requirements though, it would also be good to check on a few other things that will ensure you made the right purchase. For one, you should consider the anchor holes on the gun safe. These anchor holes will help anchor the gun safe in place with the help of heavy-duty fasteners. In another, it would be wise to make sure that your gun safe is fire proof, that is, if you want to make sure that the safe will be prevented from fire damage.
Summing things up
The locking mechanism of your gun safe matters a lot when making the decision to invest in the said cabinet. It has been pointed out that these mechanisms may actually depend on your preference. After all, both dial locks and digital locks have their strong points that each mechanism can be very proud of. It would also be good to have the right locking bolts combined with relockers and all other essentials to consider when investing in a gun safe.