Sentry fire safe, why can't it be a gun safe?

You can buy an American Security door with either S&G electronic or mechanical lock. See their website.
 
This is a little bit off topic but what type of door or electronic lock would you recommend if someone was building a walk-in safe?
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This is a tough question, as it depends on the situation.

If it's existing construction, and you're looking for a "vault" door, then the AMSEC is hard to beat. It's light enough to be man handled into place, and dimensionally similar to most interior doors.

If it's new construction, I think the Fort Knox doors are nice. For better security, Graffunder builds some really nice doors. All of these doors will weigh over 1,000 pounds, and are most easily installed during the construction process.

With that said, I think used doors are the best value. You can typically get a 5,000 pound, stainless steel, bank rated door for a thousand or so dollars more than the Fort Knox units. This gives you real security and a heck of a conversation piece. These types of doors can only go into new construction.

If you're wanting to stay away from the vault door look, you can order FEMA hurricane rated doors with multi point locking mechanisms from commercial door dealers. These look like regular commercial steel doors, and are quite secure.
 
i've relied on my bolted down stack-on with electronic lock for many years now. never had a problem and didnt see a need for anything more expensive since my guns are only worth a couple of thousands tops, and in the unlikely case of a fire or expert burglary insurance would kick in anyway.

the comments about cheap electronic locks that refuse to open made me wonder though. if the solenoid (or whatever it was called) would break - does that mean my manual override key would not work eithe?. i could always cut it open but would really not like to as it would make a big mess. how common is it really that cheap safes break down to the point that the manual key stops working also.

thanks
 
the comments about cheap electronic locks that refuse to open made me wonder though. if the solenoid (or whatever it was called) would break - does that mean my manual override key would not work eithe?. i could always cut it open but would really not like to as it would make a big mess. how common is it really that cheap safes break down to the point that the manual key stops working also.
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As long as you have the key, you're fine. If and when your solenoid goes bad, it's usually not a replaceable item. In most cases, you will simply buy a new safe and dispose of the old one.

The owners of these safes have a habit of keeping the keys inside of the safe, or loosing them. When this happens, the safe has to be drilled. Just keep your keys in a safe place, aside from inside the safe.
 
thanks for the answers! i'm glad to hear the risk of "getting locked out" seems to be small as long as i stash the backup key in a good spot.

on another account: how hard is it to "crack the code" on the entry-level (e.g. sentry, stack on) mechanical strong boxes? is it something a a bored kid could do on a rainy day or does it require a fair level expertise? of course anyone can get in given a drill and a jigsaw and sufficient time but i am wondering how hard it would be to get in non-destructively.
 
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