{"id":2162,"date":"2026-06-12T19:23:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/?p=2162"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:23:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:23:06","slug":"when-your-gun-safe-goes-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/?p=2162","title":{"rendered":"When Your Gun Safe Goes Bad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I got my Liberty Lincoln L-15 Deluxe model gun safe back in 1995 because I was a new father who had guns and ammunition in the house and a couple of just-ambulatory children. Anyone who has faced this problem probably worked through the process much like I did. The worst outcome wasn\u2019t some bad guy getting in, though that would be plenty bad, of course. No, the worst outcome I could imagine was one of my kids getting a gun and ammo I left out and hurting themselves. So, secure storage was a requirement.<\/p>\n

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\"broken-gun-safe-9\"
The Liberty Lincoln safe before the drill out. The author used the magnetic strip at 10 o\u2019clock to hold a light while he examined the wires in the electronic keypad.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

I quickly realized that I needed a perfect system. Not pretty good, but foolproof. One way to do that would be to lock up the guns and ammo separately, and never allow both to be out unattended, ever. Because the guns were much bulkier and took up much more room, the easier answer was to store cartridges in the safe, so that there were never loaded rounds available for guns I might temporarily store in my office for photography or administrative use. Then, I could lock the gun actions individually outside the safe while I was on site and store them when I was away. So, I wound up putting a lot of ammo in the Lincoln over the years. Because of these safety features, we never had any issues or scares.<\/p>\n

Well, great, right? The kids grew up with only the holes that God gave them, and as adults, they moved away. But, out of habit, I kept the same storage system until 2020. I had a chance to go deer hunting for the first time in years, so I went to the safe to get my pet 25-06 Remington loads and go to the range.<\/p>\n

When I bought the safe, I chose a Sargent & Greenleaf electronic lock because it was much faster to open than a dial lock, and I was in and out of the safe a lot, so I appreciated the convenience. This time, however, I hit the combination, and the numbers beeped when I keyed them, but I didn\u2019t hear the \u201cwearnt-wearnt<\/em>\u201d of the locking bolt moving. Just a \u201cwearnt<\/em>\u201d sound, and no movement.<\/p>\n

\"broken-gun-safe-7\"\"broken-gun-safe-7\"
The balky Sargent & Greenleaf electronic lock that died during COVID. For the 25 years previously, entering a six-digit code on the keypad retracted a bolt, allowing the handle to turn and unlock the door bolts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No worries. Probably just needed to change the batteries. Swapped them out with brand-new Duracells, and the keypad beeps sounded fine, but I still heard just a single \u201cwearnt<\/em>\u201d sound after the combination. And the handle wouldn\u2019t turn. Hmm.<\/p>\n

\"broken-gun-safe-6\"\"broken-gun-safe-6\"
The back of the keypad face is at left, with the exterior mounting bracket for the electronic lock on the right. The old unlocking code is on the envelope, with some digits blurred out. Two 9-volt batteries powered the lock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This had actually happened before when one of the four leads from the keypad to the lock mechanism had pulled loose, and needed to be reinserted. So, I popped off the keypad and checked the wires. All looked good.<\/p>\n

Well, this was no bueno. I messed around for a couple of weeks trying to get the danged thing open to no avail. So, I eventually called a locksmith referred by the Liberty website, and that\u2019s when the fun began.<\/p>\n

The First Visit<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The locksmith came up to my second-floor office. He was a contractor for the local dealer who had humped the safe up the stairs many years ago. We looked at the safe documentation I had, and I got more bad news. I had the Deluxe L-15, which had a recessed 3\/8-inch-thick hardened-steel door with triple relockers, 10 1-inch shielded bolts, and internal hinges. The sides and top were 10-gauge steel. The 24.5\u00d760.5\u00d720-inch box had 16 cubic feet of storage and weighed about 450 pounds unloaded. But with the ammo on its floor, it was much heavier than that. A Diamalloy hardplate, heat-treated to achieve a much harder surface, sat between the interior door surface and the front of the lock body to, of course, resist drilling of the lock. The only good news was that the safe wasn\u2019t bolted to the floor.<\/p>\n

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\"broken-gun-safe-4\"\"broken-gun-safe-4\"
Here are the basic implements needed to drill out a safe lock. Might as well buy your carbide-tipped drill bits by the dozen. Fun fact: The locksmith was insistent that he never be photographed or recorded on video. Reason: He does frequent law-enforcement work (with search warrants), entering into criminals\u2019 gun, drug, and money safes, where firearms they shouldn\u2019t own and cash they\u2019ve acquired through bake sales and other methods are stored. It is an important life lesson to realize that people with tattoos on their faces don\u2019t take kindly to having their stuff seized, and the guy who gets their safes open isn\u2019t immune from retaliation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The locksmith used the master code. It didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cThe lock mechanism is dead. Happens with the electronics. Sometimes they just quit. And we can\u2019t get replacements these days because the boards are sourced out of China.\u201d There weren\u2019t any in the U.S., and there was no prospect of any becoming available for years.<\/p>\n

\"broken-gun-safe-2\"\"broken-gun-safe-2\"
The long stick with the loop on the end is used to exert extra leverage on the door handle. A chain can be hooked on the loop (arrow) and then wrapped around the base of the handle to turn the spindle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He explained that when the correct code is entered into the lock keypad, the electronic circuit activates a solenoid or motor that retracts the bolt (\u201cwearnt-wearnt<\/em>\u201d), allowing the locking bar inside the door to move the locking bolts when the handle is turned. Because the circuitry had died, that bolt was stuck in place.<\/p>\n

Well, crap.<\/p>\n

\"broken-gun-safe-14\"\"broken-gun-safe-14\"
Factory-suggested locations for the lock body didn\u2019t pan out, so the locksmith began a grid search.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More common issues than a circuit-board failure are people forgetting their combinations, losing their keys, or damaging a mechanical lock, so being locked out wasn\u2019t that uncommon. He said there were a couple of ways to get in.<\/p>\n

\n
\"broken-gun-safe-13\"\"broken-gun-safe-13\"
Several holes drilled through the door are apparent, with one designated by the arrow. The locksmith asked the author not to show how the lock body fits into the door locking mechanism because other safes have similar geometry, and revealing their design could make breaking into them easier for unauthorized users.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Grinding or torch-cutting a hole in the sides or back were two ways to get in, but both posed fire hazards, and the safe was in an upstairs carpeted office. Besides not wanting to burn the house down, I also ruled out grinding and cutting the safe open because of the sizable amount of handgun and rifle ammunition that was in there, along with several backup drives that couldn\u2019t tolerate sparks or slag, and some guns and documents. Fortunately, there was no gunpowder, primed cases, unboxed primers, or other hazardous chemicals that could go boom in an enclosed steel box.<\/p>\n

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\"broken-gun-safe-11\"\"broken-gun-safe-11\"
The lock mechanism. When you enter the device code, the wheels underneath the arm align, allowing the arm to retract the gold-colored bolt at the bottom. With the bolt out of the way, the handle can turn the spindle, retracting the door bolts. Part of the trick of drilling out the safe lock is bypassing the safe relocker (arrow). It provides an additional layer of protection, ensuring that even if the primary lock is compromised, the safe remains secure. These devices are designed to lock a safe automatically if an unauthorized attempt is made to tamper with or break into it. The locksmith kept the mechanical relocker from engaging during the drill out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The locksmith also mentioned that the lock could be drilled out, basically a process of drilling to locate the lock inside the door and then driving the lock housing off the door with a punch. With the locking bolt moved, that would allow the door handle to retract the bolts in the door, et voil\u00e0.<\/p>\n

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\"broken-gun-safe-3\"\"broken-gun-safe-3\"
After nearly a dozen holes, the locksmith was able to drill into the lock body on the S&G mechanism. This shows the full length of the inside of the safe door with the lining off.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When your gun safe goes kaput, it can be a real pain in the keister. If my experience with a failed electronic keypad has you second-guessing a gun safe purchase, you might consider a good, old-fashioned combination lock type. Either way you decide to go, learn from my experience and avoid the pitfalls. The final tally for my little misadventure? All in for drilling and new lock: $1,100. The experience of watching the process? Priceless.<\/p>\n

\"broken-gun-safe-12\"\"broken-gun-safe-12\"
Part of the Sargent & Greenleaf lock body that sat inside the door. Pray you never get to see this on your safe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong> This article is an excerpt from <\/em>Cartridges of the World, 18th Edition<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Secure More Gun Safe Knowledge<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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