I’m a chronic worrier. However, over the years, I’ve learned (at least I think I have) to put my worries in some sort of priority. Like most Americans, I worry about making ends meet each month – there usually is more month, than there is money – we try our best to work around it, with our limited funds. Whenever I hear a noise under the hood of my car, I start to worry, and make an appointment with my mechanic to check it out – more often than not, it’s nothing that needs immediate attention. The “Check Engine” light on my wife’s car drives me mad – whatever it is, the mechanic can’t figure it out.
I used to worry about the End Of The World stuff – however, I’ve long since put that in the back of my mind. Any more, as I mentioned, I try to prioritize my worries – if that is even possible. I don’t have money to build an underground bunker, that will survive a nuke attack, and even if I did, I’d probably worry that I wouldn’t be near it when the flag went up. Having lived many years in Chicago – before I wised-up and moved from there in 1979 – I worried about break-ins – and for good reason – I shot a burglar who broke into my house once. These days, I don’t have those worries, as I have a pack of German Shepherds protecting my homestead, and I live in a rural area – not as many worries about break-ins these days – although they do happen, even in rural communities.
So, as you can see, I worry about many things, but try to prepare myself and my family, as best I can, for some things that I have a little control over – like having a food reserve – just in case! We are prepared, as best we can be, on our limited budget, for a lot of contingencies – and I don’t worry about things I have no control over, or things I can’t prepare for – like an EMP attack. I’m sure most SurvivalBlog readers know that EMP stands for Electromagnetic Pulse, and that is a super-charge of electrical power that can knock out a power grid – in a large area – as in the entire USA, if a nuke bomb is exploded in just the right area above the earth. This is something I have no control, and I honestly don’t know what I could do, on my budget, to fully prepare for such an event.
I was fascinated to hear about the new EMP Locking System offered by Cannon Gun Safes. I know a lot of gun owners, especially in big cities, who have more than a few firearms, wisely store them in some type of gun safe – and I’m not talking about those little cheap gun cabinets, that only make it easy for someone to carry off all your guns at once – I’m talking about real gun vaults – that weight 500-700 pounds empty! It would take a profession safe cracker to get into one of these gun vaults – so it is logical that many folks, who have a lot of firearms, keep them safely stored in these safes – a good idea, to an extent!
Many of the big gun safes these days come with an electronic keypad combination – which means, they are connected to a battery – an electrical device (battery) – for easy-opening of the safe. I have to admit, the electronic locking systems are much faster than the old-style dial combination locks – I know a little something about these things, as I once took a locksmithing course – so I’m familiar with various locks. I think a lot of folks like the electronic locks because I’ve seen many gun owners trying to open their gun safes with the dial locks, and more often than not, the first time, they miss aligning the numbers on the dial, and have to start all over again.
Cannon Gun Safes, has been around a long, long time, and they have some of the best gun vaults on the market in my humble opinion. However, someone decided to think outside the box, and I always like that, and came up with an idea that allows owners of some of their gun safes (not all have this feature) that have electronic combinations on them, to be opened using a dial, in the event of an EMP attack, and the electronics in the combination can’t be opened. To be honest, I don’t think anyone knows the full effect of am EMP attack – as to what will be knocked out and what won’t, or for that matter, how long electronic devices won’t work – or if they will be permanently disabled.
I don’t own a Cannon Gun Safe – wish I did! However, if I did, I’d select a model with the new EMP Locking System – just in case, an EMP attack knocked out the electronic lock. The kind folks at Cannon sent me a sample of their new EMP Locking System to test – “no” they didn’t send me a complete gun safe, just the locking system, that I could examine and play with. I also showed it to some other gun owners who have gun safes, and they found it very easy to learn, and thought it was an outstanding idea – and asked if Cannon will be providing this on all their gun safes in the future – the answer is probably not.
One of the advantages of the electronic locking systems, is the ease of opening your gun safe every day – only takes a very few seconds to punch in the combination and your safe is unlocked – great when you are opening your gun safe everyday. I can appreciate electronic locks – just tap in the number and you’re ready to open the safe for immediate access. However, what if there was an EMP attack, and it knocked out your electronic keypad? I guess you’d have to find a locksmith who could open your safe – and they are few and far between, who have this skill (I don’t) or get a cutting torch out and hope you can cut the hinges or lock and get access to your firearms that way – neither is a quick or easy answer to this problem, especially if you need your guns ASAP!
From the Press Release from Cannon: “The long-term advantage of the mechanical lock is that is is impervious to power outages. In the event of an EMP or any disaster that prevents the owner from getting new batteries or the electronic lock – the manual dial on the EMP Lock will still provide access to the contents inside.” So if there is an EMP attack, and your electronic lock is fried, or the battery that operates it is dead, you can still use the dial on the lock to open your gun safe. I think this is an outstanding idea, and one to be copied by many gun safe makers in the future.
One thing worth mentioning is that, Cannon is the only safe company to offer a lifetime, hassle-free, zero cost warranty on their safes. If a customer’s safe is ever damaged due to fire, natural floods, burglary, etc., Cannon will cover all costs including locksmithing, freight, parts, etc., to repair or replace your safe – even if you are not the original owner! How’s that for a no-nonsense warranty?
So, if you are in the market for a new gun safe, take a close look at the Cannon; Armory, Cannon and Commander safes being made in 2013, that offer the EMP Locking System – I think it would be a worthy investment, just in case you are a worrier like I am – this is one less worry you’ll have – you can still access your locked firearms, in the event of an EMP attack, that will leave other gun owners scratching their heads, as to how they are going to get their electronically locked gun safes open. Have peace of mind! – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio
Pat’s Product Review: Cannon Safe EMP Locking System
