Finding the right gun safe for you with all the features that you want can be quite difficult, but it is very possible! The Winchester 24 Gun safe is a very popular gun safe, but we will be taking a look into it and seeing what makes it worthy of its X price tag. Are you ready to ‘Pull the trigger’?
Who is Winchester?
Winchester is a very popular and respected firearm and ammunition vendor and has been around in the security protection industry since 1866. Many changes have been made to the company in its long run of manufacturing, however, the quality and commitment to their loyal customers have not changed.
Winchester has developed many firearms, and gun safes so know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to protecting your weapons. The majority of their gun safes can withstand 1200 degrees of heat. Not only that, but Winchester also has a wide range of services that other companies consider add-ons such as safe replacement, free curbside delivery and a free locksmith for the safe should you get locked out. As you’ll find out below, Winchester will replace the safe if it’s damaged by a burglar or a fire, along with the 2-year lock warranty.
Winchester ensures that all their products are reliable and they’ve proven this with various awards, certifications and was even voted the most popular gun safe brand in the US.
Winchester has also taken quite extreme measures to ensure that customers are getting what they pay for, by moving their manufacturing plant from China to Texas in the United States to give their products the all-round American feel.
The reconfigurability of the Winchester
The Winchester 24 provides quite a few shelves in the interior. With this being said, they are all movable, so you can customize it to meet your needs. The shelves are very sturdy also, so no matter where they are, you should be good to go. Winchester suggests you can have two .50 caliber cans of ammo per shelf, but keep in mind that over time, that kind of weight will eventually warp the shelves, but not too badly.
Even with the top shelf still installed, you can fit things such as muzzleloaders and other long guns to ensure that storage is always available. The top shelf also conveniently has an ‘opening slot’ on one side, which acts as an even longer pass through, without compromising the shelf itself.
A common question that people have about the Winchester 24 is, can it hold 24 guns? Technically, yes it can, however – you wouldn’t want to cram 24 weapons into this safe. Companies always overestimate the number of long guns you can fit into safes, which is just a selling point. A good point to remember is that depending on your guns, any rifle with a scope or any other mounting should count as a second weapon as well-meaning that you’re having your gun capacity. In this case, you could easily (and neatly) fit 12-16 weapons in the safe without losing space from the shelves and or ruining your weapons.
Even though you could also fit 12-16 weapons in nicely, you also have to think about the other things you have in the safe such as ammunition, accessories and cleaning supplies that you may want to keep protected. Luckily, Winchester has thought about this and has included a free door-storage system that connects to the door, and allows you to store the less important accessories or supplies without compromising the shelves or weapons you’re storing.
If you have any handguns/pistols that might be taking up a little room that you won’t want it to take up, they also have an optional extra of a shelf-mounted pistol attachment that hangs your pistols/handguns off the underside of the shelves. This can be very helpful when you don’t want to take up a shelf, and it can be easier to pick up and see as well which is great for everyone.
Along with that, the more modern models also come with an adjustable shelving system called ‘Slide-Locking shelving’. In a nutshell, these just make managing the internals a lot easier and the improved shelves can hold up to 70lbs (31kg), so you can rest assured that it can hold the heaviest of ammunition, pistols or anything else you may want to store on the shelves. With that being said, it’s probably not a great idea to leave borderline or over-weight limit items on the shelves for long periods as the shelves may start to warp, however, no complaints have been made about this publicly as of yet.
Also, Winchester likes you to have a safe that looks good as well as feels good. They offer the 24-gun safe in three different colors. Gunmetal, Burgundy, and Sandstone. With this being said, there have been rumors of even more colors being released shortly, with some thinking ‘Hunter Green’ or ‘Spruce Brown’ as possible contenders. With that being said, no. The safe is not impacted by the color of the exterior.
With that being said, the inside felt of the safe is just a standard gray felt, however, this can be swapped out but is not covered by Winchester and is not recommended, should you want to spruce up the interior a little bit more.
Is it safe?
As the name suggests, it’s safe. The Winchester has won many awards and has certifications that will make other safes at the same price point quake. The weight, size and locking system combined will make it super difficult for anyone to break into it or take it away. Winchester has also backed this up with their limited lifetime warranty (more information below).
Speaking of the lock, the mechanical lock is hard-plated meaning that it can’t be drilled through by an intruder. Also, to add a little more confusing to someone who may want to get in, you can use the mechanical lock or the electronic lock.
The electronic lock (additional) is also EMP resistant and is even tougher to get through, so it may be worth the upgrade! More on that below
If there is a flood, the safe also has countermeasures to ensure that water will not build up around your firearms such as the pre-drilled holes that should eject water once it starts rising. However, the safe is on a base which is around 5 inches off the ground, so by standard the water shouldn’t go above this unless you have quite a bad flood.
Is it fireproof?
Just a little. The Winchester comes equipped with 3 layers of ½ inch fire-board in the door and two layers of ⅝ inch fire-board throughout the main part of the safe. Along with that, there is also a heat-expandable door seal to protect your guns in the event of a fire. From Winchester themselves, this would mean you get around 60 minutes of fire protection at 1400 degrees. This temperature rating is remarkable for the cost of the safe, so another great point for Winchester.
With this being said, 60 minutes may not seem like a very long time, however, in most countries the time it takes for firefighters to get to your house is very short, and most certainly under the 20-minute mark depending on where you live.
The various holes in the safe?
In the back of the safe, you may notice a small hole drilled through the metal. This is intentional from Winchester. This is a hole for cables and wires should you want to add a little sparkle to the safe. A few customers have done this by adding strip-LEDs to line the inside, which looks cool! Some people believe that this hole is for accidental discharge fumes when the cabinet was shut, however, this is just a rumor.
Some customers have also filled the safe with a dehumidifier which is great if you live in a humid region that can be picked up for right around $40 (£35) and can help with the humidity. This small drilled hole does not affect the integrity of the safe, which again is a great point for Winchester.
At the bottom, you will see the floor mounting pre-drilled holes also. These holes are not ‘holes’ as such as there is a layer of fire-board you will need to drill through first, but this then allows you to mount the safe to the floor.
Weight and Size of the Winchester
As ever with gun safes, Winchester has made a sturdy, durable gun safe which does weight quite a lot. To call the safe a beast would be an understatement, at a colossal 520lbs (235kg) the safe can’t just be moved without any issues. Winchester suggests that a few people and a dolly is the safest way to get the safe moved, but you can rest assured that no single human will just pick this up and walk away with it. To add to this, the Winchester can also be bolted down with pre-drilled holes in the bottom of the safe. Unfortunately, Winchester does sell the ‘Bolt down’ kit separately but is very affordable for people who want to make sure the safe doesn’t move once it’s in place.
Along with that, the door can be removed from the safe, but Winchester does not recommend this in the event of incorrect re-installation. However, due to its sheer weight, the safe can shed around 100lbs (45kg) just losing the door, so it may make moving it a lot easier for you and your friends. It should be noted that the door hinge pin is not a replacement part that can be bought from Winchester and not claimable under warranty, so make sure you keep it safe when moving it!
The size of the Winchester is 60x28x20 inches, so it should fit through most of your doors in your house, however it is worth measuring the width of your doors just to make sure it can get into your house. It’s also worth mentioning that the Winchester (when bought new) comes with a base, so maybe a little bit higher until it’s off its base, should you want to take it off.
Note: Winchester suggests this is mounted on a solid concrete floor, and not on a raised floor that may not be durable/strong enough for the 520lbs+ load.
EMP Resistant Locking System
Along with this, the door is locked down by an EMP-Resistant lock. From Sargent & Greenleaf, they’ve used their new EMP resistant lock, which helps with people who are concerned for EMP effects to the safe. Not only this, but the locks have been put through their paces by undergoing military-style testing and can prove they can withstand EMP attacks, passing the MIL-STD-561f, which is the only safe on the market with this certification. The PIN on the front is a 4-8 digit pin that can be any number you choose.
A question you may ask about the electronic locking system is what happens when it fails or you can’t get into the safe. The Winchester does NOT come with any override keys, with if you have a problem with the safe, it could be a problem. Fortunately, Winchester has thought of this and even though you will need to contact their customer services team, they will assist without any problems and have high praise for their efficiency when dealing with situations such as this.
Following on from above, the safe has batteries that operate the electronic lock. Fortunately, Winchester has thought about this and has put the battery holder on the outside of the safe, so that it can be easily replaced.
Winchester’s Warranty
As ever, Winchester has an outstanding warranty. They mostly offer the ‘Limited lifetime warranty’ with a free replacement guarantee if there is a fire or burglary that damages the safe which is quite good, considering that this could happen to everyone who has one.
Not only this, but Winchester has listened to its customers and has double their defect warranty from 1-year to 2 years. This came around due to a few comments about the electronic lock being faulty, but since fixed, have provided a better product and better warranty!
Winchester also offers an extended lock warranty that increases the warranty coverage to 9 years which is only $75 and can be purchased from Winchester directly, or when the product is bought. Something else that Winchester does which not many other companies do is the warranty is transferable. This means that if you were to upgrade your safe, and pass the safe off to someone else, they would get the same warranty as yourself.
Winchester believes that any issues with the safes can be fixed and if not replaced within a matter of days, and customers love the idea of being covered for such a long time, for such a simple safe.
What others are saying;
Winchester prides itself on customer satisfaction, receiving an overall 4.6/5 star review on various vendors. A mentioned above, Winchester did go through a small period of time with faulty or incomplete locks with the electronic locking system, however, this was resolved quite quickly to ensure that everyone who had a faulty lock didn’t need to worry as a replacement could be arranged, or a free locksmith to break down the door to get the valuables out.
Some reviews are also suggesting that the keypad is non-replaceable under the warranty of Winchester, however, Winchester did address this issue and offered replacements of any type on the locking mechanics, to ensure people were still happy with their safety.
Conclusion:
The Winchester 24 gun safe packs many great features into a very affordable safe. Things like the safe door come with the organizer that makes everything a lot easier to find as well as the above-average protection from fire. Not only that but the double warranty and manufacturer change up is perfect for someone who isn’t planning to expand their gun collection past 10-12 guns but someone who wants protection for their guns.
The Winchester is not easy to order online, as you need a heavy-duty lorry or flatbed to load and carry this as it does weigh 520lbs. However, shipping is available with most big-box retailers, and as mentioned above Winchester’s free curb-side delivery scheme to make sure all you need to do is install it which again, is probably best if you have your dolly and a few friends around to assist in moving this to its final place.
The Winchester 24 is ideal for people with a small collection of guns that wants to protect them from anything such as burglaries and fire damage. Winchester is proud of its safe and offers great services free of charge to make sure you get what you pay for with the safe. At the price point of the only X, the Winchester is both affordable, durable and should not be looked past when looking for the safe to protect your firearms.