Having a robust combination lock protecting your gun safe may make you feel more protected, but keep in mind that any combination lock can only be as secure as the person setting and remembering the combination allows it to be. A report conducted by Data Genetics found that almost one-fifth of all users resort to one of three four-digit combinations: “0000,” “1111” or “1234.” While it’s true that the combination for your 24 gun safe needs to be easy for you to remember, making it so easy that an unwanted intruder could easily figure it out defeats the purpose of having a combination lock. With that said, here are some tips to follow when choosing your combination.

Please also remember that you must let Champion Safe know the new combination to your dial or electronic lock immediately after changing it or your risk losing your lock protection warranty coverage.

Choosing an Electronic Lock Gun Safe Combination

All of Champion Safe’s electronic locks allow for six-digit combinations that should be set by the owner as soon as possible. When choosing your electronic lock combination, following a few simple guidelines will help you avoid choosing a combination that is simple for a potential thief to figure out. Three types of combinations make bad choices: repeating digits such as “000000” or “232323,” sequential series such as “123456” or significant and easy-to-guess numbers such as birthdays or anniversaries. However, do keep in mind that you should choose a combination that is easy enough for you to remember that you won’t have trouble accessing your valuables when needed.

Choosing a Mechanical Dial Lock Gun Safe Combination

A bad dial lock combination is easier to define that a good one, so keep in mind a few things you should avoid when choosing your new dial lock combination. First, don’t pick numbers all ending in either “0” or “5”, such as “30 — 10 — 45.” Second, avoid picking a combination that follows a clear descending or ascending sequence, such as “21 — 35 — 56.” Third, make sure that you keep a ten-number difference between successive numbers in your combination; in other words, don’t pick a combination like “42 — 38 — 56.” Lastly, avoid using any number from 0 to 20 or from 95 to 99 for the last number in your combination as choosing one of these numbers can cause an error that keeps the lock from correctly locking.

General Tips

If you don’t access your combination gun safe very frequently, there’s a good chance you may forget your combination at some point–or you may need someone else to access your safe when you’re not around. Place a copy of your combination in a secure location such as a physical lock box or in a password-secured app. Avoid using the same set of security numbers for multiple purposes, such as using your PIN number as your combination. Most importantly, if you believe that your combination may have been compromised for any reason, choose a new combination immediately. Click here to read “How to Change Your Lock Combination.”