Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe Review

I’m honestly surprised Mesa is somehow still in business. They sell the lowest quality products with false advertising and have horrible reviews. The owner has been in and out of jail multiple times and if I were you, I would stay as far away as possible from this company and their products. In this review, I’ll help you understand why the Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe is not only a low quality product but way overpriced.

Lock – Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe

First and always most important for any safe is the lock. Mesa gives you the option of two un-rated locks. Included in the price is a Solenoid electronic lock. These locks are the lowest quality in the safe industry and can be bounced, picked and opened in a variety of ways. This lock will inevitably fail causing you to have to pay a locksmith to drill it open.

The second lock option is an un-rated mechanical lock. Whenever a lock doesn’t have a brand, this is a huge red flag. They don’t list the brand because they know it is going to fail and don’t want any calls or customer service responsibility. These mechanical locks are not built to the same security or quality standards as S&G or Big Red. It will begin to grind and eventually get stuck.

Neither of these lock options include a re-locker or hard plate which are essential security features. They actually falsely advertise this on their listings. Solenoid locks can not have a re-locker as it is not compatible with the mechanism. Don’t fall for their tricks.

Security – Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe

Another big red flag for the Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe is that it has absolutely no burglary rating or testing. Not UL, not CA DOJ, absolutely nothing. They advertise it as 12 gauge steel but considering this safe is imported from China, they don’t list the steel thickness in terms of gauge and list it in MM which this safe would be the equivalent of 2.5 mm. This is actually a decent amount of steel for a safe but then Mesa only uses 3/4″ steel locking bolts. This is very small and this door can easily be pried open with basic tools in a few minutes. I would not recommend this safe from a security standpoint.

Fire Rating

The Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe claims to have a 30 minute fire rating at 1200 degrees. Unfortunately, this is only a factory test and not verified by any independent agency. I would not believe this fire rating for a single second. Mesa falsely advertises nearly every component of this safe and I am positive this is also incorrect. In addition, they have no reports or testimonials of their safes going through fires which is another red flag. They do seem to have an intumescent door seal that does expand to multiple times its size during a fire to keep heat and smoke out.

Style and Function

The Mesa MGL series is finished in the lowest quality textured black powder coat paint consistent with nearly every imported safe coming out of China. Hardware includes a brushed silver drop down handle and chrome keypad. In addition, the interior is fully carpeted in gray with the option for a gun interior or all shelf interior. All in all, this is a bare bones, cheap as you can get gun safe.

Warranty

The Mesa MGL series is covered by their one year limited warranty. In writing, this warranty is actually not that bad. It covers the cost of sending out a technician to your location to repair the safe and includes the cost of shipping for all replacement parts. However, getting a hold of Mesa’s customer service department and getting them to actually honor the warranty is an entirely different issue. Finally, I would be very surprised if they actually follow through with the warranty and help you out.

They also offer a lifetime burglary and fire warranty for their gun safes. However, they require you to uninstall the safe and ship it back to them. On a product of this price point, that’s nearly the same cost of the safe rendering the “lifetime warranty” completely useless.

The Bottom Line

Would I buy the Mesa MGL24 Gun Safe to store my valuables? No, not a chance. With no security rating, false advertising on nearly every part of the safe and an unreliable company for service and warranty, I would stay as far away from Mesa safe as possible.

With that said, there is a safe with a UL RSC burglary rating that has even more features that I do recommend. The Browning Sporter Gun Safes feature a UL RSC Burglary Rating, UL Approved Lock, ThermaBlock high quality fire rating, a much more attractive finish and is made by a reputable and long standing American company.