Interesting to see the difference in opinions on EPG's. Most of the locksmiths I know here in the UK will use an electric gun, don't know many who even have a manual one . If it cannot be hand picked, bumped or by-passed the EPG comes out before finally using the rotary pick(drill), or snapper.
Personally I keep three different EPG's, Wendt's, HPC, and an adapted HPC , All have their own characteristics and can be used on different locks.
The Wendt gun is regarded by most as the standard to follow, with practice there are not many locks that cannot be opened by the EPG, dimple locks are still a bit of problem for it. There are many copies and variations from China and others
I don't know what the lock standards are in the States, certainly in the UK, with anti-pick,anti-bump and now anti-snap cylinders, we have to have as many options as possible to gain entry.