HPC Snap Gun

[7mazrik]

Hi Im proficiant at hand picking , I recently bought an HPC "pistol pick", for some reason it just doesnt work well....any one familiar with this snap gun. Either I dont know what i'm doing or I i bought a dud. (probobly I dont know what Im doing) Id appreciate any imput

[n2oah]

You might need to learn how to "bounce" the tension wrench. But first, insert the tip of the pick right below the bottom pins so the tip of the pick is touching the pins, but not moving them. Then use a medium-heavy tension on the lock in the direction the plug is supposed to turn. After that, depress the trigger, if the lock doesn't open, try it again, and again, until you feel that the lock won't open or you're doing something wrong. You can also play around with the tension or the settings on the snap gun.

[gary call]

A good way to use this gun,is to use the tension wrench supplied.(should be a double ended wrench and extremly tough)

place the gun into the lock resting below the pins first.then place the tension wrench into the lock at the base and apply just enough turning pressure on this so your thumb turns a tad white from the pressure.

with the gun set onto the higest 'bouce' setting pull the trigger 7-10 times in quick succession.if this does not work odds on this lock will not go with the manual pick gun.

[yippeegollies]

HPC pick guns...my last resort when I'm having difficulty. They are great. They open almost any pin tumbler lock. I hate to use it because it takes all the skill out of picking.(hurts my pride)

Same rules apply. Light tension using your favorite tension tool. Try top of keyway if bottom tension is not working. Also try adjusting the wheel on the pick gun from minimum to maximum at different settings.

Alternatively, I have a buddy who just uses the tension of the pick gun while snapping. (as n2oah mentions) but this is quite an advance technique. This guy (my buddy) is a lockpicking maniac. He eats tumblers for breakfast and brushed his teeth with graphite.

Yip

[Eyes_Only]

What I like to do with a difficult lock is angle or tip the pick needle just a little bit forward and backwards. To me it seems to help once in a while when the pin stack is configured in a high, low, high, low pattern. If the first or the very last pin stack is high, angling the pick can help strike them, but this is just my guess and technique, its not textbook.