Finding the Pick Gun limitations

[keith82687]

Hello again guys! I have yet another question

After messing around with raking, and then picking your normal padlocks and cheap 4pin no-special-security locks, I tried some of the harder stuff. I bought a snap pick gun and was ASTOUNDED at how insanely easy it was to use. All the cheap locks that took me minutes to pick opened within 2 seconds. I opened all my house locks each in under 10 seconds. None of these are high security and, since I don't want to get arrested =P and I dont have over 100 bucks to blow on a hs lock, I figure it's best to just ask here I know the pick gun has its limitations, but, is it simply LESS probable to open a hs lock with a pick gun or nearly impossible? I know my skill with the gun would have alot to do with it, but I'm just curious. By high security (not good with the lingo yet) I just mean locks with mushrooms and spools. I know there are some bump resistant locks that have one or more special pins that dont go all the way into the plug so they arent in contact with the bottom pin, so when you bump or snap the pick gun, it wont open correctly. My question for these is, if your pick gun has alot of kick to it, could it still open those kinds of locks?

P.S. I only discovered lockpicking101.com about a week ago...and OMG...it's my mecca

[keith82687]

So, I guess my questions would be:

pick resistant doesn't mean it's bump/snap gun resistant right?

and

If it is bump resistant, is this partially gotten around by just turning up the power on your snap gun?

[ridinplugspinnaz]

So, I guess my questions would be:

pick resistant doesn't mean it's bump/snap gun resistant right?

and

If it is bump resistant, is this partially gotten around by just turning up the power on your snap gun?

Many common bump-resistant locks prevent bumping by designing the lock cylinder such that at least one pin does not extend into the keyway as far as the other pins do. Thus, when you apply a bump key (aka a 999 key, for the fact that the key is cut to the deepest depth for all pins) to the lock, the key is unable to bump the raised pin and the cylinder cannot turn.

That said, most snap guns should be able to strike the pins, unless the bump-stopping pins are raised particularly high up into the keyway. It's possible to design a lock like that, but doing so can reduce the total number of bitting combinations for the lock quickly, especially if more than one pin is anti-bump.

[arbus]

Using a gun It can be hard to pick a lock with a raised bottom pin. Reason being by the time the gun strikes the raised pin the larger pins will be pushed too high.
If you have all lowish pins in the lock then you can pick it easier.

JUst a tip. Keep the tention on the gun low.. It will last much longer and wont compress the springs.

[Mutzy]

JUst a tip. Keep the tention on the gun low.. It will last much longer and wont compress the springs.

Best thing to keep in mind with a pickgun. I know of many colleagues that go through pickguns quickly because their tension settings is always high.

Pickgun Tip#2, When starting on a lock using the pickgun, adjust the tension dial to it's lowest setting (if it isn't already ) and use light to medium tension. If it doesn't open first try, give it maybe 5 seconds of clicking, then adjust the tension a bit higher (maybe 2-3 revolutions of the dial) and try. Keep going up till it inevitably opens.


As for mushroom pinned locks, i've found that they are a bit 'hit-or-miss' with them. Usually for me, it will get you to a false set way quicker, then you just need to put the gun down and probe for the mushroom pins with hand picks.

The term 'high security locks' in this sort of thing is a grey area. It is possible with some pin-tumbler mechanism locks to be able to set a few pins, depending on how it's keyed (high-low combos, x many security pins etc...). Other 'high high' security locks that don't have the generic pin-tumbler mechanism are almost unpickable with a pickgun.

[keith82687]

So you said the pick gun will wear out? The one I got has a lifetime guarantee. I guess they will replace it if it wears out. How much life do you normally get out of these guns as a locksmith? I know it depends on usage, but im just talking about ballpark. Months? Years? a decade, lol? Also are the electric pick guns way easier/better/faster than a pick gun or just mildly so?

[Mutzy]

Just because it comes with a lifetime guarantee doesn't mean it won't break down over time. It's a mechanical object, that's what they do. It sounds like you've got yourself a Majestic Life Lockaid gun, which gives that kind of guarantee, but there could be other that do also. If we break ours, (we have the Life Lockaid's too) we send them back to our supplier who gets them fixed, but that can take time. Having a quality gun, and treating it accordingly is the main thing with longevity.

It's just these guys that don't get the maximum life out of theirs, because they both use and store them at high tension, keeping the parts under higher stress basically continually. Treat it nice, and it will reward you. Most guys actually break the internal mechanism, which results in the handle pulling back, but there's no click. I've been using pickguns for the 4 years of my apprenticeship, and have only gone through one pickgun (as opposed to one every 12- 18 months or so), and that wasn't a mechanical fault, the arm that 'snaps' up just became weak and broke off (it did have a previous owner before me though...) I've still got it, and am thinking of doing a snap down modification at some point with it. But that's offtopic.

The only other tip i can give you is in regard to maximising the needle life. When you use it, angle the needle so that when it moves in the keyway, it never touches the side of the keyway, only the pins. You will soon be able to hear and feel the difference between the needle hitting pins only and warding as well.