Lockpick gun

[mjkings]

I have been picking locks sucessfuly for 4 days now. I bought a Schlage lock. I can pick it, I can rake it, I can use a bump key. I can't use a lockpick gun. I have watched all the videos on utube and they say it is the easiest way to pick a lock, but I just can't get it to work. I have tried every way to do it but it will not work. I have a Brockhage BPG-10 pickgun and any help would be appreciated

[billdeserthills]

The trick with a pick gun is you hafta hit all the pins at the same time, so the needle must be precisely parallel to all the pins. It can take lots of practice to learn how to hold the gun. If possible I would take the middle pins out of a practice lock, just leaving the first & last pins. I also like to start with the lowest tension on the pick gun & don't forget a shot of lube into the lock. I like top of keyway tension but it's not a rule

[stratmando]

Agreed, I think reducing Impact sure helps. Start at lowest settings, slowly increase, Good Luck.

[Squelchtone]

I have been picking locks sucessfuly for 4 days now. I bought a Schlage lock. I can pick it, I can rake it, I can use a bump key. I can't use a lockpick gun. I have watched all the videos on utube and they say it is the easiest way to pick a lock, but I just can't get it to work. I have tried every way to do it but it will not work. I have a Brockhage BPG-10 pickgun and any help would be appreciated

Wait, you've been picking for a whole 4 days and you're baffled that a pick gun isn't opening a Schlage lock with a click or two of the trigger? I've been doing this for 15+ years and I still can't always get a pick gun to open a lock reliably. As I mention in my other pick gun posts, pick guns are not a magical wand, you still need to understand fully how a lock works, how the pins and springs interact, and it is 99% the skill of the operator that opens the lock, not the pick gun. a pick gun does not guarantee success, you just need more practice to get better. Look inside that Schlage keyway as well, the warding will prohibit you from holding the pick gun straight up and down, you will have to hold it at an angle in order to get under the pins and hit them with the needle. Most guns also have a knob to adjust how hard you hit the pins. There could also be an issue if you are holding the wrench with either not enough or way too much tension, which is something most new pickers tend to do.

I'm curious, but are you a hobbyist learning picking for fun or a junior locksmith or something else? Are you hoping to just get into one particular lock that you happen to be locked out of? When I started, I just got a $20 dollar pick set, I didn't go wild and get bump keys and a pick gun all in the same week. It seems you got all the tools possible to open locks, you will soon find out that bump keys are a fun party trick, but a lock more satisfaction comes from picking locks with a pick set and using your skills.

good luck,
Squelchtone

[mjkings]

My plan is to study locks and practice lockpicking for 2 years and then get a job with a locksmith

[billdeserthills]

My plan is to study locks and practice lockpicking for 2 years and then get a job with a locksmith

Picking locks might be around 10% of my business, you'd be farther ahead to start as an apprentice locksmith & work for 2 years learning key blank identification

[GWiens2001]

My plan is to study locks and practice lockpicking for 2 years and then get a job with a locksmith

Picking locks might be around 10% of my business, you'd be farther ahead to start as an apprentice locksmith & work for 2 years learning key blank identification

+1

Gordon

[mjkings]

I still can't get that darned lockpick gun to work. I have a Brinks paddlelock and I got that to work a few times but no more. I was led to believe that the gun was the easiest way. I have had more luck with SPP.

[billdeserthills]

I still can't get that darned lockpick gun to work. I have a Brinks paddlelock and I got that to work a few times but no more. I was led to believe that the gun was the easiest way. I have had more luck with SPP.

You always hafta make sure the little screw that holds the pick is tight--if it loosens up the lock will never open
That's why I like to get a longer screw and double nut it or they loosen up

[mjkings]

On the Schlage lock I pull the gun out and look inside and it looks like all the pins are up but it still won't open.

[GWiens2001]

Probably used the pick gun too much and deformed the pins. Now they are stuck above the shear line.

Gordon

[billdeserthills]

On the Schlage lock I pull the gun out and look inside and it looks like all the pins are up but it still won't open.

How could any lock open with all it's pins up?

[mastersmith]

There is a very "particular" timing that has to be present for a pick gun to perform consistently. Until you get the timing with your tension down, you will struggle. If you can "look in and see the pins up", you are doing something other than what you need to do to open a lock. I am guessing you are cranking up the tension? How are the pins to move? You need two things to work a pick gun, deft tensioning and proper striking force. Both take practice.

[GWiens2001]

On the Schlage lock I pull the gun out and look inside and it looks like all the pins are up but it still won't open.

How could any lock open with all it's pins up?

Comb pick?

Gordon