Can you really shoot a lock open?

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MythMod

I think it would be possible, depending on the gun and the lock. My brother is in the army and I know they are trained to kick open locked doors. I would think that if you can kick it, you could, potentially shoot a lock...luck might have something to do with it too and a heck of a good marksman!

I think they made a little mistake, i heard you were supposed to shoot the little u-shaped metal part that you lock in to the main body that they were shooting and the bullet will shear right through that little metal bar, plus, then u can stand to the side and there is no ricochet (of course, this only works 4 padlocks

Its definitely possible. The British SAS use a sawed off shotgun to do room clearing. 3 shots, both hinges and the knob. I highly doubt a handgun smaller than a .44 will do anything.

I did two deployments in Iraq, sometimes we used to shoot locks off hasps with our m16's. obviously the best way to go would be to use lock shredding rounds from 12 gauge shotguns... But if we didn't have those we used our m16's which are .223 caliber. the way we did it was to put the muzzle of the rifle right on the shackle of the lock, turn our head away and shoot it. There would be lock pieces flying around so it's not that safe, but we had on our body armor and helmets, so we thought we were pretty protected from it. Anyhow, that's how we did it, shot the shackle, not the body of the lock, and press the muzzle directly against it.

p.s. we also stood to the side of the lock, not directly in front of it

I wonder if teflon bullets would make a difference?

They definitely need to revisit this. I watched a rerun of this episode, and switched over to the Military Channel, and the first thing I see is a US soldier in Iraq blow the lock off a wrought iron gate with a shotgun. He wasn't hurt or anything, the lock was just blown through the gate and went skipping across the ground on the other side. Also they need to try blowing out the hinges or the flimsy piece of metal the padlock keeps from swinging open as the other person said

yes u can definatly shoot a lock open with a hangun.i have personally done it with a 44 ca hangun. on the episode they used a 9 mil and a 357, but did they try a 44 ca. hangun, or even a 50 ca. hangun? no they didnt. they think the 357 ca. hangun is "the daddy of them all" hangun, when it is just a baby compaired to the 44 ca., and 50 ca. hand guns. one thing they did get correct is shooting the body of the lock, instead of the shank of the lock. yes the body of the lock is definatly the weakest point to shoot in a lock. i would like to see more use of the 44 ca, and 50 ca. handguns anywhere guns are tested to bust a myth on myth busters. definatly belive there would be very different outcomes with these very high ca. handguns.

I'm in the army and I have seen doors kicked open, shot open, and blown open using explosives, both padlocks and deadbolts. Never seen any successful 9mm breeches, but plenty of shotgun entries. Also there are flash hiders designed for the M4/M16 expressly for shooting padlocks. And it is the shank (round part) that it is designed to shoot. The guys on Mythbusters were spot on about safety. When I was in Iraq, one guy in our team was too close to a door when the lock was shot and he got a nice piece of buckshot lodged deep into his leg. He was just fine but kept his nickname, "Buckshot." I have been hit by shrapnel from such ballistic entries, but fortunately not hurt. Not something to be tried at home without serious protection.

Okay, while I was amused by the ease at with the shotgun and the Garand tore apart the lock, it just felt like they gave short shrift to the handgun portion of the myth. Give me a break, a 9mm and a .357? Let's at least try a .45 if not one of the serious pieces of hardware like a .44 magnum, .50 pistol, .454 Casull and/or a 500 S&W Magnum.

When I was a kid, my dad attempted to shoot a lock off. It was a cabin we had out in West Texas, the lock was a Master lock (don't drive 12 hours to realize you forgot the key). He shot it multiple times with a .45, using hollow points. He also ruined an axe. The combination of the two finally broke it, but it took about an hour hacking away at it, and I don't think the shots had much effect (then again, like one person said, shooting the lock with the muzzle on the lock would probably work, but would be extremely dangerous).

During the show did the mythbusters shoot the metal loop thing? i think thats what they should do in the myth to fully bust it. The loop thing could be weaker and break when fired at with a handgun.

You can shoot open a lock with a handgun-I've heard many stories of US GI's blasting open padlocks with a burst of a Thompson or of a Colt M1911, both a .45 cal. pistol round-they aim at the the little U-shaped part that hold the locks in place. You don't shoot the middle of the lock because you could take out the mechanism for unlocking the lock, and wind up locking it for good. On the locks inside doors, you don't shoot the lock itself for the same reason-you either shoot the bolt or the hinges with a deer slug from a shotgun.

When you shoot a padlock, you shoot at it aiming down on the lock. I seen this episode and it was poorly done, they actually messed it up. I think Jamie would definitely agree that they did mess up on it.

They showed a clip of Big Trouble in little China. If you noticed, he is actually aiming down at the lock, he is not aiming up or straight on with it.

You can shoot a lock straight into the body of the lock thinking you're going to cause the lock to break off/unlock or whatever.

I was about to say the military breaches locks with guns all the time, but it looks like the rest of you beat me to it. Hell, I'm pretty sure it's doctrine. This was one of the more poorly done myths I've seen.

If you paid attention to the screen shots from 'Big Trouble in Little China', the locks used were *hardly* ANYTHING close to resembling Master locks. Master locks are well known for being nearly impossible to penetrate. Now, the locks that *were* in 'Big Trouble...' were ALL round, thin locks. I think the team needs to do this one over right because I think that if they did it over with their locks and used those cheap-o thin, round locks, probably not even name brand since the jail didn't have the look itself of being state-of-the-art, it would be a more accurate test. In fact, once they found locks like those, they should *first* replicate a cell like those in 'Big Trouble...' with mesh like a fence, iron poles, and a door built from the same locked with one of those locks and ~then~ see if a cell like that would even keep someone in. If a person locked in a replicated cage just like that one couldn't break free locked in with the use of a lock that doesn't have the kind of guarantee that a Master lock does, specifically one of those thin, round locks, *then* the test should be done using ONLY handguns since that was the firearm in the film. I bet that a larger gauge handgun ~could~ do the trick, but also, it shouldn't be a six shooter, it should only be a gun that uses a clip. So, the largest caliber bullet that fits that description and a lock that fits that description–also, in the film the locks were shot off from what looks like about three to four feet away. It makes for fun to watch when they beef up the tests after they've busted them, but overall, I wish that the show had much stricter "quality control" over the experiments (safely, of course) so that replication of the myths came as close as possible and no further at all (but that's just me).

They do need to try different locks. Master Locks are made in layers which helps them stay locked even through catastrophic destruction...doesn't anyone remember the Master Lock commercial where they blew a hole right through the lock with a rifle and it remained locked?

Anyway, most other locks are solid body locks and may fail under different circumstances.

It's too bad Master Lock moved their manufacturing operations to Mexico putting 800+ U.S. workers on the unemployment line. I'll never buy another Master Lock again.

In the Movie. They Shoot the lock from the top not rite at the center of the lock. maybe the force rip out the metal bar that hook around the door?

hmm btw u can use a hammer to open a padlock if u hit it om the top. sow a 9mm shoot at the top of the padlock sud open it