Shooting the Lock Off

[Linda Adams]

In a lot of films and TV shows, the detective shoots off a padlock on the door. This is a blog with photos showing actually how hard that really is:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot5.htm

[three seven]

About as easy as blowing up a car by shooting the fuel tank then.

[loquax]

If you can't find a shotgun I'd suggest bolt croppers. Or if you want your character to be law abiding, don't have him breaking and entering in the first place http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

[emeraldcite]

great demonstration.


I think i'll keep that in mind if i ever have a character that needs to get into a padlocked room.

[Good Word]

That was truly great entertainment!

No wonder they use fiction to get the lock off--works so much easier. Heehee

Thanks Linda for posting that.

Loved it.

[My-Immortal]

Gotta love the shotguns. :)

[Jamesaritchie]

In defense of the movies, most of the locks you see shot off are NOT the layered type show in this demonstration. Or didn't used to be. One of the reasons the layered locks were developed was precisely because they're darned near bullet proof. Joined locks respond much better to bullets, and can be shot off with relative ease.

And, of course, no lock is any better than whatever it's locking. Even when a bullet won't open the lock, it will often destroy the hinge the lock is holding in place.

There's also the problem of where the bullet strikes. Layered locks have nothing in the center than a bullet can harm, and this is by design, so shooting a hole in the center of the lock proves nothing. A bullet that strikes where the bar and link join can have very different results. I didn't see any of the rounds in the demonstration aimed at the right spot to open a good lock.

[loquax]

Alohomora

[Graham]

Special Forces, both military and law enforcement, often use the same tool to open locked doors. It's called breeching. Our people and the British use a standard 410 shotgun, but it is not the locks that are shot. We blow the hinges off the door and the door falls open from the opposite side. All the padlock does is become a central hinge.

It's pretty much the same with key locked doors. Many movies show a single hand gun bullet busting a locked door. Doesn't quite work like that and can in fact jam the locking device. Even a shot aimed straight through the key hole can cause problems.

But I'm learning quite quicxkly that the science of this type of issuenever comes between a good scene and reality. So I suspect while we writers might like to stick to reality, the reality of 100 minutes of film in the can requires the suspension of relaity for the expedientcy of time.

Sometimes I think the Directors under estimate the intelligence of the audience.

Regards

Graham

[DaveKuzminski]

I'm waiting for the scene in which the good guy shoots the lock so the door can't be opened later by the bad guy so that the good guy has more time to get a warrant to search the locked room/structure for evidence before it can be removed or destroyed! ;)

[emeraldcite]

Lol.

Nice twist.

I was thinking of making a nice comedic moment out of it.

[loquax]

Is it illegal to buy a load of padlocks and start locking random things? You know - school gates, bikes, things that already have padlocks on them... Just a thought.

[Linda Adams]

Is it illegal to buy a load of padlocks and start locking random things? You know - school gates, bikes, things that already have padlocks on them... Just a thought.

Probably be malicious mischief or vandalism.

[loquax]

Probably be malicious mischief or vandalism.Damn...

[DaveKuzminski]

Not to mention expensive unless you steal the locks which only adds another charge against you if you're caught.

You know, that's funny. Someone stealing locks is funny when you think about it enough to consider it from different angles.

[loquax]

Not to mention expensive unless you steal the locks which only adds another charge against you if you're caught.

You know, that's funny. Someone stealing locks is funny when you think about it enough to consider it from different angles.You can buy five padlocks for a pound at poundland (that's about $1.25).

[Soccer Mom]

You're a twisted individual, Loq. I like the way you scheme--er--think.

[Kate Thornton]

I think vandalism, trespass, malicious mischief are only the beginning. If you put your own lock on something which is already locked - and the original lock is one with a "fire" key (a key the fire dept uses) - and there is an emergency, you could be liable for other more serious criminal charges. All it would take is for the ambulance not to get in, or the fire truck, and an injury or death to occur.

School gates especially.

Kate

[Popeyesays]

In a lot of films and TV shows, the detective shoots off a padlock on the door. This is a blog with photos showing actually how hard that really is:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot5.htm

I would imagine that there are any number of self-inflicted gunshot wounds from people trying to shoot off a lock. I don't think there's a police car or firetruck in the western world that doesn't have pry-bars, axes and bolt-cutters readily available.

Then' there's the two man battering rams which work just fine.

Regards,
Scott

[Gillhoughly]

I had a character try that and it didn't work for him--he kept shutting his eyes when he pulled the trigger. :tongue


Usually I just let myself into a window with a brick. Noisy, but effective.

[BJ Bourg]

I would imagine that there are any number of self-inflicted gunshot wounds from people trying to shoot off a lock. I don't think there's a police car or firetruck in the western world that doesn't have pry-bars, axes and bolt-cutters readily available.

Then' there's the two man battering rams which work just fine.

Regards,
Scott

A little story about a locked door...we once had a search warrant for a motel room that was occupied by several burglars. We had been working all night and things were happening fast. When we arrived at the motel room, the plan was for me to kick the door open. I quickly surveyed the door and figured it would be an easy one, so I just shot out a lazy side kick. Nothing happened. This didn't make me happy. I stepped back and lunged into a flying sidekick. As I was in mid-air, shooting my leg forward, I saw the doorknob turn. It was too late. My foot connected with the door and the guy on the other side went flying into the room and onto his back. After we had our suspects under control, I glanced down and saw one of them had the top layer of skin peeled off their foot, along with a toe nail. I asked if that happened when he sledge-hammered his way through the store. He said, "No! You did that when you kicked the door open on top of me!"

bjb

[Good Word]

BJ, have you ever considered being a stunt man? rofl

I once stepped on someone's bare foot while wearing ski boots once...

[BJ Bourg]

I've never seen ski boots -- don't they have spikes in the soles? I imagine that must have been a little unpleasant for the recipient.

Take care,

bjb