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I think Mythbusters did padlocks, but I don't know if they did the standard door lock test. We see it in movies and tv shows, but can a locked door be "unlocked" by shooting the lock with a handgun?

EDIT: Let's keep this movie related: 1 shot, direct hit (no miss).

Jamiec
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MPelletier
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    How many times can I shoot the lock? – fred Apr 18 '11 at 15:09
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    How big the calibre? :-) – Sklivvz Apr 18 '11 at 15:10
  • @fred: Well, if you want to pepper it till it breaks... I guess you can shoot through anything. Let's keep this movie related: 1 shot, direct hit (no miss). – MPelletier Apr 18 '11 at 15:11
  • @Sklivvz: I'm no gun expert. Whatever calibres are available for handguns for police / federal agents, I guess. – MPelletier Apr 18 '11 at 15:12
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    In most movies it is one shot, sometimes 2, very dramatical effects need a whole magazine to be shot in the door. :) – user unknown Apr 18 '11 at 20:07
  • In movies the hero can open the door by kicking it open, usually on the first or second try. At least Chuck Norris could. – Robusto Apr 18 '11 at 21:28
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    @Robusto Chuck Norris just needs to raise an eyebrow at the lock, and it will open out of fear. – Carson Myers Apr 19 '11 at 04:23
  • What the Mythbusters also have shown is that the punch from a bullet is not really strong. It penetrates deeply because it concentrates its force to a small point, but you wouldn't be knocked over as shown by many movies. This also counts for a door. A normal pistol bullet doesn't do much damage beyond punching a hole and wouldn't force a normal door open. – Martin Scharrer Apr 19 '11 at 14:16
  • FPSRussia (of youtube) cut a door in half in his AA12 video. Although an AA12 is a little bigger than a handgun... just a little – Coomie Aug 31 '12 at 02:57
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    While outright -opening- of doors by shooting might be difficult, breaching the lock in a way that makes opening them trivial should be quite possible. Look up "lock snapping" - a shot at an angle should be well capable of doing the same thing as the specialized tool does (snapping the keyed cylinder in half) and then all that remains is removing the broken halves and turning the latch with a bent piece of wire. – SF. Jan 03 '13 at 11:43

2 Answers2

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It is possible to breach a door using bullets, but a normal handgun is normally underpowered. Shotguns are suited for this task. The door isn't unlocked but partly broken so that it opens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door_breaching#Ballistic_breaching:

Ballistic breaching uses a projectile weapon to breach an opening. Weapons used can range from small arms to the 120mm cannon of a main battle tank with a HEAT round, which will breach most obstacles easily, though the force involved may violate the rules of engagement.[3] A less damaging ballistic breach needs to destroy either the latch and lock, or the hinges of the door, and the ideal choice for this is the shotgun. While in theory other firearms can be used, handguns are usually underpowered[4] and rifles are less effective than the shotgun and pose a far higher risk of ricochet and collateral injury.[3] Most shotgun ammunition can be used for breaching, though the risk of injury varies with type.

[1] FM 3-06-11. US Army. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-06-11/ch3.htm. Section 3-20, Breaching

[2] Don Munson. "Action Target’s Tactical Breach Door". Tactical Response Magazine. http://www.hendonpub.com/publications/tacticalresponse/forcedentry.aspx.

[3] US Army. FM 7-8 INFANTRY RIFLE PLATOON AND SQUAD. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/7-8/ch6.htm. Chapter 6, Urban Operations

[4] See Mythbusters Special 9

Martin Scharrer
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    "the 120mm cannon of a main battle tank with a HEAT round, which will breach most obstacles easily" Would not have guessed. – Nick T May 18 '11 at 14:39
  • **far higher risk of ricochet** Its funny how nobody ever gets hurt like that in movies (unless its a plot move) – Stefan Aug 30 '12 at 13:27
  • Reference 1 in your post has nothing to do with locks but shotguns vs "doorknobs" and "hinges." Reference 4, the Mythbusters episode, examined _rifles_ and _shotguns_ vs door locks, (padlocks were different episode than the reference). Your answer is all over and skirts the handgun specific question. "...normal handgun is normally underpowered..." is a terrible sentence that your references do not support, sorry. My answer is better suited to the OP. – geoO Dec 30 '12 at 13:17
  • @geoO: As I explain, the lock is of course never unlocked, but broken (out of the door). This can be done by braking the doorknob or the hinges out of the rest of the door. "...normal handgun is normally underpowered..." comes directly from the quotes text "handguns are usually underpowered[4]" and is easily understood: A pistol bullet only punshes one hole in the door, not rips off the whole look. I also don't see why I shouldn't mentioning rifles and shotguns and the OP as well at least 33 other people agree with me here. – Martin Scharrer Dec 31 '12 at 10:02
  • The OP question is quite specific. 33 other people misread the question and simply upvoted the only answer available at the time even though it didn't apply. Did everyone follow your references like I did? The OP, I quote, "can a locked door be "unlocked" by shooting the lock with a _handgun?_" Simple. Different weapons beg different questions. Any answer here should address handguns and not handwave them away with "handguns are underpowered" and move on to rifles and shotguns. – geoO Dec 31 '12 at 17:53
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    @geoO: Well, I answer this question: Q: "can a locked door be "unlocked" by shooting the lock with a handgun?" A: handguns are too weak; door is never unlooked but broken. – Martin Scharrer Jan 01 '13 at 09:20
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    @MartinScharrer depends on your definition of "unlocked". Removing the lock from the door through gratuitous application of force counts as unlocking in my book. – jwenting Aug 23 '13 at 13:50
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The Box Of Truth blog examined the movie claim with padlocks, rather than door locks.

This is a good reference because he uses pistol, rifle and shotgun with varying loads.

I know this reference isn't about door locks, but the close up of the damage and clear explanation of the ammunition involved lends better understanding towards a conclusion with respect to door locks that are often just brass cylinders, not even laminated steel as with the padlocks.

geoO
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    I agree it is a good reference, but it isn't a relevant reference, as the OP explicitly said he wasn't interested in padlocks. – Oddthinking Aug 30 '12 at 00:42
  • But it does address handguns. We can extrapolate from the damage to padlocks to door locks, which are softer material (brass vs hardened steel.) – geoO Dec 31 '12 at 17:55
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    no you can't, and your assertion about materials is also wrong. – jwenting Aug 23 '13 at 13:48