You’ve seen it in movies, a person fires one single bullet at the lock on a door, hits it with pinpoint accuracy, the bullet doesn’t ricochet right back at them and the door opens with much ease. In real life, shit’s just not that easy.
On the YouTube channel Demolition Ranch, they decided to not only test out shooting locks, but exactly what caliber of bullet it would take to obliterate the lock.
The first caliber that Matt from Demolition Ranch used in an attempt to break open a Brinks padlock was a .22 long rifle ammunition that was fired out of a P22. It barely made a dent. Even after five shots of the .22 long rifle ammunition, the lock was perfectly operational.
He then used a 9mm pistol, and while it did some damage to the lock after several shots, it was still latched.
Next Matt used 5.56 ammo from a 16-inch barrel Kel-Tec, and the bullet went right through the heart of the lock, but it still wouldn’t budge. After several shots from the rifle, plus the existing damage from the other guns, the lock finally opened.
He then fires a .44 Magnum cartridge from a Henry Big Boy Steel with a 20-inch barrel. With some sharpshooting, Matt makes a direct hit, but it doesn’t open. After several more shots, the lock opens.
He ups the ante and uses a 1-once slug out of a 12-gauge shotgun. Even with the huge shotgun the lock refuses to break. After another shot, the ammunition split the wood plank that the lock was dangling from. So technically it did open the lock.
Lastly he went with a beastly Barrett .50 BMG and it did not disappoint. The bullets disintegrated the lock and the wood board. So if you plan on removing a lock, a powerful semi-automatic rifle works best, but it’s not particularly convenient for on-the-move endeavors.
If this premise seems familiar, it may be because Mythbusters attempted the same experiment.