A lock pick gun — manual snap gun or electric — flicks a needle against the pins so they jump to the shear line. It is a bumping tool, not a picking tool, and it opens simple pin tumbler locks quickly. Here are guns that actually work, with needles, tension wrenches and honest descriptions of what they will and will not open.
Guide
Lock Pick Guns
The needle rests under the key pins. When you pull the trigger it snaps upward, transferring energy through the key pins to the driver pins, which fly above the shear line for a fraction of a second — like the balls in a Newton's cradle. If you have light tension on the plug at that instant, it turns. Electric pick guns repeat this vibration many times per second; manual snap guns do one snap per trigger pull.
On locks with standard pins and normal tolerances: yes, often in seconds. On locks with spool or serrated security pins: mostly no — the security pins false-set and stop the plug. On tight, high-security or dimple cylinders: no. That is why a pick gun is a useful tool but a poor teacher; it does nothing for your single pin picking, which is what the belt ranking measures.
Adjustable spring strength, no batteries, quieter, cheaper. Needs some technique to combine the snap with tension.
Faster and easier — hold tension, press the button. Louder and heavier. Ours come with a set of straight and curved needles and a top-of-keyway tension tool.
Hobbyists who want a fun different tool, makers who need to open cheap cabinet locks with lost keys, and locksmith apprentices. We list them alongside a note we mean: learn to pick with a hook first, on a clear lock, then treat the gun as a shortcut for easy locks.
Pick guns are lock picking tools and follow the same rules as picks: legal to own for hobby use in nearly all of Europe, with carry restrictions in the UK. Some countries treat electric guns more strictly — check the legality page. Only use on locks you own. Basics of tension (which matter even with a gun) are in how to pick a lock for beginners.
