Handgun breaking chain

B

BoogieMan

New member
Just read a great thread about guns in the movies. . Just wondering about a scene I saw in Young Guns (one of my all time favorites). Its been in plenty of others.
Billy shoots the chain apart on Doc's handcuffs, actually YGII.
Could a .45 break chain. I wouldnt think so, but the chain of that day wasnt like modern chain either. Personally I have never tried to shoot anyones handcuffs off. Will it work??
 
breaking a chain

Many years ago I was 4 wheeling in the mountains in a new to me pickup when I found that I had a flat tire. The spare tire had a good quality Yale lock on it and I didn't have the key. I put flat rocks near the rear tires and attempted to shoot the lock off with my .357 Mag with jacketed 158 grain SP pullets. I shot the lock 3 times, the only mark on it was a smear of lead that wiped off with my thumb. No damage whatsoever to the lock. A lead .45 slug breaking a steel chain? I really doubt it.
 
Most guns could break something like a chain or lock but the question always remain about ricochet and where is the round going in the end. Some of it depends on bullet select, FMJ should work a lot better than other types of rounds.

Still in the end safety must always be first and I highly dont recommend doing this.. Lock cutters are cheap and available almost anywhere... I would never recommend shooting or attempting to shoot handcuffs off unany circumstances ever..
 
I posted the question because its not something I would try. More of a movie trivia type question. But the one who replied about the .357 and the lock is a pretty good clue. Thats a modern high power round compared to an old west cowbor revolver. Of course its a modern lock compared to a hand hammered chain.Maybe mythbusters will give this a try. lol
 
Masterlock use to have commercials with guns shooting clear through the lock, so it isnt impossible for a gun to open the lock... Its going to depend on what the lock is made of and how thick it is, the type of ammo used, the angle of the shot. Keep in mind angled steel increase its thickness compared to verticle steel and the angle helps deflect the impact.

Angled steel is used in armored vehicles to achieve the effect of greater thickness and deflection..
 
Don't kow the specifc scene refered too, but Hollywood has been "shooting" and breaking chains and door locks for a long, long time. And like a lot of Hollywood stuff there is more fiction than reality in the way it is portrayed.

Think about this, for a moment, applying some 3-400 ft/lbs of energy might break a chain, but with things like handcuffs, how is it that energy magically ONLY affects the chain link?

Never done it myself, and don't plan to, but I would think that there should be a bit of force "tugging" on the cuffs as the bullet smashes the link.

Of course, I've seen heroes shot in the shoulder, and 5 minutes later, climbing a ladder and fighting (and eventually) beating the bad guy, too.

That don't happen in the real world, either.
 
and I say yes- back in those days metal urging was in its early days and iron was pig iron (this is why modern ammo can't be used in a gun before 1900) and not as strong as today’s standards
 
A chain used on handcuff's, you bet. It does not really have to break it, just bend one link enough to get them apart. A heavy duty chain like used to secure loads on a truck, no.
 
""I doubt the chain would break. I'm sure everyone in the immediate vicinity would be peppered badly with fragments of bullet and rock."""

If someone was shooting a chain you bet I would be ducking and dialing the paremedics.
How about you guys that shoot steel targets at a distance. Certainly one of you must have pulled a shot and hit the chain.
 
Masterlock use to have commercials with guns shooting clear through the lock,
Click to expand...

Yeah, Rifles.

I thought everybody had handcuff keys nowadays? I've had one for 30 years. They're about 6 bucks at the police supply store.
 
Edward429451
Quote:
Masterlock use to have commercials with guns shooting clear through the lock,
Click to expand...
Yeah, Rifles.
Click to expand...
And Masterlock shot through the front of the padlock. Even at age twelve I knew I could pop that same lock with one swing of a claw hammer directed at the top of the padlock body.
 
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