It doesn’t get much worse than forgetting the combination to your safe and then realizing you can’t find the key. It’s a good idea to know how to open a gun safe without a key. If you have a safe with biometrics, you don’t have much to worry about as long as you still have your thumbs.
Everyone else will have to find a different way in, however. Of course, you can try getting into it like a thief, which defeats the entire purpose of the safe. One thing is for sure, you’ll find out just how effective your safe is after all.
There are various things you can try to break into a safe. At the end of the day, you may just have to call a locksmith or break your safe to gain access to its contents. Hopefully, one of these methods will work for you.
Ways to Open a gun safe without a key
The idea is to get the thing open without breaking it open. Once you’ve broken your safe, it’s compromised forever, and you will need a new one. Unfortunately, most of the methods on this list will do just that.
1. Use a magnet
There’s a component in many safes that operates the lock or bolt, and there’s a small chance you can manipulate this component with a suitable powerful magnet. You need to get your hands on a rare earth magnet since they are generally pretty strong.
For those who have pacemakers, you shouldn’t handle strong magnets, especially not rare earth magnets. Place the magnet inside a sock or rag and start at the upper left-hand side of the safe.
Slide it from the left to the right, slowly. Once you reach the right side of the safe, start another row just beneath, starting from the left side again. If the magnet ever grabs ahold of the solenoid, there’s a chance it will slide the bolt free as long as you take it slowly.
2. Paperclip
Sure, it sounds like the world’s worst idea, but thieves have used the old paperclip trick for time immemorial. There’s a strong possibility it will work if you have a deft hand and plenty of patience.
The paperclip method works best on digital safes, and you will need two of them to manipulate the little tumblers that make up the key housing inside the safe.
3. Nail Files
This is a fairly popular method, believe it or not. Unfortunately, you can only use one nail file at a time. Like the paperclips, it will take time and patience. Insert the nail file and work it up and down, slowly but steadily, until you hear each clip.
The biggest key is just patience. It may take a hundred tries before you get it right, and you may want to give up long before then. Just think, it might be your only option before calling a locksmith or breaking the safe apart.
4. Call a locksmith
You have to do what you have to do. Calling a locksmith might cost you a little bit of money but they should be able to get into your safe for you. Better yet, they’ll provide you with a new key as well.
5. Drop it
Some claim you can drop your safe on the concrete from a respectable distance, and it will unlock it. It may work, depending on the safe, the manufacturer, and how it was manufactured.
If you no longer have any need for the safe and just want what’s inside, it may be worth it to you to simply drop it and see if the impact is enough to open it.
6. Drill a hole in it
Another way to completely ruin your safe is to start drilling through it. You should only choose this option if you no longer want the safe or the stuff inside is too important to wait. Make a judgment call on where you think the lock is located inside the safe.
Once you think you know, start drilling. Be sure to have a sizeable drill bit on there too. That will ensure you destroy the interior locking mechanism entirely. Once you drill through, you should be able to remove the locking mechanism.
Bottom Line
No one wants to destroy a good safe except for thieves. But we all have to do things we don’t like from time to time. Hopefully, some of the least invasive methods above will be more than enough to do the trick.
If not, you can always buy a different safe. If you have the time and the patience, you should always call a locksmith. If you want to keep your safe intact and nothing else is working, a locksmith will provide you with the simplest solution without cursing any damage.
Of course, the best way to open your safe is to not forget the combination or lose the key somewhere. Easier said than done, right? We all lose stuff from time to time but if you have something important in there, try not to lose this one.
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