Drilling open locks, or “rotary picking” as its sometimes, jokingly called, is a questionable subject. In certain situations, if the lock being opened is either high security, or going to be replaced anyway, drilling may be the fastest/most economic option. Also if the locksmith has particular issue picking a lock, and there are no other options, drilling is acceptable. In general however, a locksmith should rarely have to drill a lock, especially a residential lock. Now, unfortunately, in the world of locks, we see many poor quality and scam locksmiths that utilize the “rotary pick” as their first option, which then forces the customer to purchase a new lock