handguns for stopping vehicles

Huh

Let me get this straight.....you are talking about shooting at a moving vehicle that has your granddaughter in it?
 
If you empty a magazine into the radiator how far will the car get? Maybe a shot worth taking in the extreme situation? Likewise if you don't get a shot from the front might it be worth trying to shoot out a tire? If a gun even has a slight chance of making the situation more recoverable is it better to take the shot or reach for your cell phone instead? Me, I think I'd do both.
Click to expand...

Completely subjective. You need to pierce the tank or the cooling lines that join the tanks, or one of the radiator hoses, and then it matters where they were damaged and how quickly it drains. I guess we hope the badguy does not have an old VW Beetle they were air cooled and the engine was in back.

Tires? IMO fantasy unless you are quite close and even then you need to know deflection. Are there guys and girls out there that are that good with a firearm? Sure. I bet you and I are not among their number. But if you're that close to the car, worry about being run down.

This whole scenario we're discussing is pretty far-fetched but I would recommend risk assessment instead of using the mindset that says any chance is worth taking. The key here is 'chance'. Presumably, you're not simply risking missing the tire. Or radiator. Or driver. You're risking hitting an occupant you want unharmed. You're also risking whoever is in the path of your wildly shot attempts at knocking out a tire, etc. Maybe somebody else's child, grandchild, etc. How do they factor into the odds? Acceptable?

We can put so many parameters on this thing that Santa Claus and Superman could be involved but I think we'd all agree that this scenario is an extremely unlikely one. Fine to toss around what ifs but we should remember that they are just that.
 
Ibmikey. What about the scenario I laid out before? Someone pulls up to the sidewalk, pulls your granddaughter in the car, and takes off. There you stand with a .380 in your pocket. What do you do? Granted your chances of stopping a car are slim but I think it would be better to try than not. The question is what is the best way to try?
Click to expand...

You have a .380 in your mitt and you are thinking of shooting to stop a car. It's a .380...not alot of power there. You do need some punch for penetration and for getting through a hood and into something important. And since you can't see under the hood not a lot to aim at.

Also since it's a 380 exactly what thing do you hope to hit that will stop the vehicle immediately. Trying to make a One Shot Stop with a handgun is not something I'd count on.

Maybe you have a clean shot and can hit the driver...and maybe the vehicle crashes with your grand daughter in it. Since, hypothetically, how fast is this make believe vehicle driving?

Do you try, or write off the child to God knows what fate?
Click to expand...

We already know one fate...a fella with a .380 shooting blindly at a vehicle in the hopes he hits something important with a caliber that does not have all that much punch.

Cell phone...license plate...description of the vehicle...cops. Maybe get another vehicle and follow safely till cops respond. Then they can shoot up the vehicle.

Shoot out a headlight...then when you call in the license plate, description of kidnapper and vehicle, etc. you can add that it has a busted headlight or tail light.

While we're at it...in this scenario it's likely that you'll know the kidnapper. Likely it'll be your ex son in law who snatched the kid to get him away from his crazy gun toting grandpa who thinks he can stop a vehicle with his .380 by shooting wildly at the engine compartment of a rapidly moving vehicle on an urban street.

Since this is hypothetical, just call Liam Neeson, he'll get your grand daughter back.

tipoc
 
Last edited:
IED, rpg or other shoulder mounted propelled munitions. Handgun. ...not so much although a Contender in 50 bmg might work....it would definitely maim on one end and kill on the other.
 
The whole topic of shooting cars and the related fantasy situations are beyond reality. Anyone who has actually tried to stop a vehicle with average police carry weaponry can relate to the difficulty (yes i can speak from experience) the average schmoe should not be preparing for the opportunity to kill mechanical devices when his personal defense skills are probably in need of honing.
It is a heck of a lot of fun to shoot at vehicles during training sessions or watching exhibitions on tv but in none of these cases is the only fire power Joe Citizen's five shot .38 spec. In summation if you wish to stop a vehicle with your EDC ask the bad guy to first put 100# of tannerite in the front seat with him.
 
I would not count on a handgun bullet to pierce a windshield. Yes it can, but it can also deflect.

As for shooting tires, better be good at a moving target.

Now, radiators are doable but if the vehicle is fleeing away from you, then it's likely to present the backside and not the radiator.
 
Tipoc's assumptions of blind spray and pray shooting aside, ALL shooting scenarios are pure fantasy until they happen. A one shot stop isn't anything I mentioned and I don't think it at all likely but I still contend that you have a better chance of a good outcome if the BG doesn't get to where he wants to go. Disable the vehicle or at least mark it with bullet holes in the fender.
 
I can tell you for a fact that a Toyota Corolla will go 36 miles at 70 MPH with a totally destroyed lower radiator hose and no water in it. At that point it will blow the head gasket, lose compression on a couple of cylinders, then still go another 10 miles at about 20 MPH to the nearest gas station.
 
Radiator or tire is useless. When I was 17 many of my friends had beater cars with bad cooling and in one case we smoked the tire off of a Valiant and continued to drive it on the rim for the rest of the day. If you have a mag handgun you have a chance at taking out the block or trans, less calibers you can possibly get the ignition or timing chain/belt. But, on TV the car always bursts into flames and explodes with a couple of shots from a 9mm anyway. In all seriousness if a car is heading toward you, you 1. Get out of the way 2. KYAGB other than that your not stopping it with less than a RPG.
 
policy

My agency had policy forbidding the use of a firearm of any kind to "stop" a vehicle. Now, shooting at a subject within the vehicle, who is posing a deadly threat to you (or another) was another matter, but would still come under very heavy scruntiny, as with any shooting. It is also certainly possible that a vehicle can be used as a weapon.

My own thought is that the effects of any small arm slug whose weight is measured in grains, against a vehicle whose weight is measured in tons, is pretty predictable.

As ,an aside, but loosely related, I assisted in the investigation of an incident where a stolen 10 wheeled "billet" log truck was shot MANY times by LE with handguns of multiple caliber, and .308 rifle. Tires, radiator, saddle tanks (diesel). The chase/incident went 26 MILES, and the truck ran out of fuel due to punctured tanks. To top it all, the fool/felon had picked up a hitch hiker, just prior to ramming and hospitalizing a trooper, which started the whole scenario. Apparently, nobody knew the hitcher was in the truck!
 
A VA State Trooper friend of mine says the Sig .357 will go right through a wind shield no problem. The threat is the person, not the car. The car, like a gun, is not going to hurt anyone if not in the wrong hands. Stop the threat.
 
They used to make .357 magnum loads with a spire point and advertised them ad armor piercing. They could crack an engine block or knock a rod out of alignment etc. etc.
 
I've seen most common semi-auto SD rounds fired at windshields and they sailed right through if shot straight at them.

Good old WWB - right through and you could hit the driver (dummy).

Now doing that shot on a moving car is a different story.
 
Posted by Model12Win:
They used to make .357 magnum loads with a spire point and advertised them ad armor piercing. They could crack an engine block or knock a rod out of alignment etc. etc.
Click to expand...
Those loads, like the .38 Super, were designed to penetrate the car bodies of the era.

There are some parts of the block that could be damaged, if one fired directly at them with the hood open.

But the 'ol engine block myth persisted for years, just like the "hit 'em in the hand with a .45" story.
 
Handguns for stopping vehicles

I have some rounds in .357 and in .44 that will penetrate the block to some degree. Even .30-06 AP may not penetrate most old cast iron engine blocks completely.
For shotguns have some 12 gauge steel buck and it will take a tire out and go through the rims, and it will penetrate into a block, if reasonably close.
 
Let's assume that "potential" means a 50% penetration probability
Click to expand...

Shooting at vehicles is the how and why the .357 round came into being in America in the 1930's. And some 75 + years later it is still the best round ever created. (the venerable .38 being the most accurate round ever created)

But we ain't cops shooting at gangsters with Thompson machine guns fleeing in a vehicle.
In America we are responsible for every round that leaves our gun.
Something to think about.
_________________

Harry%20Cline_zpsuhwlhd75.jpg
 
Last edited:
Shooting out tires falls into the same category as shooting a gun out of the bad guy's hand. Looks great in the movies and TV, and is such a nice, humane way to stop the BG without hurting anyone, but it doesn't happen.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it does happen.

Hijacker kidnapping the O/O of this big rig and took her and her dog hostage, forcing her to drive. TDPS took out the tires. I watched this on live TV...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg4NwrpXB1o

More...
http://abc11.com/news/suspect-strikes-officer-with-stolen-vehicle/729234/
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/crim...-pursue-suspect-in-stolen-squad-car/28394765/
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_1ecd55b6-3c62-515a-9d11-5dda18f010e8.html
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...-on-Wild-Shoot-Out-Tires-Chase-231987271.html
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3762334.shtml#.VXWqg0arE_M
http://lubbockonline.com/stories/110801/upd_075-4767.shtml#.VXWnhkarE_M
 
Air supply, not the band

Stopping tractors, big rigs, why shoot the tires? Put some holes in the air supply tanks, it'll stop itself. If it's not bobtail and is pulling a trailer, all the better. The trailer's spring brakes will only stop it faster or slow it down to a low gear pulling, brakes on fire pursuit! Then the caliber only matters because of the size of the hole(s).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top