Suppose you are being shot at in a parking lot

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Doug.38PR

Moderator
Suppose you are being shot at in a parking lot or near your car parked somewhere. The shooter is from quite a distance (say 50-75 yards away). What is the most ideal part of the car to take cover behind?

The door? (I understand high powered rifles and even .357 magnums can penetrate doors)

The Engine bock?

The truck?
 
Engine block. It provides the most amount of mettle to stop a bullet, and is convieniently above/near the front tire.
 
To penetrate two wheels and an engine takes more than most BGs usually carry !!No handgun will do it . A 50 BMG might.:rolleyes:
 
Get down and go the other way. If the shooter advances faster than you can retreat, shoot at his feet from under the vehicle. When he falls put some more into him.
 
#

"Remember to move in a zig zag pattern" Atl: did you see the original _The In Laws_ movie? --sorry to digress, but I love that scene.
 
Yes I have seen it. Just a little dry humor.

That only works if there is one shooter. Doug failed to mention multiple shooters from multiple angles in this fictional parking lot we're talking about. What if you're not the original target but become one because you're in the wrong place at the wrong time?
 
If I was near my vehicle I would take cover behind the steering wheel and get heck out of Dodge, at 50 yards if he didn't hit you with the first shot he probably won't hit you doing 80 mph in the opposite direction.

If I am not near my vehicle I would make mad dashes from cover to cover (preferably large engine blocks) in the opposite direction and as soon as possible dial 911 on my cell phone. If I was armed I would probably not take the time to return fire unless actively pursued.

That is assuming I am alone, add a wife, 4 year old, and a 6 month old strapped in a baby stroller and it opens a whole new can of worms.

- Chris
 
Hi, ChrisJ and welcome to TFL! :)

Good first post, by the way. 50 to 75 yards is a loooong way for a handgun. Most experienced shooters would have hard time getting a good shot in at that distance under combat stress with a handgun.
I'm with you....get in the car and floor it. :)

Edited to add: A rifle would change my mind, though. I guess taking cover behind the front wheel would be best. As someone else said, with two metal wheels and an engine to go through, nothing short of mortar fire is going to get through to you. If he starts closing the distance, return fire when he moves closer and hope that that disuades him. Of course the whole scenario is rather unlikely, but it's fun to play along.
 
I know this thread is very old, but I just wanted to say something. Yes, the engine block is what you should hide behind. It's a big block of steel that will stop most pistol and even rifle bullets! The doors are just basically sheet metal that won't stop anything (probably a .22). So yes, hide behind the engine.
 
Actually, nowadays the engines are usually aluminum in cars from what I've seen. Not much in the way of protection, but better than nothing I suppose.
 
You reopened a +11 year old thread and virtually the first words out of your mouth are wrong?

Car engines aren't made out of steel; they're either cast iron or, like the poster above said, aluminum. Why did you even bother?
 
Shootbrownelk noted:

Actually, nowadays the engines are usually aluminum in cars from what I've seen. Not much in the way of protection, but better than nothing I suppose.
Click to expand...
I would try to stay low behind the engine block. As to first hand experience, when I first fired my Barrett last year, we had a couple junk cars to shoot at.

An iron block, when hit by a .50 BMG ball round, will have a very nice hole in the entry side. Depending what it hits inside the engine, and there is a lot of steel inside, the bullet will be mangled pretty good and loose a lot of energy and shape. None of the rounds we shot went thru both sides. (Oil pan shots don't count :). )

Switching to APIT, if the round avoided the crank and other very solid structures, you can have a small window on both sides.

The aluminum block was a bit easier to get through with APIT, but not guaranteed.
I'll try to go back and find some pics.
Given nothing but an aluminum block, take it.

Very few bad guys are going to have a .50 BMG much less shoot at such a close range with one.
 
Car engines aren't made out of steel; they're either cast iron or, like the poster above said, aluminum. Why did you even bother?
Click to expand...

Well I'm sorry that I'm not a metallurgist, but it's still a heavy piece of metal that will stop a lot of bullets, and I reopened it because I was looking around and found it. Also, if anyone is looking for answers to a question like this, they won't have to start a new thread. They can just read this. . .

FYI some parts of car engines are steel, too

Best,

MosinNOUGAT
 
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Actually, nowadays the engines are usually aluminum in cars from what I've seen. Not much in the way of protection, but better than nothing I suppose.
Click to expand...

:eek: Before (and after) penetrating an aluminum block engine a bullet must penetrate, at least, some other parts of an automobile, e.g., fenders, grill, radiator, wheels, tires, firewall, exhaust manifold. Every obstacle a bullet penetrates will affect the path of the bullet and the shape and condition of the bullet. With all due respect, your post makes no sense!
 
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