Using a vehicle as a shield

E

Eod1

New member
If the ONLY THING you have to shield yourself from gun fire is a car. What part of a vehicle would you use to do it. Now there is nothing special about the perps ammo, no AP, API, APIT, just FMJ. There is no ballistic blankets or Aluminum in the doors. The car is not hardened in any way and there is nothing in the trunk.
 
Engine block, I suppose the rims might be ok depending on how they're made... But ya i'm definitely running for the engine block.

The body of the car is just thin sheet metal.. a 9mm will go thru both car doors.
 
Then to add to the engine, you could try "long-ways" as in putting the length of the car, front to back between you and the shooter. Even if the bullet doesn't hit the engine block, it will have to pass through two seats or two windows, or a lot more parts. Should slow it down some if not completely. Opening a door and getting behind it would be near useless. The doors on my little Dodge aren't much thicker than a beer can.
 
One fun fact, you can skip a bullet under a car into your target. Don't assume that if you are below the visible lines of the car for cover someone can't get to you. This is in addition of shooting through a car.
 
The Engine is your best bet based on what we learned last year.

Here's some first hand feedback when we took Boomer (.50 Barrett Semi) and .308 and .223 to finish off a 1998 Volvo 940 Sedan near Austin TX last year. The 940 had taken shots from #6-8 birdshot, buckshot, .223, 308 and then Boomer. Knowing who had previously shot what and from where made this pretty easy.

Everything broke the windows, some more dramatically(Buckshot) than others.

#6-8 birdshot generally didn't penetrate the side panels from 50 yards.

Buckshot generally went through the side panels but not both sides of the car.

.223 Ball generally went through both sides of the car doors unless it hit something inside, like the window crank.

.308 Ball went thru the doors and objects inside them easily, and put nice non-penetrating dents in the engine block or components nearby, and would dent the brake rotors. It also did a pretty nice job on the wheels. The .308's also did several nice "front grill -radiator - non-structural stuff in engine compartment - thru firewall - thru car seats (front and back) thru back of trunk and out. Also went through the tires pretty easily.

.50 BMG Ball put 1-3" holes in the engine block, were generally distorted and didn't come out the other side, or busting through the aluminum wheels.
.50 BMG AP / API went through both sides of the engine and out the other side of the car except when it hit something hard like the crank, then it just bent or was wedged in tight. the API rounds had no problem busting or going thru the brake rotors.

Most of these rounds have much more energy than 9mm or .45's, so I'll let you do the math, but suffice to say, car sheet metal is much thinner today than in 1956...
 
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I saw a 12 gauge slug not make it through a door. It hit some metal structural member and was diverted straight down into the dirt. Now, I wouldn't count on it.
 
We train to shelter behind the engine block if at all possible - the rest of the car qualifies and concealment, not cover. Bullets only bounce off cars in the movies.
 
Where ever the engine compartment is, front or rear. As stated in previous posts the rest of the car is nowhere going to stop bullets.
 
Wheels, because of the brakes and other components, the engine, transmission, and differential are all more able to stop a bullet. That being said there is also a space under the car that leaves your lower leg and feet unprotected. That is another reason that wheels are good.
A car is not the best cover but in some cases concealment is as good as cover because shooters don't often shoot at what they can't see. A masonry corner wall is much better cover and readily available in some situations. What is often not said is that it is better to be mobile than stuck behind cover. For the same reason we no longer fight wars from fortifications it is better to be able to move than to hide behind a bullet proof barrier. You have limited ammo and other resources and your attacker can let you fire until you are out of ammo and then walk in and shoot you dead. Move from one cover to another using any concealment at your disposal. Learn to take the fight to the attacker when possible.
 
"...didn't come out the other side..." And people are constantly whining about cast/MIM parts. snicker.
Skipping a bullet under a car into a target is pretty much Hollywood too. Not exactly reliable.
"...the length of the car..." Makes very little difference. Other than the engine block and firewall there isn't much but thin sheet steel, plastic, fabric and bunch of air from one end to the other.
 
Saw a video recently where the LEO ran over a girl waving a gun around. Heck, it works! Made for sense than getting out and shooting her out of cover. They said her head went under the wheel and crushed it I believe.
 
Skipping a bullet under a car into a target is pretty much Hollywood too. Not exactly reliable.
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The point of that was that if you lay down besides a car, you are not proof against a round coming underneath it.

It was pretty reliable, BTW, we set up targets on the other side of the car and fired under the car to hit the pavement. The rounds reliably deflected into the targets.

Try it.
 
Bullets don't bounce. They tend to follow the angle of the surface they hit. That's why we train to stay at least four inches from masonry walls. When the bullets hit the 45 degree angled protector in front of the steel plates they hit the ground exactly in line with that angle.
Police used to train to fire a round of buckshot under a car to disable the bad guy on the other side - back when they had shotguns in the car instead of ARs.
 
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