New Mythbusters

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IncredibleGord

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I love the mythbusters, but they have ruined a lot of movies for me. :cuss: I can't watch Dawn of the Dead (78') without getting angry at the "cars won't blow up if gas line is pierced myth". Also, about shooting underwater, that's been done in so many flicks. :scrutiny: If you're a fan, there's a new Mythbusters next week (Nov 5th). It's airing 9:00pm eastern and pacific on the Discovery Channel. Show description:

"Coffin Punch"
"On this death-defying episode of MYTHBUSTERS, the whole team gets together to test myths about survival. Adam and Jamie return to one of the fans' favorite subjects -- what is bullet-proof?"

Also a repeat of "Firearms Folklore" will air November 2nd at 1:00PM E/P
Description:
"Just when you think Adam and Jamie have tested every gun legend in history, they come up with three more myths. Meantime, Kari, Grant and Tori go to great lengths to see whether mankind's first and simplest tool could be far more dangerous than you think."

All information from http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html
 
I'm thinking about writing them up about the "car doors provide sufficient cover from bullets."

I realize that a car door isn't by any means great cover, especially in the case of high velocity rifles and shotgun slugs. But I beleive it could save your life when faced with pistol fire.

When it's all said and done, it's better to be behind something like the engine block.
 
But I beleive it could save your life when faced with pistol fire.
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I believe that you believe wrong. Vehicle sheet metal is very thin and really won't stop anything.
 
one episode they found out their "bullettproof" shield coulnt stop a .22lr
 
Quote:
But I beleive it could save your life when faced with pistol fire.

Mealstrom wrote: I believe that you believe wrong. Vehicle sheet metal is very thin and really won't stop anything.

True, the sheetmetal itself wont stop very much but the window motors, tracks and various other objects in a door can potentially stop or slow down a projectile enough to prevent it from penetrating the opposite side. Granted those are low odds but its still better than nothing.
 
I believe that you believe wrong. Vehicle sheet metal is very thin and really won't stop anything.
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Depends on the car and what you are shooting. In September, I had the opportunity to see various rounds fired into a mid-90s small 4 door import (Subaru?). A newer car might have fared differently, as there is more side crash reinforcement.

147 gr 9mm Ranger T didn't make it through the door, while 115 grain WWB did (although not with much energy). Both rounds were fired from a Glock 19.

Of 3 .45 230 grain FMJ (from an XD compact), two penetrated the outer panel and barely made it through the inner panel while another only dented the outer panel.

A .45 grain frangible load (similar to MagSafe but made by a gov't contractor) made it through when fired from a Glock 21, and sandblasted the target inside.

.357 Sig rounds (believed to be 125 grain JHP) from a Glock 32 made it through but the incapacitating injury potential wasn't high.

.40 rounds (believed to be 180 grain JHP) from a Glock 23 made it through but the incacapitation injury potential wasn't high.

All rounds were fired at minimum safe distance (i.e. around 5 feet) to prevent backsplash of metal.

A 440 grain .500 S&W from an 8.5 inch revolver turned the door into swiss cheese. The same load from the same gun had previously penetrated a Subaru four door from the right rear panel to the driver's side console. The round fired immediately before that one had hit inside of the tire well and ricocheted into the ground in front of the tire without penetrating any portion of the tire well.

None were fired on this occasion, but Louis Awerbuck said you could count on a 5.7 to punch through.
 
Their tests of how much various rounds knocked people back ruined movies for me. :)

Actually, the only surprising thing was how far a .50 BMG pushed Buster back. I expected it would be more powerful.

Mike
 
Watch the old movie "Deadly Weapons", which used a few older cars to shoot through with differant calibers. This wasan early 80s movie, and the cars showed it, being pretty tough. Modern plastic models might not be quite so bullet resistant...
 
Granted, a relatively lightweight car door won't stop much. However, it's better to hide behind something than stand out in the open. It's more difficult for someone to hit something they can't see. That is relative, of course. You can hide behind the gas tank knowing it won't blow up like in the movies...
 
I really thought the episode with shooting through a scope was screwed up. They were testing whether a 'nam era sniper could shoot through the enemy snipers scope.

The used a modern, high quality scope to shoot through. no wonder they couldn't do it! If they had used era equipment, the myth may hae been confirmed.
 
I believe they revisited the shoot-through-the-scope episode with a correct era scope and got a different result.
 
Thanks for backing me up guys...

However, it's better to hide behind something than stand out in the open. It's more difficult for someone to hit something they can't see.
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I recall watching something on the history channel a while back where some soldiers or marines (can't remember) in Iraq got pinned down and actually used a cardboard box for concealment.

Amazingly, none of them reported being hit, but by the time they received enough covering fire to move, the box was littered with bullet holes.
 
Quite a few years ago, my car (a 1985 model) was shot with .22LR (from a rifle), while in our Church parking lot, from a distance of about 30 yards. The point of impact was just below the chrome strip on the window sill of the passenger-side front door. The hole looked just like those fake bullet-hole stickers you see on people's cars, & had concaved the panel for about 1/2" around the hole.
When I removed the inside liner I discovered the bullet had hit the bottom edge of the window, that had been rolled up, but had not damaged it. I found the flattened bullet at the bottom of the door cavity.
 
But I beleive it could save your life when faced with pistol fire.

I believe that you believe wrong. Vehicle sheet metal is very thin and really won't stop anything.
Click to expand...

Also depends if the window is up or down. If the window is down, the first round at least wil be less likely to make it through the door intact.
 
I watched the "shoot the hat off the guys head" episode a while ago.

I remember one of the two had what looked like a old Colt SA revolver(sorry not a revolver guy). He went to fire, I think with the hammer down, and ended up giving the audience a perfect example of what 'trigger jerk' is.:D
 
I've been watching Mythbusters since it first aired several years ago, never missed an episode. Firearms aside I think its one of the most entertaining shows currently on TV, of course I think the Discovery Channel in general has some of the best programing to be found.

As for guns I take it with a grain of salt. Whether they get their facts right or not I thinks its great to see how happy they are when they get to play around with firearms myths. They may not be professional shooters but they seem to practice pretty safe gun handling and always seem to show guns in a positive light.

Besides I have yet to see anything quite as sexy as Kari shooting a Dillon minigun:D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC8jnSaCqxY&feature=related
 
Long ago I shot many rounds through a mid 60's Dodge car door. 45 fmj, not one round failed to penetrate the door. Distances, probably up to 15 yds or so. That was tough steel on cars back then, not plastic.

So, a car door is better than nothing I guess. But it wouldn't be my first choice.
 
In the '60s when I was a kid, a WMCA camp riflery instructor put a .22LR through a chromed car bumper to show that it would indeed go through a fairly solid object, as an abject lesson to any of us kids who thought the .22 rifles were toys.
Car bumpers actually were made out of metal back then, too!:eek:
 
Besides I have yet to see anything quite as sexy as Kari shooting a Dillon minigun
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Shooting the Dillon minigun at the end of the "shooting fish in a barrel" segment cracked me up. Clearly a "there's no reason to do this, but we have room in the budget, and it will really be fun" moment.

They may not be professional shooters but they seem to practice pretty safe gun handling and always seem to show guns in a positive light.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they seem to shoot guns for the same reason that they blow things up - because it's fun. While I doubt that either would call himself a "professional shooter", my sense is that the guy with the mustache - Jamie? - knows a fair amount about firearms.

Mike
 
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