Shoot through car window from inside

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Kristensdaddy

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A car jacking two days ago around the corner from my mother in laws got me thinking about strategy.

certain assumptions - 1) for the sake of this argument, consider that law enforcement will determine it a legal use of deadly force.m 2) the car is blocked in and/or not able to move. 3) you are inside, doors locked, windows rolled up 4) you already have your gun in your hand.

Two choices for caliber .380 and .38 special +P.


At what distance from the glass to you shoot? Muzzle against the glass? Muzzle x inches from the glass?
 
Going to be lots of glass coming back at you, especially from side windows. On the up side, the side glass will be gone after first shot, allowing you clean follow-up shots.

If out through windshield, try to go low through windshield as you will completely obscure your own vision if you shoot right through your normal line-of-sight.

Also aim slightly low as the bullet will impact slightly above your point of aim if shooting out through the windshield. Goes against what you would think looking at the slope of the glass but it's true. Reverse from outside, bullet will impact slightly lower than your point of aim. Had to try this myself to believe it.

Hope you never have to try any of this out; except in training where it's sorta' fun; especially if shooting from outside the vehicle as you can see your shot placement very easily with the holes in the windshield...

Oh and muzzle further away from glass rather than right up against as muzzle flash just does more damage to glass obscuring your vision even further.

p.s. I paraphrased much of this from info. from an end-user with real-world experience in this particular area.
 
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If you absolutely had to fire your gun to survive the situation (or believed you had to fire it), I'd say it wouldn't matter much. Just shoot.

Otherwise, what makes most sense to me is wait until he opens the door; then shoot him.
 
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Two different types of glass in a car, the front will spider and leave a hole with few actual shards created except for the hole.
The side windows will shatter in many fragments and undoubtedly some will come back at you, that said many people have had their windows broken in accidents and such and not lost their sight.
I think the important thing to know is what to expect so you can make an informed decision if the time comes.
For me given your preconceived scenario I would shift to the opposite side of the car and then engage the attacker if it were a side window and just shoot out through the front if he were there. To me the sound and glass hazard is over weighed by the threat to my life.
 
Running them over goes without saying but the OP said the car was blocked in.
That's a good example of windshield glass dispersal in that video.
An additional note on the side glass, it is actually recommended to have some type of pointed impact tool in your car should you ever need to escape the passenger compartment and the doors and window won't function. I say this as more reason not to fear the results of having to shoot it out if the need would ever arise.
 
X-Rap said:
Running them over goes without saying but the OP said the car was blocked in.
That's a good example of windshield glass dispersal in that video.
An additional note on the side glass, it is actually recommended to have some type of pointed impact tool in your car should you ever need to escape the passenger compartment and the doors and window won't function. I say this as more reason not to fear the results of having to shoot it out if the need would ever arise.
Click to expand...

If you're blocked in and you need to shoot through the windshield running them over will become an even better option as trapping and crushing someone between two 4000lb hunks of steel and aluminum will be a great deal more effective than just hitting the guy much less shooting him.
 
This is silly, you are stating the obvious and I am in full agreement, the problem suggests that the car is immobile so in answering the OP I guess I am assuming that the carjacker is in front but to the left or right of the fenders still requiring a shot through the windshield.
2) the car is blocked in and/or not able to move.
Click to expand...
It seems unlikely that all the doors would be blocked as well as the auto being immobile so lets just say that the occupant has to shoot through the window because it is him or them, that makes it simple.
 
If I am having to defend myself with a handgun from inside of my vehicle, then I am expecting my assailant to also have a firearm. To me this means that trying to put a firearm up to the window will just give the assailant an extra second to see that I am armed and ready to defend myself. I am more concerned with getting the first accurate shot off than whether the glass shards will come back at me or not.

Sent from my HTC One X
 
The OP never asked about shooting through the car's windshield. He said...
Shoot through car window from inside

A car jacking...

...3) you are inside, doors locked, windows rolled up...
Click to expand...
Looks to me like he's talking about the car windows, otherwise he would have said 'windshield' in stead of 'car windows'. Or can the windshield be rolled up and down? Nope.

Do car-jackings ever take place where the car-jacker is standing in front of the car?

For the above reasons, I'd have to imagine that the OP is not talking about the windshield. To answer his question, I'd guess that it probably doesn't matter if the muzzle is against the glass or not.
 
OP here, think of the typical mall parking lot. Your car has on parked in front, one on each side, the Bad Guy/accomplice blocks you from behind. You just got in, locked the door and the BG bangs on the window with the muzzle of his ....Hi Point. Simple scenario for any mall in the Atlanta, GA area.
 
A windshield shot might be needed if an assailant were on top of one's hood. Perhaps this is more likely in a riot than a carjacking, but criminals are not always rational.
 
I've actually attended a training course that taught us how to shoot through windows. It is very tricky.

Bullets get deflected due to the angle of windows. Aim low; the further the target the lower you aim.

The side windows will shatter and glass will go all over. Careful to not get glass in your eye or it's game over and you could lose an eye. Your ears will ring from the close quarters contained gunshots. I would lean as far away from the glass as possible and not put the gun against it.

I have no idea whether those calibers will reliably and accurate penetrate modern auto glass, but I would assume so. I know the instructors didn't want us using a certain caliber at the course due to non-reliable penetration, but I don't recall if it was 9mm (lightweight) or .45 (slower moving). I just don't recall.

But if you're in your car, why not carry something that hits harder?
 
I'm a little confused. If the car is blocked in, how does the attacker intend to steal it?
 
OP here, think of the typical mall parking lot. Your car has on parked in front, one on each side, the Bad Guy/accomplice blocks you from behind. You just got in, locked the door and the BG bangs on the window with the muzzle of his ....Hi Point. Simple scenario for any mall in the Atlanta, GA area.

At this point he would have the upper hand in my eye so the car he would have. Would have to asses the situation at that point if children were in the car with me and what I could do to stop situation. But if he taps on window with gun in hand odds of me drawing and getting a shot from a seated postion before he got one or more in me would seem pretty slim.
 
I would hope to have my gun pointed at him when the door goes open. That's the instant he expects to jerk me out of the car. My motion will distract him long enough to put one into him before he even sees it... I hope.
 
I had one like this, it was snowing the guy waited for me to park in NYC. I shut off the ignition and he walked up to the drivers side window, and said open the door, and--- my name. No chance to do anything, thankfully all he got were possesions, this was the year before I got my carry. I was managing 5 stores and he thought I took the receipts home.
Made me drive onto the highway, stop, and he got out and ran up the exit, had to go to the next exit before I could do anything with traffic backing up behind me. there is nothing you can do, If I had my gun then, I would have fired through the side window, no thought involved.
I remembered calling the cops, who couldn't understand what I was telling them, one asked if I was reporting that I robbed a guy. Waste of time, cost me over 2 thousand in coat, briefcase knife wallett, and cash. Thankfully my boss paid for most of what I lost but they got a ring from my dad who had just passed away, I put out a reward "no questions asked, but never saw it again.I did find out who did it. By the way this kind of thing happens a lot in NYC. Rainy days and snow are a crooks best friend, no one is paying attention to anything and visibility sucks. Since guns shoot through glass there is no choice once someone puts a gun to your head even if the window is between you and them. No internet either the cops used Mirrorquick, it was a projection device that placed anyone fitting your description on a screen, anyone who was local and in the system.
 
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