What round can stop a car?

[Toforo]

Guaranteed.

 

[Jim Watson]

A friend was known in the department as a "gun nut" so he got to back up a roadblock with a Model 70 loaded with GI .30-06 AP. Didn't get to test the effectiveness, though.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

I saw one of those sportsmans channel gun shows where they used an AR with a .50 beowulf upper to "stop a car" with a mag dump to the engine compartment but I have a feeling that was staged!

Hollywood has mixed messages. In "The Marine" a Camaro SS wasn't stopped by several full auto mag dumps of 5.56 and 9mm (those have polymer hoods, fenders, and intake manifolds btw!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivyyjXSIdt8
yet in Blackhawk down a single round from Hoot's M4 takes out a range rover or something with a single shot to the engine compartment and resulting spray of oil on the windshield (couldn't find a video clip of that).

I've heard that prohibition era cops started using BARs in addition to their Thompsons because the tommy guns wouldn't disable the engines but the 30-06 would (IIRC that's how they stopped bonnie and clyde).

 

[clancy12]

Ain't none of you ever watched the Dukes of Hazard? One shot to the radiator stops the car within 100ft. Guaranteed. Every time.

 

[RaceM]

A more effective means of disabling an automobile is to shoot *through* the headlights, puncturing the battery. The projectile will short out the plates, killing the power. Most cars & trucks have the battery tray directly behind the headlights.

 

[Speedgoat]

Ain't none of you ever watched the Dukes of Hazard? One shot to the radiator stops the car within 100ft. Guaranteed. Every time.

Only if shot with a bow and arrow!

 

[Jeff F]

Rifle rounds, just about any of the AP rounds will shoot holes in an engine block. 30-06 , .308, .303, 8mm and the .50 just might do a through and through.

 

[mr.trooper]

Many small 4-cylinder engines actually heat up very quickly. Most of them made from the early 90-s until very recently tended to have tiny little (or even non existent) grills, which rely on near constant use of a cooling fan. In these cars, a punctured radiator or a dead cooling fan will cause the car to overheat at idle in just a few minutes. A 'rampaging' car wouldn't make it long.

The trend now is going back to large grills. More recent cars may fare a bit better, but the basic engine designs are still similar.

 

[MattTheHat]

From experience, I can say without a doubt a Government model .45ACP shooting "starting level" handloads with Rainier 230 grain copper plated bullets will disable a large 4x4 pick up truck. Only takes one shot if it hits the radiator. Now, it'll continue to run for at least 5 miles (less, depending on the outside temp and how fast it's driven), but within 5 miles or so, it will overheat and die.

I thought I remember a Myth Busters episode where they killed a car motor with a .50 BMG. Seems like it took a couple of shots, but did crack the block. The car only continued to roll a short distance before seizing up, which distance would obviously depend on the car's speed.

-Matt

 

[geekWithA.45]

Handguns can't reliably stop HUMANS. Forget reliably stopping cars.

 

[animator]

When it comes to stopping cars, I always shoot the gas tank to make them explode. Works every time...

 

[MachIVshooter]

Many vehicles have aluminum blocks and/or cylinderheads which are very vulnerable to a direct hit from a potent pistol or rifle round.

Direct hit being the operative term. There's a lot of junk between the outside of the car and the vulnerable portions of the engine (not to mention the angles present on the block itself).

Case in point, Honda Civic Vs. my AR-50 with AP rounds. The vehicle was static at 85 yards, and, being a mechanic, I knew where everything was. First round went through the bumper, radiator, cooling fan motor and catalytic converter, then hit the M10 AC compressor bolt square on the head. It gouged the bolt and broke the boss off the block, but failed to penetrate the engine. And by all accounts, a Civic is a lightly built vehicle. The next round would have killed the motor instantly, as it went right into the head, broke several valves. But the point remains.

I wouldn't want to count on anything less than an M2HB if I had to stop a car.

Most cars & trucks have the battery tray directly behind the headlights.

20 years ago. Today, they can be just about anywhere.; Many are in the trunk or under the rear seat. Alot of them are to the rear of the engine compartment, some are behind the inner fender skirt. As well, killing the battery only guarantees it won't restart; Not all vehicles require the battery to run, even newer ones. Yes, removing the battery can cause voltage spikes that will damage sensitive electronics, but won't necessarily disable the car.

The doctrine of vehicle layout has changed to where there really isn't one. Front wheel drive doesn't necessarily mean transverse engine, AWD doesn't equate longitudinal. The transmission may not even be directly attached to the engine (most still are). Newer GM's have power steering but no pump or hoses. There are experimental OHV engines with no camshafts.

Even being a veteran mechanic who services all makes and models, there are a good many cars out there that I couldn't tell you the exact orientation of major components under the hood. About the only thing that is consistent is that the radiator is out front. But it may be small and offset (like the Hondas).


If you really want to stop a car, spike strips are still more effective than any small arms fire. Cheaper, too.

 

[unwise11]

.500 SW, .50 Beowulf, 5.56 Black tip, 7.62x39 Steel core, .308 Win, .30-06, .300 Win Mag..
Or, you could just spray into the doors and windows with any handgun over 9mm, or any rifle over .22 mag.

 

[AlexanderA]

Improvised weapons might be better than firearms. A oil slick on a sharp bend in the road would cause the car to spin out of control, caltrops would puncture the tires, and a molotov cocktail would finish the job.

 

[1911fan]

I've had pretty good luck with an M67 90mm recoilless rifle. You DID mean "man portable" didn't you?

ed

 

[230RN]

Funny. I remember when the .460 Weatheby came out the "pitch" was that it was powerful enough to stop a Greyhound bus at 60(?) miles per hour.

I'm not sure whether they actually advertised it that way or just some gun writer ran the energy numbers and figured somehow that the energy of the .460 at 8100 ft-lbs was enough, but that was the legend at the time.

I personally never ran the numbers, but I expect the Great Hunter/Shooter/Ballistician/Fisherman/Raconteur John ("Jack") Daniels was involved in the figgerin'.

Terry, "Living Historian," 230RN

 

[evan price]

I did a one-shot-stop on a Ford Escort once (it was going to the junkyard anyway). Single 12-guage Brenneke slug through the right side fender and apron, into the timing belt cover, sheared the timing belt and broke the camshaft sprocket. Dead right there. It wasn't moving at the time, but the engine stopped running suddenly and probably would have bent the valves. I wanted to see if I could shoot through the engine like they do in Hollywood and surprised myself in disabling it on the first shot.
What else could I do but open up on it with everything I had? It went to the junkyard looking like it had been used in The A-Team...

 

[bkjeffrey]

I say if you put any rifle caliber round .223 or larger right in the center of the grille and try to get it into the timing gears and chain that engine will stop cold. The chances of cracking a timing gear or splitting the timing chain would be pretty good if your familiar with automobiles and component locations.

I would also shoot for the gap between the top of the front tire and the fender if going for a broad side shot, thats the closest path to the thin external engine block walls, through the water jacket.. Get one into a cylinder and its a 50/50 shot at the engine stopping. Ive seen engines run a good ways with busted con-rods or foreighn objects in the cylinder.

If your ever in the unfortunate situation where you may have to stop a Cummins BT series engine just step away, becasue they never stop running. You cant even shoot out the tires on an old Dodge pickup with a Cummins in it.

 

[M-Cameron]

the Coast Guard uses .50 BMGs through the engine to stop boats....

...i reckon if itll stop a boat, itll stop a car

 

[Carl N. Brown]

According to friends with military experience, a .50 Barrett with military incendiary rounds will stop a gasoline fueled vehicle with a shot through the tank (but not ball or even tracer rounds); however, a diesel fueled vehicle with a shot through the tank will not be a one-shot stop, but will eventually bleed out.

My experience was at an abandoned rock quarry: a guy bought old junk cars, stripped parts, and rolled them over the edge for funsies. The vehicles ended up used as targets. The vitals of a vehicle are often protected by frame and fender sheet metal that will often prevent rounds fired from the sides or angles from actually hitting anything serious in the engine compartment. Straight on, you could make holes in the radiator and eventually the vehicle will overheat and sieze up. Doing amatuer "autopies" on junk vehicles used as plinking targets, my conclusion is that stopping a car with gunfire is not as easy as it appears in the movies. Even if a 357 would crack an engine block with a solid hit, most engine blocks are protected by frame and body work that would deform/deflect the bullet before it could hit the engine block.

 

[JustinJ]

"A more effective means of disabling an automobile is to shoot *through* the headlights, puncturing the battery. The projectile will short out the plates, killing the power. Most cars & trucks have the battery tray directly behind the headlights. "

I'm no car expert but its my understanding that a car really only uses the battery to start which is why you can jump a car with a bad battery. I guess maybe shooting the battery could short out the electrical system and fry the alternator?

 

[bkjeffrey]

Tis true......vehicles will run without a battery if the alternator is good, or "generator" if you drive a Volkswagon. Seen it, done it a hundred times. As far as shorting the plates....worse that could happen would be a blown charging circuit fuse. I guess this would stop a vehicle until the driver put a new fuse in it and got a jump start or new battery. And yes, you can jump a vehicle without a battery and it will start and run....again, done it a few times in my life.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I'm no car expert but its my understanding that a car really only uses the battery to start which is why you can jump a car with a bad battery. I guess maybe shooting the battery could short out the electrical system and fry the alternator?

Generally true but many alternators require an "exciter" voltage from the battery to the regulator to start the alternator output. An alternator operates the vehicle and accessories once the engine is started,the battery only "cranks" the engine. Some cars will run once started without a battery,most won't.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The chances of cracking a timing gear or splitting the timing chain would be pretty good if your familiar with automobiles and component locations.

Again, it's not like the only thing in front of the timing cover is a sheet metal fender or radiator. You've got the bumper cover, bumper, condenser, fan, accessories and brackets, all of which provide resistance and deflection angles. My .50 AP shot to the front of that Civic should have gone into the #3 cylinder, but after passing through everything, it hit that rear compressor bolt that resides between #1 and #2.

Some cars will run once started without a battery,most won't.

Older carbureted cars will, and many fuel injected cars do to. It just depends on the battery's role in the circuit; Some vehicles will die if the battery is removed. But a bullet hole also doesn't guarantee a battery kill. It may not hold a charge, but still conduct electricity. It would likely result in excessive alternator output that cold damage control modules, but they're often protected circuits with internal voltage regulators.

 

[Cosmoline]

I saw some Brenneke slugs apparently for this purpose with a truck on the box. I'd be inclined to chalk them up as another novelty round but that's not a company known for frivolity. I remain skeptical. I suspect other than shooting the driver the best bet would be to use heavy shot to try to cut as many wires, cables and belts as possible.

Or just let me drive it. I kill cars.