shooting at a moving target while in a moving car

[Warpt762x39]

On the History channel they had Army sniper training , and said the hardest part of Qualifying was hitting a target out of a Helicopter. And these guys have to be good to even get to the school

The Coast Guard guys do it on a fairly regular basis. They have an M240 for stringing a few bursts in front of fast moving drug runners. If they ignore that the shooter pulls out his .50BMG rifle (can't remember what model) and they take out the engine on the boat. Also they are the only "LEO" agency legally allowed to make shots from a helicopter.

If I was trying to stop some guy in a high speed chase I'd get ahead of him and put a few rounds in the radiator. You can keep running with no tire on the wheel as those shows prove. But if your motor overheats and locks up, you're not going anywhere except on foot. Plus the radiator is a bit bigger target than say a low profile tire now so common these days.

[Frenchy]

I am not inviting any one to shoot my truck tires unless they want to dish out $200 per tire + any rim damage, but I had seen a show where the police said shooting tires was a futile exercise with pistol/revolver calibers unless you had armor piercing rounds.
This is why they use those nail strips or star tubes to puncture tires now rather then try to shoot them out.

I would agree, the Radiator, or even engine with a .357 would cause major damage to the engine block in short time, mostly if the car is “racing” away, the other option from the back is the gas tank as most times now, they are some sort of plastic and can be pierced much easier.

[fadedtrends]

I guess I'm a little late to the party on this one, but if anyone still cares there's a much simpler example for your question. Grab a tennis ball and a friend, now both of you walk parallel 10 feet apart at a brisk pace, throw the ball to your friend in a straight line, aiming for his/her mid section, Im guessing the result is that the ball was behind the mid section. Although there are some great scientific points made what is obviously over looked was, when the bullet leaves the muzzle it is no longer moving in the same direction of the car, much like throwing the ball to your friend when you threw the ball your friend had already moved even though your moving the same direction at the same speed the bullet is not.

However ten feet away and the speed of the bullet is the difference is only gonna be the width of the tire anyway so instead of aiming at and hitting the leading edge of the tire you will most likely hit the trailing edge.

If you need more proof and are a thrill seeker (or just plain dumb) have some friends tow a junker behind a truck and have someone drive along side at your measured distance, put a target on the door and try to hit the bulls-eye. probably shouldn't do that but, first time it was done no harm no foul and learned all I needed to know, I used a .22LR at 30mph probably use a air rifle and two lawn tractors with trailers, or golf carts ok now I am rambling

[West Chester]

I had seen a show where the police said shooting tires was a futile exercise with pistol/revolver calibers unless you had armor piercing rounds.

I have heard cops say.... blah blah blah string of lies.

Do you really believe that a pistol round cannot puncture a tire's sidewall?

[lildobe]

Do you really believe that a pistol round cannot puncture a tire's sidewall?

The sidewall of a stationary tire, sure. But one that is spinning at nearly a thousand RPM, that's a different matter. The movement of the tire will serve to deflect the round when it impacts the tire.

If I had a safe place to do it (and a car I didn't care about) I'd be more then happy to put it up on jackstands and shoot at it on video to prove the point.

[GunLawyer001]

I have heard cops say.... blah blah blah string of lies.

Do you really believe that a pistol round cannot puncture a tire's sidewall?

I wouldn't bet my life either way. Rubber will resist penetration by deforming, where something rigid would just be punched through. Like the willow tree and the oak, the willow bends and doesn't break where an oak resists and snaps. Same with soft body armor, it resists penetration by deforming without separating. Modern tires are multi-layers, sort of like modern body armor.

A steel belted tire is probably pretty tough for big, slow handgun rounds to defeat. Sidewalls are thin, but they're spinning, and the point of impact will be spread slightly.

I'd be interested in actual tests. I wouldn't be surprised at any outcome, it's a complicated question.

[West Chester]

I emailed box-o-truth to see if they would do the test.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm

[ReconLdr]

This sounds like a science project.... I might think about this.

Or someone could just send it to the Mythbusters.

[GunLawyer001]

This sounds like a science project.... I might think about this.

Or someone could just send it to the Mythbusters.

I like Mythbusters (especially the redhead), but their science is less than rigorous. They are capable of letting the one guy try shooting something a few times, missing badly, and then saying "it can't be done".

Well, I never dated Heidi Klum, but apparently it was possible.

[CenterTree]

thanks for the time you put into that response frenchy :-) gave you rep for that going to have to re-read that later when im more awake i hate this time changing crap

uh, what time change? I hope you didn't change your clocks yet!

Maybe you are just "TIRED"....get it tired?