Miculek - Vehicle Vs. XXmm (CRAZY results we didn't expect!)

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  • actaeon277

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    I was fortunate to be able to test various guns/calibers on a car, but it was a LONG time ago,'
    Mostly similar results though.
    The door seems to be a bit tougher.
    But even the old steels in the older cars were pretty good at stopping all but the bigger pistol bullets.

    I was wondering though, because newer cars mean newer designs and newer steels.
    The steels we're pouring at work for the safety cage in autos, didn't even exist a bit over a decade ago.

    I have to say though, in my test, we didn't have a shotgun
     

    GIJEW

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    I was fortunate to be able to test various guns/calibers on a car, but it was a LONG time ago,'
    Mostly similar results though.
    The door seems to be a bit tougher.
    But even the old steels in the older cars were pretty good at stopping all but the bigger pistol bullets.

    I was wondering though, because newer cars mean newer designs and newer steels.
    The steels we're pouring at work for the safety cage in autos, didn't even exist a bit over a decade ago.

    I have to say though, in my test, we didn't have a shotgun
    I read that in the 1930's the .357 was popular with LE because it could punch through car doors. Must have been fewer braces
     

    actaeon277

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    I read that in the 1930's the .357 was popular with LE because it could punch through car doors. Must have been fewer braces

    They didn't have to much worry about crash ratings, front and side impact, and such.
    Metallurgy was also considerably less sophisticated.
     

    dudley0

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    I stopped in at a local glass biz and got a windshield to test shoot. Put it away and forgot about it until just now.

    I need to get it out and test some different angles. I have access to a couple older vehicles that I can pop as well. Think I might give this a try once the weather breaks.
     

    Timjoebillybob

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    They didn't have to much worry about crash ratings, front and side impact, and such.
    Metallurgy was also considerably less sophisticated.
    I'm wondering how one of my old cars would hold up. A 71 olds 98, I swear it didn't have sheet metal, it was closer to plate steel. The door skins had to be close to a 1/16th of an inch if not more.
     

    eric001

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    That was a really interesting video. I'm rather surprised at how well the car door fared overall.

    On the other hand, there's a couple rounds I really would've liked to have seen him try on that car: green-tip 556 and any of the 7.62x39 that's common. I'm pretty sure the 556 would go straight through, but would love to see how the 7.62 would have done.
     

    actaeon277

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    I'm wondering how one of my old cars would hold up. A 71 olds 98, I swear it didn't have sheet metal, it was closer to plate steel. The door skins had to be close to a 1/16th of an inch if not more.

    That's actually the problem.
    The car didn't "crumple".
    So, all the energy was transferred to the meat bags inside.
    Yup, there was less damage to the vehicle in low speed impacts.
    But make it higher speed, and everyone got splattered.

    Newer cars will crumple. This absorbs energy, energy that will not go to the meat bags.
    The safety cage is the citadel. The most protected part of the car. The metals used in it, are so strong, that initially fire departments ran into problems with their "jaws of life" being insufficient for the job.
    So they had to upgrade their "jaws" or replace with special cutters.
     

    foszoe

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    I remember taking a class, think it was with BBI, who mentioned that the shear forces on a bullet hitting a sloped windshield will deflect the round by as much as 4 inches. That could be why when shooting through windows, the target was unscathed.
     

    Timjoebillybob

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    That's actually the problem.
    The car didn't "crumple".
    So, all the energy was transferred to the meat bags inside.
    Yup, there was less damage to the vehicle in low speed impacts.
    But make it higher speed, and everyone got splattered.

    Newer cars will crumple. This absorbs energy, energy that will not go to the meat bags.
    The safety cage is the citadel. The most protected part of the car. The metals used in it, are so strong, that initially fire departments ran into problems with their "jaws of life" being insufficient for the job.
    So they had to upgrade their "jaws" or replace with special cutters.
    Oh I understand the purpose and how crumple zones work. Nothing gave on that car, it got shoved hard enough by a semi to push the car sideways. The door didn't dent, just had grind marks from the rim. I nailed a good sized buck doing 50mph, all it did was knock half the grill out. I'm just glad I never got in a serious accident with it. I'm just curious how the old thick metal would compare to more modern thinner stuff when shot.
     
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