So what would happen if I had to shoot from inside my car ?

[SteveB2175]

Let's say that I find myself in the unfortunate situation of being threatend by someone while I'm in my car.

If I were to try and shoot the BG though my windshield what would happen ?

1) Would the bullet make it through the windshield with enough force to stop the BG ?

2) Would I be deaf from the noise inside the car ?

I have a KelTec P32 and an M&P 9mm full size. I would be interested to know how both guns would handle that situation.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[bladenbullet]

bullet deflection could make it an interesting shot to aim correctly....if the bad guy is in front of you you might be better off using the vehicle itself as a weapon...it carries a great deal of energy and although its velocity is a little lethargic compared to your handgun it is an effective tool to stop a threat...

and i dont care what they say about auditory exclusion...your ears are gonna ring afterward...

[HotGuns]

1. More than likely.

2. No.

It is common for bullets to have little energy left when shooting through a windshield. The trick is to keep shooting. Bullets will be deflected due to that angle of the windshield.

It you are freaking out, the sound wil be the least of your worries. When you have an adrenaline rush your brain goes into what is called auditory exclusion, meaning that you only focus on the threat. People have reported not even hearing the shot or reporting that they shot once when in fact they emptied a mag full.

In this case a 9mm beats the .32 in every way.

If you are not in an adrenaline dump...it will be so loud that you'll think your ears are bleeding from the sound. You will damage your hearing.

[ctsketch]

1) Would the bullet make it through the windshield with enough force to stop the BG ?

depends on the ammunition, some have better ballistics after penetrating auto glass than others.

2) Would I be deaf from the noise inside the car ?

auditory exclusion would help prevent some damage, but the pressure will still do a number on you

[Guantes]

There will be some deflection with the first shot or two, until the glass is no longer present to deflect the projectile. Another reason for multiple shots.
Shots within a confined area may damage your hearing, but you will not be aware of it. In one case in a small room, I thought I had a misfire the sound was so minimal.

[MadMac]

If you are seated in the driver's seat of your car, you have the best weapon available - a 2500 lb. one. I'd try to use that one first.

In a stressful situation like an SD shooting, you probabluy wouldn't even remember hearing the shots.

[fastk9dad]

I heard you should put your muzzle as close to the glass as possible so the muzzle blast will hopefully clear out a nice hole for follow up shots.

[pgrass101]

As others said shoot multiple times, use the 9mm and if you have to shoot from inside your car, your hearing is not the most important thing to worry about

[mcp1810]

Windshields and handgun bullets don't mix too well. If you have to shoot through a car window the laminated safety glass of the windshield is the worst possible option. Angled shots at hard surfaces such as glass always present the danger of ricochet. The front windshield is actually two panes of glass with a polymer film in between. Without going into a long spiel about bullet resistant glazing let me oversimplify and just say that basically armored vehicles use the same thing just many more layers for their windows. The tempered glass of the side or rear windows would be a better bet as they will shatter with the first shot (unless the angle is too shallow and your round just ricochets) and offer little resistance to follow up shots.

Gunfire without hearing protection, especially in a confined space, should be avoided whenever possible.
That said, better deaf than dead! Unless you are shooting a very very high pressure round I would not expect significant long term damage. But then again "significant" can be a very subjective thing.

[danco]

If you are seated in the driver's seat of your car, you have the best weapon available - a 2500 lb. one. I'd try to use that one first.

+1

You're going to have a hard time passing the "Reasonable Man" test if you don't drive off and instead stay put and shoot *through* your glass window.

If you can't drive off, at least wait until the perp breaks your window, then shoot...

In a stressful situation like an SD shooting, you probabluy wouldn't even remember hearing the shots.

This is true. Although, even though your brain tunes out the sound (it's called "auditory exclusion"), that doesn't mean permanent hearing loss isn't happening...

~Dan

[NC Bullseye]

To clarify a few things, auditory exclusion does NOT prevent hearing damage, it only negates the effect of loud noises on how the brain perceives the situation. You may not realize the loudness of the sound but the damage to the inner ear still happens since the mechanics still happen internally.

Second, experiencing ANY firearms discharge inside a confined area such as a car will cause hearing damage. It may be so slight that you don't notice a difference but the damage occurs and is cumulative so it adds to past damage and will be part of the overall loss of hearing.

As others have said, if they are in front use the bigger weapon, the vehicle you are driving. If it's a side then the glass plays a much smaller role in deflection. Tempered glass which is what is on the rest of the glass in your car usually tends to disappear when shot.

[DoctorBob]

Auditory exclusion is a brain thing not an ear thing - it is not protective to the structures of the inner ear.

Repeated or prolonged exposure to sounds in excess of 85 decibels can produce NIHL (noise induced hearing loss). Longer exposure time, more times, and louder noises increase the liklihood of NIHL. Gun shots are usually in the 120 to 150 decibel range. Each 10 db increases (or decreases) the sound pressure by a factor of 10. So, the earmuffs you wear on the range have. about 30-33 db attenuation; that's 1/10 X 1/10 X 1/10 or about a facor of 1/1000. Similarly, the increase from 85 to 145 db is about 10 x 10 X10 X10x10x10 or a factor of about 1 million. That is really going to hurt big time and you will almost certainly loose a noticeable amount of hearing. The confined space you're in won't help either.

Check out the NIH info at http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp

[glockfan23]

Let's say that I find myself in the unfortunate situation of being threatend by someone while I'm in my car.

If I were to try and shoot the BG though my windshield what would happen ?

1) Would the bullet make it through the windshield with enough force to stop the BG ?

2) Would I be deaf from the noise inside the car ?

I have a KelTec P32 and an M&P 9mm full size. I would be interested to know how both guns would handle that situation.

here the test keltec and a glock 19 shooting true windshields ,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS_KKQ-nt1g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjNc4WQVfyw

[delford]

thanks for the link glockfan. pretty obvious the larger of the two pistols was more accurate in the test. hopefully, as was said before, the car becomes the weapon and you never have to use the pistol.

[dukalmighty]

+1

You're going to have a hard time passing the "Reasonable Man" test if you don't drive off and instead stay put and shoot *through* your glass window.

If you can't drive off, at least wait until the perp breaks your window, then shoot...



This is true. Although, even though your brain tunes out the sound (it's called "auditory exclusion"), that doesn't mean permanent hearing loss isn't happening...

~Dan

So you are saying I need to let somebody with a gun pointed at me shoot first so I can justify self defense,BS that first shot may be the one that kills you,as soon as there is reasonable fear that my life may be in danger if I don't use deadly force,either my vehicle or gun to stop the threat.,one downside to driving toward a person,is your vehicle is not gonna accelerate fast enough to where he can sidestep and shoot thru your windows,It may only be 1 or 2 rounds he gets off,but at almost point blank range it's hard to miss