Car doors as cover ??

[Redneck Repairs]

If you eaver considered using a car door for cover i suggest you trot over to tfl http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=213488 and take a gander

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[rocky]

Second chances owner Richard Davis used to test all types of stuff to see how well it would with stand bullets. I remember watching videos he produced shooting engine blocks, car doors ect.

[P95Carry]

I always rated a car door as little more than concealment.

Watching the N Hollywood shootout made me realize that in fact a whole darned car ain't much use against AK's and AP rounds!

Think on it - outer steel skin - maybe 18 gauge at best, could be 20 - then odd bits inside which may not include glass if window up - then flimsy internal upholstery panel - not much at all! It has to be way more ''psychological'' cover than real cover.

[Ben Hennessy]

How about a wheel well as cover. Much more metal there and stopping power.

[Huzar]

How about a wheel well as cover. Much more metal there and stopping power.

Much more metal? You're kidding right? While I have never shot a car before Jeeps are my hobby and I can tell you that there isn't that much more metal in a wheel well. Heck, depending on the car in a wheel well there might be more plastic then metal then in a door.

[BushidoMarine]

I used to work for a company that made the stamping dies used in making car body parts such as the inner and outer door panels, trunk & hood panels, roof, etc. The typical thickness of the steel used for these parts is between 0.6 ~ 0.85 millimeters. Car doors(and a car body in general) is basically VERY thin metal enclosing mostly empty space!!! Only in very few areas, such as near the 'A'/'B' pillars, does the door metal thickness exceed 1mm...typically 1.2~1.5 to support the weight where the hinges connect the car frame and the door together.

Also, the doors on your typical car are only made of two layers of metal; the outer skin panel, and the inner panel that the skin panel is clamped/folded onto. The interior panels are just vinyl covered plastic or particle board...not the best bullet stoppers. To save weight, the inner panel has LOTS OF HOLES punched into it, often exceeding 100-130 holes. The end result is the bare minimum of metal needed to keep the door's desired shape, rigidity, and weight supporting characteristics; the rest is methodically removed as the thin sheet metal is transformed into door shaped thin sheet metal.

Long story short...car doors are concealment, NOT cover!!
Despite the results of the testing posted in the firingline.com link, I wouldn't bet my life on a typical car door being able to to even stop a .22 consistantly.

[Huzar]

Here's a thought... if anything hide behind tires (if you're small and got big tires).

I used to work for a company that made the stamping dies used in making car body parts such as the inner and outer door panels, trunk & hood panels, roof, etc. The typical thickness of the steel used for these parts is between 0.6 ~ 0.85 millimeters. Car doors(and a car body in general) is basically VERY thin metal enclosing mostly empty space!!! Only in very few areas, such as near the 'A'/'B' pillars, does the door metal thickness exceed 1mm...typically 1.2~1.5 to support the weight where the hinges connect the car frame and the door together.

Also, the doors on your typical car are only made of two layers of metal; the outer skin panel, and the inner panel that the skin panel is clamped/folded onto. The interior panels are just vinyl covered plastic or particle board...not the best bullet stoppers. To save weight, the inner panel has LOTS OF HOLES punched into it, often exceeding 100-130 holes. The end result is the bare minimum of metal needed to keep the door's desired shape, rigidity, and weight supporting characteristics; the rest is methodically removed as the thin sheet metal is transformed into door shaped thin sheet metal.

Long story short...car doors are concealement, NOT cover!!
I wouldn't trust a typical car door to even stop a .22...

[Ben Hennessy]

When I said wheel wells I was thinking that the wheels of a car is thicker metal than the metal of a door.

[Weeg]

I was always trained front wheel, with the engine block between you and the bad guys...If at all possible.


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[paramedic70002]

Never trust ammunition to over or underpenetrate. I once had an ND. Fired a .357 Mag HP inside a travel trailer. LOUD! Anyway, the round penetrated one layer of an overhanging bunk's lightweight wood "cabinet" face, and came to rest inside a thin mattress. After I got over the shock of the ND, I really got to thinking that there are no guarantees in a gunfight.

[rstickle]

Doors? I don't think so, maybe engine block.

[FastDraw]

I always rated a car door as little more than concealment.

Excellent point!

[mark555]

I tend to error on the side of caution; most everything is concealment not cover. The TV shows that have people taking cover behind refrigerator doors and interior walls and the same stopping the bullet crack me up,

[rocky]

I wonder how alum. wheels stop bullets, compared to steel wheels? Engine blocks should be o.k., but remember there is some sheetmetal above where the engine sits making up the hood and fenders.

[Huzar]

I tend to error on the side of caution; most everything is concealment not cover. The TV shows that have people taking cover behind refrigerator doors and interior walls and the same stopping the bullet crack me up,

Yeah, I just watched Mr & Mrs Smith and it's entertaining to see how all of the bullets only dented the fridge doors. That must be a hell of a fridge