Can .40S&W Stop A Vehicle?

[Meta4]

Originally Posted by Greg in OKLAa

So, would that be ++++++++++P+++++++++++ ammo?

You beat me to it, I had the exact same thing in mind. Great minds think alike, eh?

-James

[[TASF]Overkill]

My neighbor (Who I have been enlightening on the finer points of "Stopping Power: Math or Myth" and "Clips: What they are, and what they aren't") asked me the other day what kind of semi-auto pistol it would take to put crack the block of a Peterbilt. The meanest production semi-auto I could come up with was the DEagle .50 AE, and I would imagine that it could cause SOME damage to the engine block... but... I'm not sure.

[949GUNZ]

Didn't the Israeli Military develop the .50AE to penetrate tank armor? I would imagine that it would do some damage to a simple old cast iron engine block if it will penetrate tank armor, don't you? Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I have been told.

[dirtyvicar]

weren't there teflon coated bullets that could penetrate engine blocks?

[SLYDER]

Special Forces teams have been known to use sniper rifles to disable the valves of a motor to "stop" vehicles before. Not that the stop them instantly, but disable the motor and it will eventually stop. Then the ground team or snipers can clean up!!

I doubt those snipers use .40S&W though!!

[ichy_trigger]

Originally Posted by 949GUNZ

Didn't the Israeli Military develop the .50AE to penetrate tank armor? I would imagine that it would do some damage to a simple old cast iron engine block if it will penetrate tank armor, don't you? Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but that is what I have been told.

Neither a .50 cal pistol round or rifle round will penetrate TANK armor. If it could it would be classed as a light armored vehicle.

A .22 LR will stop a car if you use the bullet to punch a hole in the gas tank

As far as cracking an engine block...I bet the .50 AE, .50 S&W, .460 S&W, .460 Ruger and the .454 Cassull would all probably be up to the task. A .44 Magnum will crack an engine block in a car I have no doubt, not sure about a BIG truck engine though.

[Vampire]

Originally Posted by JD McDorce

To actually stop a moving vehicle coming at you? Newton's Second Law tells me no.

(I did some rough calculations: in order to balance the momentum of a 4000 pound vehicle going 5 mph, a 180 gr .40S&W round would need to be travelling well in excess of 1 million feet per second.)

Can you post the hand load you worked out for that

[Vampire]

Originally Posted by dirtyvicar

weren't there teflon coated bullets that could penetrate engine blocks?

PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLease stop w/ the magic teflon bullet myths

[[TASF]Overkill]

A .44 Magnum will crack an engine block in a car I have no doubt, not sure about a BIG truck engine though.

In my Speer reloading manual, it states that the .50AE at 100 yards has the same energy as a .44Magnum does AT THE MUZZLE.

Mmmmmmm.

[dirtyvicar]

Originally Posted by Vampire

PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLease stop w/ the magic teflon bullet myths

It was a simple question. No need for sarcastic responses.

I googled it (which I didn't have time to do earlier).

"The claim was made by the media that the teflon also lubricated the point of impact and increased penetration dramatically. That claim, in reference to soft body armor, was convincingly refuted by government test, with the Justice Dept. saying it "has little or no effect on the penetrating qualities of the projectile" and the Treasury Dept. labeling it as "little more than a cosmetic additive." But the fact that Teflon protects the bore from the ill effects of the hard bullet core is incontrovertible. By end of 1981, KTW was offering its products in most handgun calibers. Sales were still limited to police agencies or police officers ordering through federally licensed dealers, and were still limited in volume."

Source