Would a car door stop a bullet?

I am about mid-way through watching the '24' box set and just like all the other action films we watch, the 'good guys' often hide behind a car door whilst being showered with a thousand bullets by the baddies. Then they pop up, take one shot and kill the perp.

It's not just car doors either. Sometimes a filing cabinet a wall or a tree or even a sofa. Of course it is possible to shoot through a car door a wall or a filing cabinet when it's the baddies that are hiding behind them.

So do you think a car door would stop a bullet?

There is some evidence that if the bullet hit the lock or window mechanism, that it might.

I know Mythbusters have done plenty on this but under controlled conditions and not a genuine hail of bullets.

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

I can say for certain that I wouldn't expect a car door (or a filing cabinet) to stop a bullet aimed at me. I suppose it also depends upon the distance covered. As for a tree, when I was in the RAF I remember being informed that a 7.62mm bullet fired from an SLR could go straight through a tree trunk, although they didn't specify how thick a trunk!

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

No a normal car door wouldn't stop a bullet, and definitely not a hail of them, don't forget it's TV or movies so everything is done to add to the excitement,

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

car doors do not stop bullets......see below..


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_kaZYHr8DE

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

I have absolutely no idea but you usually get an old soldier relating how his pocket watch saved his life when a bullet hit him!

I'd imagine Mercedes car doors might stop a bullet, as a salesman once told me they are reinforced and strengthened at the lower section of the door.

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

It all depends on the distance from which the firearm is fired and calibre.
If the distance is far enough to affect the bullets penetration effectiveness then the accuracy is also effected so the door would not have been the target and was infact hit by a stray bullet.

Then theres the penetration factors of the projectile itself
For instance
FMJ
SJHP
JHP
WC
SWC

Etc.

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

No but the Ninja in the glove box will finish the job.

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

Thanks for the answers. It seems commonplace in films these days. I also don't think a car door would stop one although I suppose you could argue that if the vehicle is owned by the Central terrorist unit or the FBI, it could be bullet proof. The most unlikely shoot-out I have seen, I think it might have been in one of the Die Hard films, Bruce Willis was sheltering behind a sofa.

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

It would depend if the window was up or down, and if the glass was bulletproof.

Re: Would a car door stop a bullet?

The British Police Armed Response Unit's Range Rovers doors and windows are ballistic resistant(to a point)
There's also a ballistic blanket that is manually deployed from under the door window, this drops to the ground to protect the officer's legs and stop any ricochet upwards and under the opened doir.