Car Cover

You are being shot at and you don't want to get any holes in you.  You need something to duck behind.  Several brick and steel building between you and the shooter are good.  So is being on the other side of a hill.  A big ol tree trunk is acceptable?

What about a car?  Sure the engine block can stop most everything a bad guy would be slinging your way but what about the rest?

Well, I, and other tested that proposition at a Northcoast blogshoot many moons ago.  Pretty much everything went through the door.  But few things went through both doors.  A rifle round will sail clear through.  A .44 magnum did too.  But 9mm and .45 and such stayed in the car.  Ducking behind the other side of the car, even without the engine block, and you have a modicum of safety.  It's not just concealment, it's cover.  As long as someone smart bad guy doesn't shoot under the car at your shins.

So why did this thought percolate up in my head, now?  I don't remember if we test shotgun loads.  I imagine hot loads of 12 gauge 00 buck or slug wouldn't go through both doors.  Some sort of rifle sabot might.  But I have no real world evidence to know.

Or the bad guys might be aliens with really fancy sabot rounds that even go through engine blocks.  :50 seconds into this trailer.