Can a metal folding chair stop a bullet?
Question by Jack: Can a metal folding chair stop a bullet?
How large a caliber if any? One of those steel folding chairs that you find at schools, churches, gynasiums, etc. Friend and I were just wondering if holding one up would help in case you were shot at. (Completely hypothetical.)
Best answer:
Answer by Zakonye ::Blocked by a whiny bit
I’ve seen pistol rounds stopped by some pretty mundane things before. A few years ago, living in the “cheap” section of a town, we found out that an exterior brick wall can stop a .45. But the cops said we were lucky, so It’s not something I’d bet on again.
Depending on the caliber, ammo used, barrel length of the gun fired from, and angle; I can see it working. Sometimes.
Give your answer to this question below!
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:25 pm
just get the hell away,forget the metal chair. not hypothetical!
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Nope —– Almost completely worthless….. A .22 bullet fired from a distance may offer some protection….. But all rifle bullets, and all pistol bullets would sail right thru it….
Look here at these very entertaining as well as informative ammunition penetration tests…..
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm
Look at these Buick tests…. A Car doesn’t offer much help either…..
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/thebuickotruth.htm
http://www.theboxotruth.com/
August 23rd, 2010 at 4:19 pm
stranger things have happened.
Still, I would not plan on one for protection on anything over a 25 ACP. Anything else will almost certainly penetrate.
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Maybe a BB gun BB.
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:54 pm
i don’t think so even a 22 would go through i’ve taken some folding chairs to the range to use them as targets i figured the 22 wouldn’t go through so that i could hear when it hits. but every shot i fired went through the chair
an also if your thinking about using cooking pans as cover those wont stop a bullet either…
August 23rd, 2010 at 6:20 pm
That’s weird. I saw a documentary where a church elder in a ghetto was threatened by gang members and he brought folding chairs home from the church to put around his kids.
They wouldn’t stop a 9mm pistol bullet, or any centerfire rifle bullet.
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:16 pm
a .22 rimfire sonic or subsonic bullet would be the most powerful round that will be stopped 100%.
a little .25 acp or 32 acp type I’m guess 25% the bullet will be stopped or significantly reduced in lethality.
I’m imagining the scenario is you’re in the church for some reason they use metal chairs and some nut with a gun bursts in and starts blasting away. Something like this happened before.
metal chairs will stop all non-firearm projectiles though.
and shotgun shot like 1 buck or less over 10 yards away will be stopped.
bullets wise its best you not get hit.
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Fifty years ago, my father took me out shooting for the first time.
We had along his .22 calibre Winchester Model 69A, which was built before the Second World War and he had some copper-cased low-velocity .22 ammunition which was issued during the Second World War to the Air Force for practising with.
When we got to the range, he set up a short length of 2×4, loaded one cartridge into the rifle, aimed and fired. That low-speed bullet, older than I was, went through the 2×4 the hard way: it penetrated 3-1/2 inches of wood and kept on going.
Dad turned to me and said quietly, “See? It’s not a toy.”
Steel oil drums are about the thickness of a folding chair. An ordinary modern .22 will drift the slug right through the steel and put a big dent in the other side. An ancient .25 Stevens will put its bullet through BOTH sides. Using a folding chair (steel) for protection, the only thing you MIGHT be safe from would be a .22 Short which was fired from more than 25 yards away.
Best thing to do with the folding chair is throw it at the guy with the gun and hit the floor RIGHT NOW.
On the other hand, if it’s a hostage situation and YOU have a gun, too….
Oh, it’s likely completely silly. In most places today, the majesty of The Law prevents victims from defending their own lives. They are supposed to call 911 before they die.
Fortunately, this situation is being turned around in many jurisdicta although in my country (Canada), you get your name in the papers if you are a “victim”. If you protect yourself, you immediately become a “vigilante” and the harshest penalties are demanded by enraged citizenry, the Press in all its variations, and, of course, the police who weren’t there to do anything.
Police are REACTIVE; places where they are PROACTIVE are called “police states”. We’re not there…. yet.
August 23rd, 2010 at 8:12 pm
NO! forget the useless chair, you can run faster without it.
August 23rd, 2010 at 9:01 pm
I don’t see where it would stop anything any bigger than a .22 lr. At a sharp angle, it might deflect a bullet. If a decent handgun bullet went through the chair, it would probably start expanding before it hit you and make a big entrance hole.
December 28th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Did you attend university in California? I recognise your name, I just can’t remember from where.
February 9th, 2011 at 11:15 pm
Thumbs up for this article!
February 12th, 2011 at 4:34 am
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!