Shooting Tires

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Yep, first hand., with a variety of tires.

Where did you obtain this type of training and experience?

[Utm]

Most LE agencies I know of do not allow you to shoot tires, if deadly force is needed then it is on the operator of the vehicle. I am not sure you'll get a lot of comments from LE dudes with specific training on this topic.

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Thanks to both of you for posting your first hand knowledge. What is the difference in shooting the tire from the side and the tread? Will a 9mm penetrate the steel treads? Im talking on a normal tire on a car or 1/2 ton pickup not a heavy duty tire. I assume it would take even longer for a tread shot to deflate vs a side wall shot?

I was an EVOC Instructor and a firearms instructor for many years - over 30.

The first problem with your scenario is actually making the shot - regardless of with pistol or rifle. You will be shooting at fairly small 'bands' on the front or rear of the spinning rim.

Just for fun I measured my Dodge Ram's cross section with a ruler - visible tire sidewall about 6 inches, edge of rim to spoke about 3 inches.

That target is going to be moving 1.46666 (let's call it 1.5) feet per second per MPH of speed. So as the car accelerates away. from a dead stop. it will be going from 0 FPS to 30 FPS within a couple seconds. It's going to be problematic establishing and holding a proper lead under those conditions..

In training our recruits to engage moving targets with handgun and shotgun we ran the mover at steady speeds to introduce them to the concepts of what we called 'steady hold' which was establishing a lead and maintaining it; 'overtaking' which was another way to say pass through shooting; and 'ambush' which was simply picking a point along the targets path of travel and firing before the target reached your point of aim. Given a steady speed, advice on the lead to take, and a couple of practice runs most folks could put rounds on target. Bobbing and weaving or accelerating is a different matter.

As others have mentioned, cars can drive a long way on flats. I once followed a drunk who had hit a concrete bridge and pretty much wiped out his right front end for about three miles, the last one of which was on the rim of the truck with the rim angled about 45 degrees out. All kinds of sparks.

I'm fully on board with LE policies that proscribe shooting at moving vehicles or their occupants unless the vehicle poses a direct threat to life which cannot be avoided.

Shooting the tire anywhere with a pistol round will eventually cause it to deflate, but it takes a while. Bad guy will be able to drive away without any issue. I may have some old video comparing shooting the rubber vs. shooting the rim. Shooting the rim w a pistol is a waste of time. Done this many times in trainings to show the difference. It’s also common to have a student accidentally shoot a tire while shooting under the vehicle. Takes a while to notice the tire is going flat.

[secondstoryguy]

Where did you obtain this type of training and experience?

10 years LEO (Current), ~6 years on a Tier one SWAT team and 8 years in the military. Plus I grew up in Texas and I've shot alot of random shit when I was growing up to include tires (don't ask)

[UNK]

Most LE agencies I know of do not allow you to shoot tires, if deadly force is needed then it is on the operator of the vehicle. I am not sure you'll get a lot of comments from LE dudes with specific training on this topic.

I received a couple of excellent replies upthread. As I said and explained further one of the scenarios was about an abduction. This is all theoretical Im not planning on shooting any tires and I surely would not want to create a danger to bystanders or the victim. I just wanted to know what happens if you shoot a tire.

[UNK]

10 years LEO (Current), ~6 years on a Tier one SWAT team and 8 years in the military. Plus I grew up in Texas and I've shot alot of random shit when I was growing up to include tires (don't ask)

Perfect thank you. That is very helpful.

[Lon]

Thanks to both of you for posting your first hand knowledge. What is the difference in shooting the tire from the side and the tread? Will a 9mm penetrate the steel treads? Im talking on a normal tire on a car or 1/2 ton pickup not a heavy duty tire. I assume it would take even longer for a tread shot to deflate vs a side wall shot?

I don’t remember if there was a difference in time to deflate between the sidewall and tread. We go over shooting tires as a “it ain’t like the movies” kinda thing. Basically, we show them shooting the rubber is pretty much a waste of time and if you absolutely, positively need to deflate a tire for some reason, use a rifle (all our cars have them) and shoot the rim.

[UNK]

I don’t remember if there was a difference in time to deflate between the sidewall and tread. We go over shooting tires as a “it ain’t like the movies” kinda thing. Basically, we show them shooting the rubber is pretty much a waste of time and if you absolutely, positively need to deflate a tire for some reason, use a rifle (all our cars have them) and shoot the rim.

Thank you. Much appreciated.

[Tranvaal]

https://clucas.com/ammunition/tyre-deflation-round/

[OlongJohnson]

The situation that caused this question is a person was babysitting a child. The scene was a corner lot with a pretty decent distance from the corner of the garage to the sidewalk. The child was riding a bike and went onto the side walk. A pickup truck was coming down the street and slowed down close to the child. The person watching the childs first thought was abduction. She took off running towards the child and had to cover 30-40 yards. Thankfully the truck drove on and it was a non incident.

As you describe it, it sounds like it may have been an appropriately defensive driver, reducing speed in case the kid did something stupid like entering the street.