.22lr vs tire

[General Geoff]

So the knoxville news story about a guy trying to blow out the tires of some thieves' truck got me thinking, if you wanted to disable a vehicle as efficiently as possible from a distance, how would you do it?

Then I thought, would a rifle chambered in .22 long rifle have sufficient energy to puncture a standard car or light truck tire at about 100 yards? I'm about 90% sure it would, but would like some other opinions. This is assuming the target vehicle is stationary, if it makes a difference.

 

[langenc]

Try it and let us know.

 

[scrat]

i would have taken out the 12 guage. one shot boom. No more front windshield. IF your close enough youd pretty much screw up that front tire tooo. another shot bam that radiator is pretty toast

 

[kingpin008]

I wouldn't trust a .22 to have the velocity at 100 yards to puncture a tire reliably...Sure, you might not have a problem, but I can think of better bullets to try it with versus the lil ol' .22.

 

[General Geoff]

Well the reasoning I have behind .22 is that it's a very effectively suppressed weapon. A .22lr rifle with a can is practically silent, can't say the same with most centerfire rifles. A suppressed .300 Whisper rifle would probably be the most pertinent for this kind of job, though.

 

[John4me05]

Sidewall maybe... Tread i doubt a 22 would puncture all the way through into the space... Especially on a inflated tire...

 

[larry_minn]

I wouldn't suggest it on many levels.

 

[PTK]

On the range I frequent, idiots shoot up tires (AND LEAVE THEM! I get to pick them up and put them in the dump) - .22lr does not penetrate at 60 yards out of pistols or rifles, aiming at the tread.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

would a rifle chambered in .22 long rifle have sufficient energy to puncture a standard car or light truck tire at about 100 yards? I'm about 90% sure it would, but would like some other opinions.

I'm about 95% certain it won't. Certainly not at 100 yards.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

Not likely to be "reliable". However, certainly not impossible.

 

[scythefwd]

guess it would depend on how bald the tire was. If they are anything like most the tires I see around here, you could go through both sides through the treads. I routinely see belt here.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

they bounce more often than you'd think

 

[blkbrd666]

.22 out of a rifle will puncture a tire(sidewall) at 50 yards and under...don't know past 50 yards.

 

[Blackbeard]

Sidewall, probably so. Through the steel belted treads, maybe not.

 

[.cheese.]

It's not the rubber that's the problem. It's the metal underneath the treads.

ETA: Blackbeard beat me to it.

 

[siglite]

I would NOT recommend a .22LR for trying to take out a tire. When the first round bounced back at me and embedded in a tree, I considered it a fluke. When the second one bounced back at me and dinged off the steel bench, I packed up my crap and left, convinced that I was entirely too stupid to be shooting that day because I fired twice.

(this was many moons ago, when I was young and stupid. Now I'm not young anymore, just stupid.)

 

[Ridgerunner665]

100 yards is a bit of a stretch for a 22lr...at 50 it will work.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I got a job because .22s bounced off of earth-mover tires.

Some Oregon hippie tried to vandalize some road building equipment that threatened his pot patch. He shot a scraper's tire three times before he realized that the bullets were bouncing into his leg.

So he sued the road-building company.

I got paid $100.00 a week to stay with the equipment and keep hippies from hurting themselves.

All summer in the most beautiful place I've ever seen. What a hardship!

 

[Ridgerunner665]

OK...let me clarify a little.

A quality, high velocity, jacketed 22lr will penetrate a car or light truck tire at 50 yards...certainly through the sidewall...probably through the treads.

 

[scrat]

So what your saying is the wallymart special wont do the trick. I guess thats why i have a 45 Long Colt

 

[General Geoff]

So the consensus is that .22 might do it, but it might not. So it's out as a reliable way to puncture a tire.

I'd imagine that any centerfire pistol cartridge (or rifle cartridge, obviously) would do the trick then without question, including 9mm?

 

[Funderb]

actually, walmart stuff will work well, the velocity is pretty high.
I don't think you'll be shooting out tires at 100 yards much.

 

[scrat]

tell you what though at the range that walmart stuff is pretty effective on shooting steel at 100 yards. I can shoot it all day long with my marlin 700

 

[Aguila Blanca]

ANY centerfire pistol cartridge?

Be careful. I'm about 99% certain that a .25 ACP won't do it. I have my doubts about .32 ACP, and .380 ACP might do it in FMJ but wouldn't stand a chance in JHP from any farther than point-blank range.

 

[telecaster1981]

So the knoxville news story about a guy trying to blow out the tires of some thieves' truck got me thinking, if you wanted to disable a vehicle as efficiently as possible from a distance, how would you do it?

Well, a .22lr in the tire MIGHT do it...but a few rounds of M2 AP from my M1 into the engine block WILL.