Shooting from inside a moving vehicle is something you see in almost every action movie. We are not here to ruin action movies for you but we do want to help dispel some of the myths created by them. Let’s start with the biggest issue: you don’t want to shoot while your vehicle is moving; in reality, you’re just wasting ammo.
There are a variety of reasons behind this – your driver trying to evade, driving erratically and fast; uneven bumpy road surfaces; and an enemy target vehicle doing the same thing. You run a very small chance of actually hitting your intended target with effective fire. Again, you are just wasting your ammo. Plus, where are all those “missed” bullets going? Chances are that you are just throwing them out into an environment full of non-combatants.
What you want to do is fight with your vehicle. Save that ammo for when your vehicle dies. If you only have two spare magazines for that rifle or pistol, why would you want to waste 90 percent of your load just making noise? Wouldn’t it be better to still have those two spare magazines, when your vehicle finally dies, to help you get a new vehicle or escape on foot? Again, fight with your vehicle.
However, once the vehicle has stopped, there are still things to consider when shooting around a vehicle. Armor, egress, angles, wounded and so forth all come to mind right off the bat. Everyone knows to hide behind the engine block, but what if someone is already hiding there? The wheel hubs also stop bullets quite well, just don’t trust the trunk unless you know it is full of something solid.
In this video, Rob French goes into some of the techniques for shooting in and around a vehicle, covering topics like bullet deflection, cover points and shooting positions; as well as discussing some of those myths that might look good in a movie but don’t work practically.
These are battle-proven techniques, not just some three-gun competition guy talking about barrel off-set. Take them to heart. Learn them, and live them. Remember… Knowledge is your best weapon.
Rob French is USMC Force Recon and has conducted multiple Offensive Operations with 2nd Force Recon. He is skilled in Special Reconnaissance and Surveillance and counter surveillance, he has been Diplomatic Protection Detail team lead and is a Master Breacher. He is the recipient of the Purple Heart, Navy Comm with “V” and Good Conduct awards. Currently Rob is the Primary Close Quarters Weapons and Tactics Instructor for Tier 1 Group.
All opinion articles are the opinion of the author and not necessarily of American Military News. If you are interested in submitting an Op-Ed, please email [email protected]
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