.50-Cal Is for Noobs: Ex-State Trooper Fires His 1.68-in Caliber Gun at Police Armored Car

As a core characteristic of America, the gun is so deeply intertwined with the very existence of the nation that it reached a status no other man-made object even dreams of attaining. (No, not even mobile phones and other so-called smart gadgets). So, what if a car and a gun had a personal dispute and decided to take it outside (at the firing range)?

The Internet is filled with countless videos of various scenarios revolving around this idea of firing different weapons at a multitude of cars just because. However, no one can beat Scott DeShields Jr. at this game. His latest antic involving guns and cars is absolutely next-level, as neither the weapon nor the vehicle is anything ordinary.

The Kentucky Ballistics YouTube channel host, Scott DeShields, is a former Kentucky State Trooper with a big appetite for anything firepower. Last August, he introduced his audience (which is now almost 4.5 million strong) to the Fury Punt Gun. Earlier last June, he used it against a police car. An armored tactical vehicle, to be exact, used by the Metro Special Police. Not presently, but at some point in the distant past, judging by its appearance.

A word about the punt gun: it’s an overkill shotgun, in short - pun(t) absolutely intended. It was used in the late 19th and early 20th century to industrially hunt waterfowl (think fifty ducks or geese in one shot, anyone) before it was banned for being overly efficient. They were called punt guns because they were mounted on punts (small, narrow watercraft) in a horizontal position that allowed the hunter to fire at birds sitting on the water's surface.

The Fury starring in the videos below could be best described as ‘individual artillery,’ as its size makes it impossible to fit in the handheld arms category. 150 pounds heavy, nine feet from stock to barrel muzzle, and with a 1.68-inch bore of its six-foot barrel – that’s a downright canon. (for metric-minded gun enthusiasts: 68 kilograms, 2.74 meters, 42.67 mm, 1.82 meters).

It fires a one-pound lead ball (453 grams) with a 1,743-grain powder load (113.4 grams). Of course, it can also fire several other types of ordnance, as demonstrated in the first video. From glass marbles to buckshot, pretty much anything that fits in the barrel is fair game.

The armored truck that serves as target practice for the big gun was not designed to bring high-powered weapons’ ammunition to a dead stop and not get damaged but rather to offer protection from pistols and other firearms in the same category. However, it was built to be bullet resistant (that’s a very relative phrase, as ‘bullet’ and ‘resistant’ are very malleable terms).

To be fair, the old truck did its intended job well until Scott loaded the Fury with a wax slug. It contains 18 ounces of birdshot (510 grams of lead), and the hole in the truck's side is enough explanation for the impact forces. Speaking of which, I should point out that the punt gun used by the YouTuber backfires with an 800-lb (362 kilogram) recoil force.

The lethal shot that pierces the truck's armor is not the final blow for the armored car. Scott fires a lead ball at it, and the result is jaw-dropping: not only does the heavy sphere blast clean through the vehicle (penetrating both front seats in the process), but it also digs up a sizeable hole in the berm behind the vehicle.

Curiously, although the impact forces are enormous, the lead ball did not completely deform but only flattened symmetrically. By comparison, the buck shots fired at the truck (which were also made of lead) were completely flattened by the armor. They didn’t manage to pierce the steel plates or the ballistic glass windows.

This particular armored vehicle is not clad in thick ballistic steel plates or bullet-resistant composite materials. It relies on physics to fend off low-velocity bullets or stop them before they penetrate the panels. Two relatively thin sheets of metal make up the armor of this truck. The external layer typically slows and sometimes deforms the bullet to prevent it from piercing the inner panel.

Sometimes, sand is poured into the space between the two panels to further absorb the kinetic energy of the rounds. Again, the stopping power of any armor is relative, as there’s no such thing as bulletproofness – as we can plainly see from the videos. A high-speed bullet, even without an armor-penetrating tip or jacket, will induce severe damage to this type of armored truck, especially if fired from up close, as Scott DeShields did in this test.