Page 1 of 2
Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:59 am
by Excaliber
I suspect one of two things:
1. The round wasn't in a caliber that starts with a "4".
2. The cell phone involved was considerably more robust than mine.
Details
here.
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:05 pm
by esxmarkc
I can almost picture Jamie and Adam debunking this one with Buster wearing a bullet proof vest built out of old cell phones.
I certainly agree that this is a caliber dependent issue. I could see it happening on .380 or less like .32 or .25.
Or.... My first 4-watt cellphone that weighed 2 pounds might just stop a .45!
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:10 pm
by RPB
esxmarkc wrote:I can almost picture Jamie and Adam debunking this one with Buster wearing a bullet proof vest built out of old cell phones.
I certainly agree that this is a caliber dependent issue. I could see it happening on .380 or less like .32 or .25.
Or.... My first 4-watt cellphone that weighed 2 pounds might just stop a .45!
DROID vest?
http://store.infinitycarbon.com/product ... ellow.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Motorola Droid X MB810 Case -
Kevlar - Yellow
http://store.infinitycarbon.com/product ... d-Red.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Motorola Droid A855 Case -
Kevlar - Red
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:12 pm
by seamusTX
Last month I had a cell phone that went as dead as a brick.
The problem with cell phones, laptops, iPads, and other such devices is that they contain personal information that can be retrieved by those in the know, even after the device has ceased to function normally.
I took the defunct phone to the range and subjected it to termination with extreme prejudice. .22LR rounds went right through it.
It was a Motorola W370 if that matters.
That said, cell phone housings are made of polycarbonate that could deflect a bullet under some circumstances.
- Jim
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:49 pm
by zero4o3
esxmarkc wrote:I can almost picture Jamie and Adam debunking this one with Buster wearing a bullet proof vest built out of old cell phones.
I certainly agree that this is a caliber dependent issue. I could see it happening on .380 or less like .32 or .25.
Or.... My first 4-watt cellphone that weighed 2 pounds might just stop a .45!
would you be willing to stage a test? maybe let me shoot your phone with my 380 and we can see how it fairs?

Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:21 pm
by Jbird5363
A lot of variables in testing something like this. 1st is it was under a jacket I know it's been cold in Atlanta this year it could have been a hoss of a leather jacket combine that with a hefty phone and fluffy impact absorbent man boob and a smaller caliber and a lucky angle and you could get results.
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:57 pm
by i8godzilla
Maybe it ricocheted of his chest, maybe the phone. I read a couple of different articles and I do not have a clue.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/lo ... 0106-am-sd" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The two men then fired a couple of rounds into the air. One of those bullets struck club valet John Garber and went through his jacket, then deflected off his cell phone. He was not injured.
Did the bullet come back down and hit the phone?
Three news articles and I bet none of them got it right..................
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:01 pm
by pbwalker
Got shot?
There's an app for that!
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:04 pm
by Stupid
anything that has a different density from air can deflect bullets. This is why you should be careful when shoot into water because water can deflect bullets.
Deflection is different from bulletproof. The employee is just lucky. I am surprised this kind of things happen so often. Instead of throwing out the guy in front of everybody, why not deflate the situation and five him a way out so that he doesn't come back shooting.
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:22 pm
by RPB
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 2:32 pm
by Excaliber
i8godzilla wrote:
Three news articles and I bet none of them got it right..................
You're probably right, and my remarks about caliber and cell phone robustness were made tongue in cheek.
There are too many possible variables to draw any valid conclusion about caliber or anything else here. Even a round that starts with a "4"
could glance off an object like a cell phone if it struck at an extremely shallow angle, and the phone was positioned just right.
Objects like cell phones, notebooks, bibles, buttons, medals and belt buckles have deflected or stopped small caliber rounds many times in the past, even sometimes with dead on 90 degree impacts. Their track record with major calibers is not as good, but I'm sure you could find some instances out there.
In any case, if somebody shoots at me, you won't see me holding my cell phone up in front of me to try to catch the bullets.

Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 4:01 pm
by E150GT
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/cri ... 43968.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
check this one out...
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 4:59 pm
by Excaliber
Good thing somebody this careless was equally careless about his preparedness and only carried a mousegun.
He coulda' actually hurt somebody with a real gun....

Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:16 pm
by esxmarkc
zero4o3 wrote:esxmarkc wrote:I can almost picture Jamie and Adam debunking this one with Buster wearing a bullet proof vest built out of old cell phones.
I certainly agree that this is a caliber dependent issue. I could see it happening on .380 or less like .32 or .25.
Or.... My first 4-watt cellphone that weighed 2 pounds might just stop a .45!
would you be willing to stage a test? maybe let me shoot your phone with my 380 and we can see how it fairs?

I'm sure I could dig up an old cell phone we could put to the challenge! Done a fair amount of plinking with a .380. Its power never impressed me too much. We took an old pair of steel toed boots out one time to put them to the test (it was the boots we were testing - not guns) and they would stop the short-barreled .380 AMT rounds dead cold not a dent. Knocked off some leather to expose the shiny steel. The other boot when shot with the Colt Combat Commander in .38 Super blew a hole through and trough. The .44 mag knocked the entire steel toe in half and both halves clear out of the leather boot.
Of course these tests are by no means ANY standards of power of these rounds it's just that I have shot many different things with many different calibers of weapons and have a pretty good feel for what most many will do. If you have never done it, going on a "Junkyard Safari" can be loads of fun - don't have to skin anything afterwards.
P.S. If someone is chasing you with a handgun, jump into a stack of steel belted radials.
Re: Cell Phone Deflects Bullet in Atlanta
Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:47 pm
by DoubleJ
Excaliber wrote:
Good thing somebody this careless was equally careless about his preparedness and only carried a mousegun.
He coulda' actually hurt somebody with a real gun....

Didn't ol' Jeff Cooper have an interesting perspective on those?
