Yea, park it right over there

Good thing we don't have bulldozers here in the US or we'd have another weapon to add to the long list of those that may be used against us.

I mean, they only have bulldozers way over there in Israel.

Whew, I was sweatin' bullets for a minute.

Okay, really now; since what happens there can happen here we need to have some sort of idea how to defeat a bad-guy in a bulldozer, or a smaller passenger vehicle.

Who knew?

So we have three things to consider: targets, bullets, and glass.

Targets: If you decide you're going to shoot, do so at the driver.  Don't try to shoot out the tires or make the engine go boom, thus disabling it. It ain't gonna work that way.  To stop the attack, you have to stop the attacker.  That's the person behind the controls.  He or she is your target. In fact, in some states in the US you may end up in bigger trouble if you say you were shooting at the vehicle and not the driver.  Know your state laws.

Bullets: If you keep different types in different mags, as I do, you're going to need hardball ammo at high-velocity to penetrate the glass.  You'll probably have to fire multiple times to punch through it, so aim for the attacker's head or upper body, through the glass of course, and fire until a hole is punched through and following rounds can slice on through to the driver.

Glass: You'll probably have to shoot so bullets are going straight toward the digger's window glass, no glancing shots.  This may require that you move with the dozer as you're shooting.  Don't worry about that, if you choose to try to take this kind of bad guy down while you're moving, you're just following one of Patton's battle maxims.

Patton trained his Third Army to always be on the move, to not stop and dig defensive positions, but to be walking forward during battle, firing a few rounds every three or four steps.  This tactic had much to do with the great success the Third Army had in taking ground and killing Nazis.

Anyway, I digress.

You want your bullets to hit the glass as straight-on as possible so there is no ricochet. Same with rifle bullets ~ unless you're shooting something at .308, or higher caliber. At that size and velocity, the bullets are pretty much going to punch through and hit where you're aiming at.  If you've got a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs, that may be optimum for this situation.

Generally, remember these rules of gun safety:

• All guns are always loaded.
• Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to shoot.
• Be sure of your target. Know what it is, what is in line with it and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you haven't positively identified.

Am I telling you to jump on some piece of heavy machinery and start pumping indiscriminately into it or the  driver?  No. 

If you perceive a threat to your safety a/o that of others and you reasonably conclude that the driver of the vehicle might kill someone if someone doesn't stop him or her and you then decide not to wait for the police but to take action yourself, then you might choose to keep some of these things in mind.

In the end, you may end up having to do what this cop did.  But it's entirely your choice based on the totality of circumstances you observe at the time.

It's a dangerous world out there, unerschrocken.  Stay alert.  Stay brave.

Comments

[Shawn]

undaunted, an excellent video. Thank you. It serves as a clear reminder just how quickly a situation could deteriorate and spin wildly out of control if you don't keep your wits about you. This kind of response it not something that just happens. It’s a trained response. You're right to ask "Which one are you?" Stay alert, stay brave. (and don’t forget to practice!)