Shield vs bullet

[Gryphos]

Let's say you have a knight in armour and shit, and she has a shield. Now let's say there's a dude with a machine gun (it makes sense in the story). Would the knight's shield be able to block the bullets, or would they go straight through it?

 

[Philster401]

No, not if it a normal medieval shield, especially against a machine gun. It might stop or slow a few bullets out of a small caliber pistol, that is unless we're talking a magic shield or Captain America's shield.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

A machine gun, of any type, shoots a high-powered rifle round. A round like that is capable of penetrating concrete walls with no problem. It'd go right through that shield and through any armor afterwards, killing the knight.

Even firearm technology of 200 years ago would penetrate shields and armor, which is why armored knights eventually became obsolete.

Even a sub-machine gun would have little trouble. A sub gun is a fully automatic weapon that shoots pistol caliber rounds. Typically that means 9mm or 45ACP, but they go as low as 32ACP in some Eastern European countries. Even a caliber of this size would easily penetrate a shield and armor unless you're talking about shooting at extreme distances (for a pistol round) like 200+ yards.

A high-powered rifle round 5.56mm, 7.62x39, 7.62x51, etc. would have no such issues at range. Depending on the weapon, they'd be effective at ranges of 300-800 yards.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

No a shield isn't going to do much. Neither is a car door despite the movies. If some guy starts shooting at you with a machine gun, the strongest part of the car to hide behind is the bonnet and front wheel where you have thick metal of the wheel, thick rubber - two layers - and an engine block. And on top of that neither a shield - save perhaps for a tower shield - will cover all of you. Knights don't carry tower shields - it'd be sort of awkward to ride with let alone use on horseback.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[valiant12]

(it makes sense in the story)

If knights armor in your world is designed to stop bullets from machineguns it will stop bullets. Medieval armor wasnt designed to counter weapons that are invented centuries later.

 

[glutton]

Well two of my recent MCs are able to deflect clear analogues for automatic gunfire by swinging around their giant weapons... but those same girls are able to take on Godzilla sized armored monsters solo in melee too so it's a little different.

What I'm saying is that whether or not blocking bullets with a shield fits thematically depends on how much of a mythic figure your knight is.

 

[Malik]

My MC drops a badguy with a 147-grain 9mm hardball round through the middle of his helmet. I had to speculate about how the hydrostatic shock and wound channel would manifest when the skull is compressed so tightly but there's a fountain of ick that blows out through his visor.

I've seen rifle rounds go right through cars. Not car doors; cars.

Not only would a metal shield not stop a round even from a handgun; most shields aside from jousting shields weren't steel or even iron. Shields were made of wood banded in iron, or even stretched leather over a wooden frame. Like armor, a shield doesn't have to stop an incoming blow, just redirect it or rob it of its force.