A silly thought...

So, an idle curiosity comes to mind. I've wondered for a while...

How effective would a motorcycle helmet be at stopping a bullet?

Obviously not a rifle bullet, but perhaps a small caliber handgun. I've never seen the impact power of any bullet IRL (though I've shot a variety of guns).

Now of course, I'd never aim to find out myself, even if someone did say otherwise. As I said, simply curious.

Don't Shoot me!

Put your helmet on and put a small caliber gun to your head and pull the trigger ................let us know how you went via ghost whisperer

That depends on SEVERAL factors.

Was it a direct hit?
Did it hit the visor or case?
How far away was the bullet fired from?
You stated a small caliber handgun...9mm? .22 ?
Is it subsonic or supersonic?
What is the barrel length?
Dum dum round?

Occam's Razor: The simplest explanation is correct.

If you get shot in the head, even while wearing a motorcycle helmet, you'll most likely die.

a motorcycle helmet is designed to distribute the force of a blunt force hit, i would think that it would be fairly useless against most bullets.

According to my extensive research in Fallout 3.... a motorcycle helmet is worth about +4 damage reduction. So I would say it does a fair to middling job of stopping bullets.

reiobard said:

a motorcycle helmet is designed to distribute the force of a blunt force hit, i would think that it would be fairly useless against most bullets.

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+1
I think it would go through like butter. I would think that the bullet being so compact, would not allow the helmet to disperse the energy as it does in a hit on the pavement or something. Think of hitting the helmet with an ice pick, and a baseball bat.

Mississippi said:

+1
I think it would go through like butter. I would think that the bullet being so compact, would not allow the helmet to disperse the energy as it does in a hit on the pavement or something. Think of hitting the helmet with an ice pick, and a baseball bat.

Click to expand...

Absolutely! Helmet is just a chunk of styrofoam covered by thin plastic/fiberglass shell.

That's about what I'd expect. Although some people have said that 'You'd be surprised what will stop bullets and what won't.'

Besides, I saw it in a movie/video game so it must be true right?

A helmet wouldn't stop a bullet... if it hit at an angle, it MIGHT deflect it however. But I sure wouldn't be trading in a kevlar helmet for a motorcycle helmet, that's for sure.

Speaking of which, I wanna learn how to low-side my bike so I can trip people then pick it up and ride away without a scratch on it.:Flip:

Seems like they do that in every motorcycle scene...

Not effective at all. I usually take my old retired helmets to the shooting range for practice. A .22 will go right through, no problem. You only chance is if it hits at enough of an angle to glance off.

Other than that, it is dirt nap time.

blchandl2 said:

Not effective at all. I usually take my old retired helmets to the shooting range for practice. A .22 will go right through, no problem. You only chance is if it hits at enough of an angle to glance off.

Other than that, it is dirt nap time.

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yep...

Handgun bullets are notoriously poor man-stoppers (it's not uncommon for them to glance off of people's skulls) so anything can happen. However, it would be foolish to assume that a motorcycle helmet will provide any meaningful protection against any firearm. Shoot, for that matter, I know of guys who have put blunt training knives through a motorcycle helmet when they got a little enthusiastic during training.

OK believe it or not I tested this after I read the post as I had one helmet with crash damage from a lowside.

I shoot a 22 lr pistol and a 9 mm pistol round on it from rear and side, as the visor obviously won't stop anything, distance 10 yards.

Result 22 lr bullet went in but did not fully penetrate on the rear but did penetrate on the side shot, however it did not go through the helmet.

Needless to say the 9mm round went straight through from any angle...

So NO I would not use it for bullet protection, hope that answered this question.

If the person who wants to shoot you has been watching the same movies/TV games then they will shoot you in the chest anyway.

someone please get in touch with the guys over at myth busters

This is a VERY silly thought indeed. It's not something I ever hope to put to practical use.

I think that, ultimately, the fizzer is so fast you could outrun any bullet