Can a Ford Everest owner’s manual stop a bullet?

SVI Engineering, leading specialist manufacturer of armoured products, has released the seventh episode in its innovative Shoot Through series of videos, this time testing out the theory that a book – in this case, a Ford Everest owner’s manual – could be capable of stopping a bullet (see Episode 7 here).

“If you’ve watched enough movies, you’ve probably seen many instances of a small book – usually carried in the protagonist’s shirt pocket – stopping what would otherwise have been a deadly bullet. But how does this theory hold up in the real world?” asked Nicol Louw, SVI Business Development Director.

Well, SVI positioned an owner’s manual for a previous-generation Ford Everest at the far end of its dedicated underground shooting range, before unleashing a round from an AK47 mounted in a test rig.

As shown in the footage captured by a Photron Fastcam SA4 high-speed camera – graciously supplied by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and set at 30 000 frames per second – the 7.62×39 mm conventional steel-core round tears straight through the chunky owner’s manual, which seemingly provides very little resistance at all.

“Obviously, the outcome of such a test depends on a variety of factors, including the selected firearm, the associated round, the distance from the target and even the book itself. But, considering we opted for an assault rifle for this experiment, the owner’s manual stood virtually no chance,” said Jaco de Kock, CEO of SVI.