It’s an old urban legend that the Mythbusters should investigate – they’ve done gun stuff before though. You’ve probably seen it happen in a Western or two. You may have heard of it happening on the battlefield. A Bible in someone’s pocket stops a bullet.
I’ve decided to find out if such an event could really happen and I’m going to do so on video and post my results here. To keep things fair, I will perform my tests on both a Bible and a Koran using various calibers of pistols and rifles. Since I would probably have a hard time getting a live volunteer to hold the holy books, I’ve ordered a mannequin for the purpose.
I’m thinking I’ll start with a .32 ACP, then go to a .40 S&W followed by a .45 ACP. Finally, I’ll cap off the tests with some high velocity .223 rounds. These will be fired from my Bushmaster Varminter.
I realize some people will inevitably be offended by the thought of shooting bullets at books which are considered holy. I am privileged enough to live in a nation where I am free to engage in such activity, at least for the time being. And in the interest of science and out of sheer curiousity, I plan to exercise my freedoms, not out of disrespect, but out of a long held self-imposed desire to explore questions and answers.
I plan to use an educational textbook as a control. All three of my test books will be hardcover. Whether or not divine intervention will play a role in saving my mannequin remains to be seen.
Here are some reports of such events taking place:
Bible stops bullet in Rustamiyah, Iraq
Trash carrying man saved by Bibles
I couldn’t find any incidents of a Quran stopping a bullet using either common English spelling, although I would guess that legends of such an event or events circulate in the Arab and Muslim dominated parts of the world.