QUICK AND DIRTY CALTROPS

[Sgt Nambu]

I saw these on another survival forum, and decided to spread the good word! Pretty cool for little time, effort and expense!




Original Caltrops!

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[Dungannon]

Roman soldiers carried them as part of their kit. What are you trying to stop?

 

[Diamondback]

Given how run-flat tires are becoming more common... I'm guessing while less useful than WWII/Cold War, they still have a place in partisan/guerrilla operations like harassment-and-interdiction against supply and logistics.

 

[Brutus57]

It'll slow down the meth zombies.......much easier to score on a slower or stationary target.

Brutus Out

 

[Stomper]

Given how run-flat tires are becoming more common... I'm guessing while less useful than WWII/Cold War, they still have a place in partisan/guerrilla operations like harassment-and-interdiction against supply and logistics.

They don't make "run-flat" feet, and not many folks wear steel-shank boots...

 

[Diamondback]

They don't make "run-flat" feet, and not many folks wear steel-shank boots...

True... it takes a special kind of paranoid to live in your Full Battle Rattle and Arse-Kickers 24/7. lol (No sh*t, I even wear 5.11s as pajamas... Trust me, you don't wanna be *anywhere* around when the boots come off and that's even WITH Odor-Eater socks.)

 

[Stomper]

True... it takes a special kind of paranoid to live in your Full Battle Rattle and Arse-Kickers 24/7. lol (No sh*t, I even wear 5.11s as pajamas... Trust me, you don't wanna be *anywhere* around when the boots come off and that's even WITH Odor-Eater socks.)

Everyone is like, "yo dude take off your rubber boots in the house", and you're like, "what do you mean? I'm barefoot!"

 

[Diamondback]

Trust me, my socks are so effective Weapons of Mass Disgustion it's a wonder I don't have to register 'em individually as NFA Destructive Devices after just one wearing.

Can Cannon bearing a mini-Fartjar stuffed into one of my socks = Homebrew Poison Gas Shell.

 

[Libertas7]

Caltrops: the kids version

 

[Certaindeaf]

Don't forget a sack a marbles.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Mythbusters proved that hollow caltrops were far more effective at stopping cars than the older solid caltrops.... they used steel tubing cut and bent, and found that because of the hollow shafts, they would literally take out plugs of rubber and release the air in the tires very very quickly.......

Oh and caltrops for the modern parents aren't those danged Jacks, but the accursed lego pieces I was a very messy kid back then...... I even had a way of getting through lego minefield by shuffling lol

 

[Diamondback]

Mythbusters proved that hollow caltrops were far more effective at stopping cars than the older solid caltrops.... they used steel tubing cut and bent, and found that because of the hollow shafts, they would literally take out plugs of rubber and release the air in the tires very very quickly.......

Oh and caltrops for the modern parents aren't those danged Jacks, but the accursed lego pieces I was a very messy kid back then...... I even had a way of getting through lego minefield by shuffling lol

Kevin McAllister (Home Alone movies), is that you?

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Roman soldiers carried them as part of their kit. What are you trying to stop?

No idea! Just saw them and thought they were kinda cool! I would create specialized weapons for what I wanted to stop!

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Hollow caltrop.

 

[MrNatural]

Denying your enemy freedom of movement is perhaps the first order of business.

Caltrops date back to at least Roman times, and were originally called "horse-irons". The name reveals the purpose: cripple the enemy's horses and you seriously disrupt his movement, logistics and cavalry attack ability. Good iron was too pricey to expend much on foot soldiers. Besides, most grunts can see and avoid caltrops fairly easily, although they were used to deny easy access to infantry and cavalry both through tall grass and river crossings.

Many years ago in a volume of Kurt Saxon's Poor Man's James Bond I saw a quicker and probably more effective design, if you're talking anti-vehicle caltrops (anti-personnel devices are a different matter). There was a drawing in the volume, but I don't have it handy. Perhaps someone with metal shop tools could make one and post pics.

Take whatever sheet metal you have handy, preferably thick and stiff enough so that it doesn't bend, and cut it into the shape of a bow-tie about 4" long and 3" wide with a narrow waist and sharp corners. Like two triangles joined at the apex. Then put one end in a vice and heat the narrow part with a torch. Grasp with pliers and twist one side of the bow-tie 90 degrees to the other and you're done.

It's a pretty good design. Simple, quick, cheap, and effective - the Guerilla's hat-trick. Make yourself one out of cardboard and see how it works.

If you're clever with layout and careful, you can cut a bunch of them from a single sheet of metal with no waste and no extra cutting.

No matter how you drop it, it always lands with a pointy side up. No matter how it is oriented, when run over, the sharp corner and long edge produce a deep and long tire cut, producing quick deflation that usually cannot be repaired.

An enemy who must walk where ever he goes is a much less bothersome opponent than one who has untrammeled access to motor-T - and presents a much better target too.

 

[CamoDeafie]

It is very easy to deny ground vehicles from movement in an urban or even suburban setting; the use of other vehicles as barricades, use of debris and construction materials, even rubble should things be that far gone.... however, this is where air support would come in, and that would be quite an iffy proposition, for civilians to be able to legally bring down helicopters and the like without being bombed by drones or manned aircraft...

 

[Libertas7]

Many years ago in a volume of Kurt Saxon's Poor Man's James Bond I saw a quicker and probably more effective design, if you're talking anti-vehicle caltrops (anti-personnel devices are a different matter). There was a drawing in the volume, but I don't have it handy. Perhaps someone with metal shop tools could make one and post pics.

Take whatever sheet metal you have handy, preferably thick and stiff enough so that it doesn't bend, and cut it into the shape of a bow-tie about 4" long and 3" wide with a narrow waist and sharp corners. Like two triangles joined at the apex. Then put one end in a vice and heat the narrow part with a torch. Grasp with pliers and twist one side of the bow-tie 90 degrees to the other and you're done.

Different design but it reminded me of these:

 

[mjbskwim]

Personally I wouldn't bother with the hose idea. It would only work if I drove over it. Otherwise it could flex enought not make a proper stab into the tires

 

[Capn Jack]

Hollow caltrop.

View attachment 321798

Hey !!! I had to make one of those in the welding part of my Airframe & Powerplant course.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Personally I wouldn't bother with the hose idea. It would only work if I drove over it. Otherwise it could flex enought not make a proper stab into the tires

I think the hosertrops would be anti-personnel weapons! I doubt that they are all that useful for ground troops either, but I was taken with the ease, cost and quickness of assembly! I see a use for them strewn at the base of a fence or in a basement window casement to deny access!