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At what point (as in what caliber bullet) does a kevlar vest, or some sort of body armor get penitrated.
Gokusfusion
11-18-2002, 05:58 PM
At what point (as in what caliber bullet) does a kevlar vest, or some sort of body armor get penitrated.
Really depends on if it's a direct hit,side swipe or if it richochettes.
stratmn5105571
11-19-2002, 12:20 AM
At what point (as in what caliber bullet) does a kevlar vest, or some sort of body armor get penitrated.
Well, that all depends on your vest. The vests that infantry use can stop pretty much any pistol round out there. Then there is the added ceramic plates that go in the front and back of the vest. That will stop all of the ever-popular 7.62 x 39mm AK-47 rounds that are often shot at US soldiers. As well as a lot of other smaller caliber rifle rounds. I have HEARD (although I don't believe it myself) that there is a vest out there that can stop a .50 BMG round. I find that hard to believe, but I am just repeating what I heard.
Strat
Gokusfusion
11-19-2002, 05:38 AM
I have HEARD (although I don't believe it myself) that there is a vest out there that can stop a .50 BMG round. I find that hard to believe, but I am just repeating what I heard.
Yeah that one does sound hard to believe.. I don't think much will stop a 50,maybe wrong though..
To demonstrate the oddity of trajectory here is a short story.
My partner and I were on hooch patrol one day in a fire zone. We were in an area that had small wooden cabins that appeared like vacation rentals. We saw smoke coming out of one hooch, so me and my partner stormed into the hooch expecting to John Wayne the place. There we found 6 American dressed soldiers sitting around a fire that was burning thru the wooden floor (a luxury in Korean hooches). A Seargeant said "Hey man, sit down and share the fire". We talked for awhile with all these Latin appearing soldiers, then left.
Several weeks later in the Navy Times (a service newspaper) I read a story of how the Seargeant we had shared a fire with was shot, but the round bounced off his Combat Infantryman's Badge, giving him only a bruise. It was then I found out these American Soldiers were from the 65th Inf. Reg. from Puerto Rico.
ok, this is kind of a stupid question (very) but sometimes in movies and tv shows sombody will get shot. The bullet happens to hit a book, usually the bible, that just happens to be in there pocket. My question is, would a book stop the bullet? (lets just say its a .22)
stratmn5105571
11-19-2002, 04:51 PM
ok, this is kind of a stupid question (very) but sometimes in movies and tv shows sombody will get shot. The bullet happens to hit a book, usually the bible, that just happens to be in there pocket. My question is, would a book stop the bullet? (lets just say its a .22)
Well, you could always shoot a bible! LOL. Seriously, that would depend on the book. Let's say you shot the Oxford English Dictionary, there is no way that a .22 is getting through there. But, if your talking about a bible... I don't know. .22s are pretty weak. (I've shot soda cans filled with small rocks and sand and found a couple bullets inside when we emptied the cans out.) I don't think it would go through a bible.
Strat
SpecOps_Nut
11-20-2002, 12:04 AM
Even if there was man-portable (not to mention practical) kevlar/ceramic body armor that could stop a .50 round...
(when Ma Deuce talks, people listen)
1. They're hardly ever shot one at a time. Multiple hits from anything become a problem real fast. Those lead cigars would just make it worse.
2. even if the slug didn't penetrate, the kinetic energy could probably kill you easily. People have died from a good punch in the solar plexus.
-or am I way off base?
I have HEARD (although I don't believe it myself) that there is a vest out there that can stop a .50 BMG round. I find that hard to believe, but I am just repeating what I heard.
RoninSamurai
11-20-2002, 04:10 PM
ven if the slug didn't penetrate, the kinetic energy could probably kill you easily. People have died from a good punch in the solar plexus.
yes, i believe that's called "bounceback" the amount of distance the vest "gives" can easily bruise or damage organs and break bones.
i'm no ballistic expert. but most "soft armor" IE: NOT HARD LIKE METAL ARMOR is most effective at mid ranges with unconcentrated fire that doesn't come in rapid succession. soft armor works by distributing the kinetic energy of a slug over the entire vest. so when the slugs are in rapid succession, the vest can't distribute properly. the vest also fails when the bullets impact on or near the same spot because the fibers of kevlar woven into the vest are frayed and broken with each hit, thus taking away from the elasticity of the vest. multiple impacts in the same are would mean that the vest would be so weak in that area that it would just break and allow the bullet to penetrate.
besides, if you did have a vest that would deflect a .50 the attacker could always just shoot you in the head anyway.
TBKim
11-25-2002, 07:23 PM
I have HEARD (although I don't believe it myself) that there is a vest out there that can stop a .50 BMG round. I find that hard to believe, but I am just repeating what I heard.
Yeah...that ispretty hard to believe...since a .50 Cal can go through a semi-truck's engine block. Also what RoninSamurai said. They could always just shoot the guy in the head.