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Old May 31, 2002, 02:05 PM   #1
Rickmeister
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Body Armor

I watched a program last night on the Discovery channel in which the strengths and weaknesses of body armor were discussed.

In one example, a LEO was interviewed who had been shot twice with her own gun by a criminal who had managed to wrest it away from her. One of the slugs bit into her chest armor but didn't go through; and yet the concussion mark that it left on her body was still about as nasty as one you might get if you were swung at really hard with a heavy tack hammer while wearing a t-shirt.

Is there anything out there, to your knowledge, that beats kevlar? What was the bank robber in the other scene wearing as he sprayed his AK-47 all over the bumbling Cali squads? The cops couldn't penetrate it with their 9mm pistols. Only when the crazy-ass perp ran out of ammo and killed himself with his backup did the shooting stop.

Maybe the LAPD should switch to whatever hell's newest member was using.
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Old May 31, 2002, 07:15 PM   #2
G3
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Look up the NIJ ratings of various vest. Most body armor companies will tell you what their vest will and will not stop.
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Old May 31, 2002, 07:44 PM   #3
tommygun45
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compromise

Most concealable body armor is a compromise. To be thin and flexible enough to be worn under clothing you tend to give up protection. While a level 3A turtle vest with trauma plate will stop a .308 win it is a tad cumbersome and tends to tip off the BG where to shoot you. New fibers such as Spectra and Aramid have drasticly improved both comfort and protection levels for armor. A new Second Chance ultra light offers II A protection with nearly half the weight of a Kevlar vest. Lighter is beter if you are gonna wear the thing all day in the heat and humidity. If you thought the Discovery channel thing was cool (and who didn't ) you should see the 8 hr Second Chance video, WOW. Richard Davis must shoot himself close to 20 times in the 8 hours. The full-auto and .50cal shoots are really cool too.

Just a point about the North Hollywood bank robbery. The apparent suicide by the second gunman was assisted by a .308 165gr Siera match king. The counter-sniper fired at the same instant as the BG did.
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Old June 1, 2002, 08:31 PM   #4
TACTICALDUDE
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Erick is right
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Old June 2, 2002, 11:31 AM   #5
tommygun45
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I apologize for my mis-information. I thought my source was more reliable. However the BG was still assisted in his final boarding call.
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Old June 2, 2002, 09:48 PM   #6
orlando5
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If I remember it correctly, that show on Discovery channel was anti gun. It pissed the hell out of me.

Anyway here is the official link to Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor (NIJ Standard—0101.04). Download the file, it is in PDF format.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/183651.htm

If you want to get the a quick summary of it try this page
http://bulletproofme.com/Ballistic_P...n_Levels.shtml
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