# Body armor



## johnathang2005 (Jan 13, 2020)

What are the thoughts on body armor? I'm debating if it's worth keeping, it's not compatible with my B.O.B. and if it is I don't know how to use it in that effect. It's got level IV plates so it stopping incoming rounds isn't a worry for me. But I've also just upgraded to a much larger backpack, and I'm not sure if the extra weight is worth it. 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


----------



## Hemi45 (May 5, 2014)

Hell yes it's worth keeping.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)




----------



## [email protected] (Aug 2, 2020)

You can build your own bullet-stopping panels using layers of fiberglass and ceramic tiles.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=diy+bulle...es&atb=v140-1&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos


----------



## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

That's why I have a 300 win mag.


----------



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

johnathang2005 said:


> What are the thoughts on body armor? I'm debating if it's worth keeping, it's not compatible with my B.O.B. and if it is I don't know how to use it in that effect. It's got level IV plates so it stopping incoming rounds isn't a worry for me. But I've also just upgraded to a much larger backpack, and I'm not sure if the extra weight is worth it.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


I had the same argument with myself . . . when I finally came to the conclusion that if I'm ever shot at . . . and hit . . . the greatest chance is it will be a pistol round . . .

Therefore . . . my AR500 armor is IIIA which will stop up to and including a 44 mag at point blank range.

It is for all tense and purposes . . . lightweight . . . and offers serious protection. I can add their steel plates later . . . but probably will not . . . and weight is the reason.

If I'm bugging . . . it is bugging back in . . . I won't be bugging out . . .

May God bless,
Dwight


----------



## johnathang2005 (Jan 13, 2020)

I unfortunately don't currently have the option of bugging in, or rather I do but I don't think I'll appreciate the outcome very much. 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


----------



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

[email protected] said:


> You can build your own bullet-stopping panels using layers of fiberglass and ceramic tiles.
> 
> https://duckduckgo.com/?q=diy+bulle...es&atb=v140-1&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos


Building your own body armor . . . kinda like being your own lawyer.

IMHO . . . both individuals have a fool for a client.

Those panels may stop a round . . . but they will not stop the splatter . . . which can easlly . . . will easily . . . and will seriously harm the person. That splatter will go upwards into your neck area . . . left and right into your arms . . . down to any overhanging gut or legs or feet.

It is seriously needful to have splatter protection which is built in to many of the professionally made panels.

May God bless,
Dwight


----------



## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

johnathang2005 said:


> I unfortunately don't currently have the option of bugging in, or rather I do but I don't think I'll appreciate the outcome very much.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


My "bugging" would be from a road trip I made that day . . . and because of an EMP . . . bombed out roads . . . serious firefights going on . . . or something else has caused me to be on foot during some sort of societal uprising . . . and now I'm heading home.

If I thought I'd be in one of those scenarios . . . my armor would be in my Jeep . . . and on my body when I started home.

That's my definition of bugging in. And I keep a "bug in" bag in my Jeep just for that scenario . . . as a lot of times (like today) . . . I was over 30 miles from home . . . and if something came up . . . the 2 foot mule is my only opportunity.

May God bless,
Dwight


----------



## [email protected] (Aug 2, 2020)

dwight55 said:


> Building your own body armor . . . kinda like being your own lawyer.
> 
> IMHO . . . both individuals have a fool for a client.
> 
> ...


I think one could add layers of thin metal to the ideas posted on the web to make shields for inside one's home. For personal body armor, this stuff is already available commercially. But what if you are inside your home or business and taking fire?! One needs portable shields with the entirety of your body behind the shield (3' by 5' ???). Were I a business owner who could be the target of rioting, I would have shatter-proof windows on my store to slow the entry of these sub-human rioters. In frustration, these "peaceful protesters" could begin shooting into my business.

One could build defensive positions out of layers of plywood and gravel, however these would be impossible to move. Rifle round shields wouldn't be light, yet most men could move these largish shields -- say dimensions of 2.5 ft wide by 4 ft. One could put wheels on the beast. If you take fire from another direction, you could turn your shield or roll another shield over so that you could have two barriers. Your configuration could vary with need.

Were I a store owner at risk, I'd have some very large fire extinguishers on the ready.

There are times when FMJs out of full bore rifles come in handy. You hear your enemy in the floor above you, or you hear them in the basement -- just shoot through the flooring. East German steel-core surplus 7.62 x 54R will go through the vertical section of a railroad track. If the flooring in a building is not made of concrete, you can shoot through it with old Nagants, Enfields (.303 FMJ), new .308 FMJs, ... .

Behind portable barriers, you could put out fires, and return fire into the savages invading your business.


----------



## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Made it through Vietnam without body armor. Just a flack jacket, which wasn't much armor at all.

Just think - a hit in the thigh severing the femoral artery and you're dead in about 4 minutes.
A hit in the neck severing the carotid artery and it's less than 4 minutes.

Now, if you want to hump all that weight, that's up to you.


----------



## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Made it through Vietnam without body armor. Just a flack jacket, which wasn't much armor at all.
> 
> Just think - a hit in the thigh severing the femoral artery and you're dead in about 4 minutes.
> A hit in the neck severing the carotid artery and it's less than 4 minutes.
> ...


Back at my first duty station (1982), finagled a flack vest to try out. We used a ten gauge at about ten yards. It didn't fair well. 
To be fair, it wasn't designed for such a thing. 
You guys were next to naked. Glad you, my father and all the other survivors made it back.


----------



## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

[email protected] said:


> You can build your own bullet-stopping panels using layers of fiberglass and ceramic tiles.
> 
> https://duckduckgo.com/?q=diy+bulle...es&atb=v140-1&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos


Yeah, OK, go ahead and do it.

The ceramic ballistic panels are made from a product called boron carbide developed by Norton Company, Worcester Ma.

This is not the same as decorative ceramic, used in tiles or other similar products.

That same product started out as a grinding wheel dresser, a cheaper alternative to diamond dressers, I have some of the originals.

My 30 APM-2 will blow right through those homemade plates.

Up it a bit and my 300 WINMAG loaded with those same projectiles will go through both sides and whoever is in between.

I have my police dept. issued vest, would use them in a defensive position only,

wore them enough to want to avoid them, they run from level 2-4.


----------



## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

Denton said:


> Back at my first duty station (1982), finagled a flack vest to try out. We used a ten gauge at about ten yards. It didn't fair well.
> To be fair, it wasn't designed for such a thing.
> You guys were next to naked. Glad you, my father and all the other survivors made it back.


Mostly beneficial against the most common threat, the 82 MM mortar, followed by B-40 fragments then the Russian F1 hand grenade.


----------



## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

First rule in a gunfight, DON'T GET SHOT!
If you can avoid the gunfight, you don't need the armor.
If you expect a gunfight, you'll damn sure want the armor.


----------



## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

johnathang2005 said:


> What are the thoughts on body armor? I'm debating if it's worth keeping, it's not compatible with my B.O.B. and if it is I don't know how to use it in that effect. It's got level IV plates so it stopping incoming rounds isn't a worry for me. But I've also just upgraded to a much larger backpack, and I'm not sure if the extra weight is worth it.
> 
> Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


Having had to wear the crap from time to time its a pain in the butt to wear it and way too hot and nasty. Best just plan to take a round. lol. Fortunately my old boss was a chubby former Jyrene who didnt wear one cause it pinched his love handles so nobody was forced to wear one. I carried mine in the trunk and put it on a time or two when a rough sounding call came up where a person might want to wear it. The ones we had couldnt stop rifle rounds and some of the fast running pistols..such as th FN. They say it could stop a .44 Mag but the shock to the heart would prob be fatal. lol.


----------



## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Mad Trapper said:


> View attachment 108495


Great factoid on that. Works on knives too. My Uncle a big bellied boy like who ran a gas station go stabbed by and angry liberal with a long butcher knive and they said his fat saved him. I try to keep a layer of protection but Im losing too much weight. I may need to get off the lite beer. I used to go 300 plus but down to high school weight of 220. Lack of exercise and no teeth I think. I been threatening to extend my boycott of football to giving up Bud LIght since Bud is in bed with the NFL and go back to my old favorie Lone Star but the Warden says Kroger sells it one six pack at a time and that dont last long. what is a Mother to do? Thanks.


----------



## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

From the law enforcement officers I have talked to, all of them say the same thing. If you get shot in body armor, you get to live. Although, it will take several days to be able to control your breathing due to tender ribs...


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Chipper said:


> That's why I have a 300 win mag.


That, the 30-06 and 308 too. The two former I stuff with 180-gr Nosler partitions for hunting. With the 06 I hit a deer facing me in the chest, I found the bullet just under the skin near the tail.


----------



## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

The Tourist said:


> From the law enforcement officers I have talked to, all of them say the same thing. If you get shot in body armor, you get to live. Although, it will take several days to be able to control your breathing due to tender ribs...


That would be pistols.


----------



## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Good body armor works if worn. It is hard to move in, and hot. The ceramic stuff really works but if shot a couple times may not. Wear it or not is up to you. Bet I wore mine. Know some soldiers real well that were happy they had theirs on.
Ceramic will stop a 30 but it may not stop the second one.


----------



## Go2ndAmend (Apr 5, 2013)

I don’t have any and have been seriously considering getting two vests. One for me and one for the wife. I can’t envision wearing it around the ranch, but then again I can’t envision Biden as president. So I guess anything is possible. Most likely use would be wearing while heading into town to restock supplies if anything like the Portland riots take place around here.


----------



## marineimaging (Jun 1, 2013)

Yes, for a just in case scenario. I have no plans to use it. No desire to carry it all the time, but it is there with my go bag just in case. It wont stop everything but it should help in some cases. Since I can't know what those are going to be I go with prayer and IIIA knowing that God can steer a bullet if He so chooses. The IIIA is for the guy trying to hit me with a broadaxe.


----------



## Steve40th (Aug 17, 2016)

I have two sets of level IIIA from Botach.. 99 bucks... Better than nothing. I have a AR500 plate too. I just need a better carrier.. The Ar500 took a 45/70 round at the range, and it just splattered.. 
30-06 did the same out of my M1
But, lets be honest. Going into battle, you will have more than body armor. Helmet, boots, other plates and knee and elbow bads.
And a solid medical kit.
Protecting vitals is important, but what about neck, head, and side shots into the ribs?
Learn to hide and ambush..


----------



## johnathang2005 (Jan 13, 2020)

I really appreciate all of this input. I like my plate carrier it's not uncomfortable, it's just heavy, my plate carrier with fully loaded mags and the ifak and all that gear is probably an extra 20lbs 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


----------

