Were "Old Mexico" X-style bandoleers 'body armor' as well?

[ZombieZoo]

I'm thinking, crossed over the central chest, you got 2*(double extra heavy leather, leather loops, metal cartridges).

Then you got at least a single layer over much of the torso.

Was any of that considered at all effective as body armor in combat, against slower moving olde bullets and blades?

Or was it just very heavy old school camping equip?


I'm not surprised mags don't do much with thin metal, but I hear 22lr will bounce off turkey feathers. Hickok45 was shooting S&W 500 into old thick text book and I went about 1/2 through. I'm sure a big caliber slug would be slowed down quite a bit, especially if it hit cross work of metal cartridges with lots of cross woven thick leather, just wondering how much.

The 'authentic' bandoleers I checked where HARD leather almost 3/8", plus 1/8" loops. I couldn't imagine wanting that thick or stiff just to carry a few rds.

Got me thinking about leather chest piece wore by British soldiers as seen in "A Man Who Would Be King".

[surplus-addict]

Here's a little write up on something similar which should tell you that it's most definitely not body armor: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot9.htm

[C&Rtrader]

Here's a little write up on something similar which should tell you that it's most definitely not body armor: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot9.htm

That was a fun read. Thank you!

[wellfedirishman]

Remember that 'way back when' cowboys and banditos used lead bullets that moved at about 1000 fps. Those hit hard but flatten out on contact with steel. When shooting cowboy action, the pistol rounds are generally bare lead in the 800 fps range, and rifle 1000 fps range.

223/556 is a jacketed bullet moving at 3300 fps approx. That penetrates in a whole different manner than does a slow lead bullet.

So maybe the old Mexico style leather bandoliers might have had some effect in slowing a lead bullet, but it likely wasn't body armor.

Anyone got an old leather saddle to shoot to test the theory?