Steel Body Armor Test (Look Before You Buy)

[bernieb90]

I finally got to shoot some AR500 (steel grade not brand name) armor plate last week.
There have been a lot of videos on the interwebs of people penetrating Level III steel plates with M193 while the plates stopped M855.
So I decided to test the idea myself. 20" AR using M193 easily penetrated the plate bottom hole. M855 left the divot on top. With no penetration. 30-06 ball was also stopped, but left a good sized dent.
Now came the fun part. Since the idea is that there is a critical velocity needed for a projectile to penetrate steel if we can reduce that, or destabilize the projectile it shouldn't penetrate. So I put a fiberglass laminate panel in front of the steel. These panels are rated equivalent to IIIA for handguns up to .44 Magnum. Rifle bullets zip right through.
So I was a bit surprised that M193 barely left a mark on the armor after it penetrated the fiberglass plate.
The ultimate test was 30-06 AP and that sliced through both like they weren't even there.
The moral of the story is that M193 will penetrate level III plates. If you really want good protection get level III+ or way more expensive plates rated for M855 and M193. If you need protection from AP then you NEED Level IV

[Fde up]

This concept keeps popping up any why no one learns anything baffles me.

Velocity velocity velocity.

Shoot the same ammo out of a 16" or 18" barrel and m193 will not penetrate.

[bernieb90]

This concept keeps popping up any why no one learns anything baffles me.

Velocity velocity velocity.

Shoot the same ammo out of a 16" or 18" barrel and m193 will not penetrate.

I wouldn't be so sure about the 16", and 18" barrel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vkighPlBoc

You are correct that velocity is the primary variable in steel armor penetration if there is no hardened, or tungsten core to the projectile. Other types of armor like Dyneema armor seem to be more easily penetrated by M855 than M193.

[Fde up]

I wouldn't be so sure about the 16", and 18" barrel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vkighPlBoc

You are correct that velocity is the primary variable in steel armor penetration if there is no hardened, or tungsten core to the projectile. Other types of armor like Dyneema armor seem to be more easily penetrated by M855 than M193.

Yea but in his video you can see his rounds are still flying at 3190 fps.

[mif_slim]

Empty out a VG 36gr bullet and put a steel core inside of it. It might penetrate from a 16" barrel. Haha. Cool test op

[dieselpower]

The entirety of wearing armor is foolish if you are not a cop or solider simply based on the reason people buy it.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Not really armor related, but cool none the less. 1,000,000 frames per second. Super slo-mo.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=QfFoMyMoiX4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQfFoMyMoiX4%26NR%3D1%26feature%3Dendscreen

[SigLover556]

The entirety of wearing armor is foolish if you are not a cop or solider simply based on the reason people buy it.

Why??

[seal20]

The entirety of wearing armor is foolish if you are not a cop or solider simply based on the reason people buy it.

Ever been hit by a bat, shovel, frying pan or even puched square in the chest or back?

It helps on more than one level. Even, outside TEOTWAWKI.

[sigstroker]

What kinf of M855 was this? Was it the real deal, or Federal XM855, or what?

[robledo]

[bernieb90]

Yes, and no. The idea that M193 penetrates level III AR500 armor has been proven before. My real interest was whether adding the Level IIIA rated fiberglass panel would slow down the bullet enough to prevent penetration. If you look to the right of the bottom hole there is a small lead smear. That is where the impact was after penetrating the fiberglass panel. It hardly even left a mark. Composite armor panels consisting of Dyneema over steel are available that stop both M193, and M855. Level III+ steel made from harder grades of plate are also available, but the added hardness leads to a more brittle plate. The idea was to create a laminated plate with the Fiberglass panel completely containing the bullet fragments while increasing the protection level. This plate would be heavy, but wouldn't need the spray on frag coating.

[bernieb90]

What kinf of M855 was this? Was it the real deal, or Federal XM855, or what?

Federal with the green painted tip.