Box-o-truth tests Level IIIA body armor

[benEzra]

So most armor will defend against most pistol cartridges.
What sort of AP versions of these handgun rounds will defeat said armor?
I'm not sure if there are AP rounds of most handgun cartridges.

AP handgun ammunition (as well as non-AP made of hard materials) is banned by Federal law, but pretty much any caliber can be made to penetrate Kevlar fiber and there are specialized law enforcement only rounds in .38 Spl. that can undoubtedly defeat Level IIIA, at least without a trauma plate. Both an icepick and a knife will defeat most Kevlar (the former by slipping between fibers, the later by cutting them), so any ammunition that does that will penetrate. Most LEO kevlar-piercing ammo I've read about involves a very hard (steel or hardened bronze) projectile that comes either to a sharp point (to slip between fibers) or a narrow, sharp-edged meplat (the LEO-only .38 loads I've seen photos of have a narrow center post with very sharp edges around the edge of the post.

Such projectiles are restricted to military/police only in all handgun rounds and some rifle rounds (.223/5.56x45, 7.62x39mm, and .308/7.62x51).

I had 3 level IIa vests that we tested. They stopped 180gr FMJ 40S&W from sig P229, a 115gr FMJ 9mm from sig P226, and 230gr 45acp from a S&W 4506. But it didn't some these really exotic 44 magnum armor-defeating rounds, which I'm not sure where they came from. In fact, we strapped 2 vests on top of each other to a telephone pole, and the round went through the first vest and halfway through the second. I have the bullet still somewhere, I'll post a pic of it.

Do be aware that for a vest to perform to its full rating, it has to have a compliant backing (i.e., flesh gives, humans are not made of wood). A IIIA vest will stop a .44 mag while being worn, but it may not stop it when backed by a telephone pole.

 

[roscoe]

I wonder about hardcast loads - say a 340 grain .44 mag from a rifle at 1700 fps. Won't deform, and has those sharp edges on the meplat.