Do you ever worry about an assailant wearing body armor?

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Nope. That's like number 10,000 on my "worry" list.

I would assume that anyone with the $ and foresight to have armor, will also be organized with a plan and several people with armor and firepower. Would be a heck of a show at casa-de-leadcounsel...

But anyone with that type of financial backing and organization is not interested in my home or wallet. They're gonna go after a bank or armored car with bags of money, not my TV and DVD player...

Despite that, I would fare relatively well against even multiple armored assailants in a home invasion., given a few moments notice. 12 gauge and .308 will punch holes through common armor; unload a few mags from my FAL down through the walls/stairwell... anyone left standing is going to question why they are there to begin with...
 
Nope. There's only so much preparation you can reasonably do. Even if he's not wearing armor he might get the jump on you. You might miss. He might return fire resulting in both parties dying.

It boils down to chances.

There's a very, very small % chance that you'll ever be in a need to draw your weapon.
There's then a smaller chance that you'll need to fire it.

Both those scenarios have to come to pass for us to even be at a point where we're worrying about this. Then there's a lot of other chances that come into play. Weapons malfunctions, simple bad luck, etc, but the reality is that no matter how well you are prepared, by the time we make it to this point there's a fairly decent chance you're not going to survive the encounter. Being armed just gives you a fighting chance - it's not a simple ticket back to some safe zone.

If you fail to realize that and simply prepare to a reasonable level, then you're going to be on one frustrating wild goose chase trying to search down the perfect combination of training and gear to get you out of any situation - because no such thing exists. Its all about risk mitigation. Carrying a gun helps, but you're just naive if you don't realize that though the chance is remote, any given day could very well be your last.
 
"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened”

Winston Churchill

I prepare to the best of my ability and no, I don't worry about someone wearing bodyarmor.
 
"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened”

Winston Churchill
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Very ironic, if Churchill said this.

Churchill was pretty much retired from politics in the 1930s, having been pushed out for two extremely unpopular opinions: that Hitler was a danger to England, and that England should be rearming for war NOW. After WWII started, showing that Chamberlain's "Peace in Our Time" appeasement of Hilter was a disasterous delusion, Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty; and of course soon became Prime Minister.

So, perhaps his story should have ended: "...a lot of trouble in his life, some of the worst of which did happen, with much of the rest prevented by preparation."
 
I dont worry about body armor because I do not "worry" about being assaulted. Dont mean to sound rude but it is not something that I dwell on. If I did I might not leave the house.
 
So I have no clue, but getting hit in the chest by a boxer is going to incapacitate you? Ok...
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Yes. I've seen several fights that lasted for one punch. I used to go to that bar just to watch the fights.

Then they closed that bar down after a gunfight in the parking lot. For those of you in Western NC, yes, I'm talking about the Patton Avenue Pub...
 
Quote: I hear that criminals are wearing body armor more and more toady. If you ever come up against someone wearing a vest a pistol or shotgun might not cut it. Do you ever worry about this?

Could you provide us with a link or reference? I'd like to know where the information in many of these posts originates. There's a big difference between documenation and heresay.
 
I worry about it about as much as I worry about the sun burning out or asteroids or a military coup taking place. Sure it's possible but what can I do to prepare for it? Not much, that's what so why bother worrying.
 
If I were a high-profile political figure who might be the target of assasination, or a diamond merchant who might be the target of a professional group of sophisticated robbers, I might worry a tiny bit. But there's no reason for a purposeful, planning, risk-averse* criminal to seek me out.

* One line of explanation for criminal behavior is that most criminals are risk seeking. I find this fairly believeable, and am disinclined to credit what the OP has "heard" about criminals wearing body armor. Crime is actually at very low rates. The world may be more financially dangerous, but it's physically pretty safe.
 
Luckily I am a single guy and don't have to worry about other people in the house, so I figure that even if they were wearing body armor, my .45-70 Gov't Brush Gun will at the very least knock them on their butt and if it does not go thru the armor then I will hit them over the head with the butt end a few times. Either way they may quickly realize they got the wrong address! :evil:
 
I never worry about it, but i have thought about it. All i can say is, they are going to be in a world of hurt when i let one fly out of the bottom bbl. of my "go to gun",

orig.jpg

a 200NP is going to put the hurt on them, body armor or not!!

DM
 
I don't worry to much. From my understanding, getting shot with a vest on is still roughly equivalent to taking the impact of a baseball bat being swung by a MLB player.
That's with a 9mm if I recall correctly.

I would just always assume that any assailant is hopped on meth or some such substance, therefore you shoot til they ain't moving no more.
Remember the SOP line used by the police, "Shoot to stop the threat."
If that means unloading two magazines on an assailant, do it.

Besides, IMHO the High assailant is much more dangerous than the armored assailant who is still feeling pain.
 
No I sure dont. It wont take more than a handfull of shots 'till I aim for the head.If shooting center mass isnt working shoot somewhere else.
 
It is foremost in my mind. That's why when the going gets really tough I switch to my exploding batarangs, then hop back in the Batmobile.
 
Short answer: I don't think it is a big concern.

I've spent the past decade working as a night shift police officer in a high-crime urban environment. In that time I've responded to literally dozens upon dozens of shootings, hundreds of gang fights, and recovered guns from criminals on quite a few occasions.

In that time I've encountered only two civilians (criminal or otherwise) who were wearing body armor (Level II in both cases, if I recall correctly), and know of one case where a local police supply store was burglarized for body armor.

In both of the cases where the bad guy was wearing body armor, I was armed with a rifle due to the nature of the call. As such, the soft body armor they were wearing wouldn't have made a bit of difference if either of those encounters ended up going south.

I don't really worry about this too much, but we do train for such things. Simply put, if you're ever in an unfortunate situation where you need to fire upon another person, be prepared to win: if you shoot them in the torso and it proves to be ineffective, shoot them somewhere else.

Similarly, I think of my own body armor as a back-up, back-up plan. Avoiding bullets is my primary goal, and I also try to keep in mind that body armor only covers a relatively small portion of my body (yeah, it's the torso, but I'm also kind of attached to my head, neck, groin, legs, arms, etc).
 
People who believe body armor makes you unstoppable have never been shot. People who think getting punched in the chest by a heavyweight is not a big deal have never spat on mike tyson.


In fact I have an acquaintance who was shot in the back in Iraq. He completely passed out for about five minutes.
 
I am not a wealthy guy so going to such extremes to invade my house is not worth the trouble. A 12 ga slug to the chest, and if that doesn't work, buckshot to the balls. Double barrels are nice for that. I believe that will get his attention....chris3
 
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