US PASGT Torture Test

[Templar223]

I'll preface this article from GunNews by saying our tests were far from scientifically controlled, but they do provide some insight into the performance you might experience with one of these items.

John



From GunNews Magazine, September 2003 issue

Mayview, IL (GSL.com) – The U.S. Personal Armor System, Ground Troops protective vest was introduced to American troops in the early 1980’s. Constructed of Kevlar-29 fabric, it was designed and built to protect soldiers from fragmentation injuries. Today, these vests are being phased out with the adoption of the new and vastly superior Interceptor Body Armor system.

In all the available literature, these PASGT vests are reported to be ineffective against small arms fire. However, as the ballistic component was made of the famous, bullet-snaring Kevlar, we wanted to know if these vests, now available at surplus stores and by mail order for less than $50 apiece, would serve as poor-man’s body armor against pistol rounds.

We set up the test by placing the vest over two 30 pound bags of Yesterday’s News litter. We fired from about ten feet away and inspected the vest after each shot.

We began shooting the vests with rounds from 9mm caliber and worked our way up to .44 Magnum. The only round the vest was unable to defeat was a 9mm Federal 115gr. FMJ round. While it passed through the vest, it had very little remaining energy and didn’t even pass through the first bag of litter. When we backed up to 15 yards, the vest stopped the 9mm FMJ round.

To summarize, the vest stopped the hollowpoint bullets cold, even the venerable .44 Magnum. Round-nosed slugs presented more difficulty, but the vest caught these rounds as well (except the short-range 9mm FMJ).

The wearer of this vest will quite possibly face blunt force injuries on the back side of a bullet impact, particularly in larger calibers. However, the risk of possible serious injury is vastly superior to certain injury from a bullet wound.

We won’t warrant any of these vests. However, all things being equal, if you can’t afford modern body armor, these PASGT vests are certainly better than nothing against most handgun threats. Just don’t let the bad guys get too close!

Here are our results and notes.
From ten feet: Notes
9mm Federal 115gr. FMJ Complete penetration with very little remaining energy
9mm +P+ Corbon 115gr. JHP Stopped
.357 Mag. Federal 125gr. JHP Stopped
.357 Mag. S&W 158gr. JSP Stopped … barely
.357 Mag. 160gr. Silhouette Stopped
.41 Mag. 210gr. JHP Stopped
.44 Mag. (reload) 240gr. SWC Bounced off vest!
.44 Mag. 240gr. XTP Stopped

From 45 feet:
9mm Federal 115gr. FMJ Stopped

Special thanks to Jim Gabbard for allowing us to use his backyard range for the PASGT challenge!

 

[fletcher]

Interesting - this may be a decent option for experiments or, as mentioned, a "poor man's" armor. Then again, 9mm is one of the most used calibers (either top or second) in crimes. Better hope they have hollow points.


I wonder how old the vest was.

 

[MisterPX]

Too bad they didn't measure backface deformation, or go into better detail as to how dense the newspaper backer was. Still, HP's are one of the worst things to shoot at body armor.

 

[the naked prophet]

I'll bet that first 9mm just hit a weak spot. The velocity difference between the two distances they shot it have to be so small as to make virtually no difference. What it really tells us is that the vest is not particularly reliable.

 

[Templar223]

What it really tells us is that the vest is not particularly reliable.

Nah, I think the message is that if you don't have much money and can't afford to spend a $100-200 on a "pre-worn" vest, that a PASGT vest certainly beats a T-shirt when it comes to protecting your vitals from a BG's bullets.

John

 

[BushyGuy]

I have 3 PASGT vests i cut the pads off an dthe neck so i can wear it under ahoodie , it sure beats nothing at all when going to north philly!

also tests were done at these links

http://fateoflegions.blogspot.com/2008/03/part-3-ballistic-vest-live-fire-test.html

 

[Oyeboten]

Just wear two of them then...

Somewhere in storage I have an early 1930s one...label says rated to stop .38 Super and .45 ACP 'Thomson' rounds, 30-30, and anything less.

Never have worn it, but, when I tried it on it felt comfy-enough.

.44 Magnum has gotta hurt though, regardless.

12 Gauge Slugs and hi-power Rifle Rounds, eeeeeeesh...that's a lotta energy there for anything to stop!

 

[MachIVshooter]

Somewhere in storage I have an early 1930s one...label says rated to stop .38 Super and .45 ACP 'Thomson' rounds, 30-30, and anything less

Unless it uses plates, I wouldn't trust it to stop a .38 wadcutter after 80 years. They deteriorate. I don't know how long the cotton or silk vests of that era would last, but modern Kevlar ones have a service life.

Wearing a PASGT vest certainly beats NOT wearing one, but it's no substitute for a decent level II vest. As for the 9mm load, remember that the 115 gr. FMJ is not the better penetrator. Military 124 gr. ball has significantly higher energy and better penetrating ability than common commercial 115's.

 

[wideym]

I did pretty much the same test with just about the same results, except I fired from 10 feet away and the PASGT vest stopped all pistol rounds (HP & FMJ) including the 9mm. We fired .38spc, .357mag, 9mm, .40s&w, .45acp, and .22lr at five vests in good shape.

Rifle rounds fired at the vest from 25 feet away went straight through both sides (.223, .308, 8mm, .303, and 7.62x39 all FMJ). Shotgun was mixed with birdshot and buckshot being stopped cold, but rifled slug and sabot going straight through both sides with a large exit hole.

I would trust the PASGT vest only against pistol rounds and even then it's gonna hurt. We also tested three PASGT helmets against pistols rounds and they pretty much offered no protection against anything but a .22lr fired at an angle and even then it was 3 penatrations out of 5 shots.

 

[leadcounsel]

It would make great lining for a car door, car seat, etc. for instance. But if I honestly thought I'd need it, I'd spring for a $500 new vest.

BTW - there are many cheap things that will stop handgun bullets, including a few phone books duct taped together, or slided and flattened tires taped together in layers. Makes great cheap armor for vehicle interiors.

 

[WardenWolf]

Sounds like the vest is decent, and certainly better than nothing. And overall it sounds like it's fairly comparable to a Level 2 vest. Still, though, the tests indicate the secret to defeating it is still small caliber / high velocity, as the larger-caliber rounds did much worse at penetration despite their greater power. A .30 Carbine revolver or a pistol chambered in 7.62x25 should do the job.

 

[wishin]

I have 3 PASGT vests i cut the pads off an dthe neck so i can wear it under ahoodie , it sure beats nothing at all when going to north philly!

also tests were done at these links

http://fateoflegions.blogspot.com/2008/03/part-3-ballistic-vest-live-fire-test.html

Interesting stuff. I Really enjoyed the link from BushyGuy. A bit more current, but the same results more or less.

I don't know if anyone noticed; this thread goes back to 2007.

 

[wideym]

I almost forgot to add that when my unit arrived in Iraq we went in with some factory up-armored Humvees, but the majority were regular cargo Humvees that had steel plates added on in Kuwait to the cargo bed and older/unissued Vietnam era flack vests lining the cab. The Vietnam era vests actually worked well enough against mortar rounds and the small IEDs,but left gaps at the corset type drawstring areas.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Expired kevlar is essentially worthless. Don't get scammed into buying an old vest thinking it will provide at least some protection. It won't.

 

[frogomatic]

don't forget to duct tape a couple extra plates to the front and back...lol

~in honor of geko45

 

[mp510]

There are a lot of factors that this test could/did not take into consideration that are considered in NIJ 0101.06.

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/223054.pdf

Bullet resistance is only a small part of the equation. Vests that simply stop bullets may not actually protect the wearer.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Bullet resistance is only a small part of the equation. Vests that simply stop bullets may not actually protect the wearer.

A point that this informal test didn't even hint at. Doesn't matter if the bullet never got through if the blunt trauma from the indentation was enough to obliterate the spleen or send a broken rib through the lung or heart.

 

[Manco]

Sounds like the vest is decent, and certainly better than nothing. And overall it sounds like it's fairly comparable to a Level 2 vest. Still, though, the tests indicate the secret to defeating it is still small caliber / high velocity, as the larger-caliber rounds did much worse at penetration despite their greater power.

True in general, although larger pistol bullets that have sharp, hard points would probably go right through, too--it's simply a matter of applying overwhelming pressure to a tiny spot or between the woven fibers, and then squeezing on through.

 

[BushyGuy]

i finally tested one of my PASGT vests , back stop was an archery Styrofoam block.

tests where done at 5 feet-

3 rounds tested- 9mm WWB 115 gr FMJ- stopped at 3rd layer (made a huge dent), 9mm Corbon 125 gr +p stopped at 2nd layer, and finally the 230 gr FMJ .45acp stopped at the 1st layer! PASGT vest has total of 4 layers with 3 plys in each layer = 12 ply total

the PASGT vest was better then i thought it would be, i have 2 remaining vests, i have 1 with double layer in the front stuffed in it so i have at least level IIIA for SHTF!