What is your armor rig?

[hyattnc]

I have a few armor rigs for different purposes.

When I go out hunting, I have a PIG which I use for purposes of safety. There are always firearms accidents around here of different varieties and I look at wearing a PIG like a motorcycle rider wears a helmet. I see quite a few guys out there on the hunt wearing some type of armor nowadays. The PIG is a very comfortable rig in my opinion.

I am also a dealer and an armorer as well as a firearms instructor. When I work with new shooters on the range, I have a Force One IIIA vest I put on. When working with firearms as an armorer I also wear a vest especially if I am around others who are working on firearms. The Force One rig is more comfortable than most. The carrier has a good design and the vest seems thick and durable.

When working in the store where I am showing and demonstrating different firearms to prospective buyers, I wear a fashionable custom made IIA vest from Point Blank. It looks like I am wearing an ordinary vest, but its a custom made body armor rig. Again, its all about safety. Although we take great pains to make sure each and every firearm in the store is unloaded you just never know and then what if someone holds up the store?

So Im wondering what your rig is and how you feel about it?

 

[hso]

No need for one outside of a course.

 

[Walkalong]

Yea, we've been down this road.

I have never seen any one wear body armor to hunt, shoot at the range, or clean their guns.

Kind of overkill, if you can pardon the pun. You only need body armor if you are going in harms way due to serious training or work, or your a bit paranoid, IMHO.

 

[hso]

You're wearing $600 worth of 16-lbs of level IV armor while hunting?
That's what you'd need to address a concern for being shot by hunting rifle ammunition. I find it very difficult to believe that anyone that wasn't an armor dealer could or would do this. Very few hunters are going to wear the additional weight, put up with the discomfort nor drop the $600-$1000 on something like that so I don't actually understand the claim that "I see quite a few guys out there on the hunt wearing some type of armor nowadays.". Maybe a couple, but not "quite a few". The rate of negligent shootings of hunters is too small for most to worry about this enough to do more than wear some extra orange.

I have a plate carrier with a IV plate that I wear to courses. As a safety professional with 20+ years of experience I evaluate hazards and their potential for occurrence and consequence every day. The need for body armor exists where the probability of being shot is high and can not be mitigated by good engineering or behavioral controls being put in place.

If you're marketing the armor I can see a reason for YOU to wear it in a variety of situations that the normal person wouldn't. Heck, I test equipment all the time to understand the limitations of it so I'm no different in that respect, but I don't expect people to buy and wear respirators when there's no significant risk.

 

[BullfrogKen]

I see quite a few guys out there on the hunt wearing some type of armor nowadays.

Quite a few? Really? I know no one who does. And I know a lot of people.

Like Mike says, the level of armor you need to wear for protection from high power hunting ammunition is extremely cumbersome, heavy, and hot.

I'm curious to know how you deal with the sweat. Most every hunter I know wears layers that he can peel off as he warms up while he's walking to his hunting site, and puts it back on when he gets there and begins cooling back down again. Being wet from sweat, out in the winter cold, is a recipe for hypothermia. Hypothermia and pneumonia kill a lot more people every year than errant hunting bullets.


Now, I do know one or two people in the firearms business who wear body armor in the shop.

But of all the trainers I know - and I personally know around three dozen - not a single one of them will wear body armor while instructing out on the range unless they have a department or are on a range that tells them they must.

 

[hyattnc]

The red firearms instructor ballistic vest is common in my neck of the woods. There have been plenty of accidents over the years and my insurance carrier actually requires our instructors to wear the vest.

If you are wearing the old 16 lb Interceptor rig from years back then you need to try the PIG with some modern lightweight plates. I can help you upgrade if you like No one wears the Interceptor anymore. The PIG with a pair of lightweights is more like 8 lbs. Did I say I was a dealer in body armor? I am for Point Blank and Second Chance as well as a few others. The vests and rigs they make nowadays are far better than the ones of old. If you dont feel good in your current rig than you need to upgrade.

I dont see anyone using soft armor out there in the field. Mainly PIG type carriers with smaller lightweight plates to guard the chest and back. If your plate weighs more then 5 lbs you got the wrong plate. The PIG isnt hot or heavy at all. Its the best design out there.

 

[jmorris]

soI don't actually understand the claim that "I see quite a few guys out there on the hunt wearing some type of armor nowadays.".

Maybe Under Armor?

The topic reminds me of the line from "Dumb and Dummer", "but, what if he shot you in the face?"

I don't know anyone that wears a vest except for on the job LEO's. Then again I grew up before kids rode bikes with helmets on and seat belts didn't exist in some of our cars.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I've been wearing body armor to work every day for 20 years and hate it...I certainly don't want to wea r it when I play.

 

[hyattnc]

I think we are on two different pages so let me clarify. This is the PIG

www.skdtac.com/PIG-Plate-Carrier-p/pig.502.htm

Basically the PIG is a few straps and two plates. Its not a vest and isnt meant to have any soft armor. This rig isnt hot because its an exterior open harness with no soft armor. It can come with soft armor if you want it to but most folks just use it with two plates.

The plates I talk about are not those Galls Maxpro 8 pounders which are basically these old design Ceradyne plates with Ceramic technology. The plates I talk about weigh 3-5 lbs and use various technologies like Dyneema and other exotic material. You size the plates by going one size lower than your actual size for better mobility. The result is a lightweight platform which is highly mobile and not hot in the least. The PIG was designed to sit high up and close to your body so it moves with you.

It sounds like you guys are talking about old technology armor that you get from the Galls catalog for cheap. Those old concealable rigs the LEOs wear are very uncomfortable and I would never wear one of those. The new technology rigs and armor make a lot more sense.

The 16 lb Interceptor with level IV plates no one uses for anything anymore. That was yesterdays news. Todays armor is lightweight plate carriers with thin exotic materials.

 

[highorder]

If you're going to shill us armor, at least post some vids of you taking rounds.

That would sell more armor than you claiming anyone, other than you, is wearing armor to hunt.

Ridiculous.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

That PIG stuff doesn't look any more comfortable than the outside panel carrier that came with my latest issued vest.

 

[Hunterdad]

For heavens sake, would you just please stop trying to sell us your body armor. I can guarantee no one here is going to wear anything like that while hunting. If you want to sell it, then get permission to put it in the trading post.

 

[hyattnc]

Hey now lets stop the threadjacking. If you dont like folks wearing rigs while hunting than please keep that opinion to yourself. I dont make fun of you for climbing up into a tree when you hunt or when you mix it up with the bow and arrow. I respect other peoples choices.

For the record my messages are set to off in this forum and I have no connection with SKD except that I buy their products. This part of the site is for gear reviews and I am properly using the section as intended. In fact this topic is widely discussed on other sites but there isnt the threadjacking you see here.

As for the PIG carrier I have never heard anyone complain about it or say its uncomfortable. I noticed some of you making comments about it without actually having tried it. Thats like me saying the Glock is trash without spending time with it to make an informed opinion. I also wouldnt compare the PIG to an LEOs armor...there is no comparison.

Look at Dick Cheney. He was shot while out on the hunt. It does happen and so thats why I make use of the PIG on the hunt or on the range. Its just the wise thing to do.

 

[bigfatdave]

I'm not going to believe it until we see some Armor testing against hunting rifle loads.

 

[jmorris]

Look at Dick Cheney. He was shot while out on the hunt.

No he wasn't and the vest above wouldn't have done much good in that case either. As I said in post 7, your head/face is not protected by a vest.

The Dick Cheney hunting incident occurred on February 11, 2006, when then U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington...Whittington was injured in the face, neck, and upper torso.

 

[hyattnc]

I wanted to add that some here may not see the value behind safety and wearing the PIG on the hunt or an instructor vest while teaching a course. The may think it doesnt look cool or its uncomfortable. Let me just say you will see the value when you become a victim of an accident. Just as people drop their Iphones on the ground that happens with firearms too.

Many folks thought motorcycle helmets were too hot and uncomfortable too. Ive learned my lessons the hard way and respect the firearm. Just the other day I read a article about a Marine who killed a man with a firearm on account of he was trying to cure the hiccups. Dumb stuff happens and on my range you wear a vest as an instructor or range officer.

 

[Creature]

The only 'armor' I use is tick repellant. They can kill ya.

 

[BullfrogKen]

I wanted to add that some here may not see the value behind safety and wearing the PIG on the hunt or an instructor vest while teaching a course.

Nonsense. Because someone chooses not to wear body armor while he's hunting does not mean he's not safety conscious.


I'll ask my question again, because you flat out ignored it the first time.

I'm curious to know how you deal with sweating.

And color me stupid, but you'll have to show me a plate that's rated to stop a high power rifle hunting round that weighs 3-5 pounds.

 

[hyattnc]

The heat issue is not an issue with some external carriers because of the design. The PIG in particular is designed so that air circulates behind it. High quality carriers are not all that hot anymore. The older variety were very hot and constricting. In any event we are not doing exercises while on the hunt or at the range. We are not running laps.

Todays lightweight plates can stop most high powered rounds. There are level iv 4-5 pounders. In selecting a plate you should go with a medium or an 8x10 which are lighter and more mobile. The idea is to protect the heart, lungs and spine. To give a certain level of protection in the event of an accident or friendly fire from other hunters.

 

[RustHunter87]

Im not gonna start putin on armor just because "it could happen"
maybe if i knew i was gonna get shot at, ill take my chances but to each his own i guess

 

[armoredman]

I actually have a plate carrier, http://www.ar500armor.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=29906 and I'm pretty sure I would hate to wear that walking around hunting all day! That's 15 pounds of AR500 steel armor for front and back, even though maybe for hunting you could go with just the back plate. I have it for a HOLY BLANKETY BLANK type day, and like the fact that it's quick on with spare ammo, etc. I also fully expect it to collect dust for a long time, but even so, I like having the option, and the company is an excellent local outfit with very cool guys running it.
If this really is the wave of the future, perhaps you should contact the manufacturer and see if they will market a blaze orange plate carrier. If they agree, maybe they can market a high quality hunters vest, perhaps with a wide back plate that's made of lighter materials and designed to take only one or two shots, enough to save your life, maybe with some blaze orange MOLLE pouches, though I don't think the usual M-16 mag pouches, etc., would be required. There HAVE been documented cases of hunters being targeted, but they are relatively few and far between.
In the end, if wearing armor like this is what you like to do while hunting, it's certainly your choice, not ours.

 

[X-Rap]

Just for fun I just measured one of my Tee shirts and found that 8x10 plates would only cover 11% of my torso and to be effective I would need to be squared to the shooter. Considering that I am in a 360 environment while hunting, that gives little comfort. Do you wear a helmet too?

 

[BullfrogKen]

In any event we are not doing exercises while on the hunt

Unless you're driving a four wheeler right up to a tree stand, nonsense. The walk into a hunting location is exercise. Walking around the hunting grounds is exercise. And from your earlier post you don't seem to be a fan of hunting from a tree stand. Statements like these make me wonder how much you even hunt at all.


I don't care how the carrier is designed, most people sweat when they're walking into the location they're going to hunt from. And most guys wind up taking off their coats and jackets, even in freezing weather, on the walk in to keep from getting wet from perspiration. Putting a plate carrier on is guaranteed to make a guy wet from sweat on the walk in.

Todays lightweight plates can stop most high powered rounds. There are level iv 4-5 pounders.

Nonsense. If you want protection from a hunting round, you've got to have protection that'll stop magnums, not just the . 223, .308, 7.62X39 and 30-06 rounds. Show me. Show me a 4 - 5 pound plate that'll stop a 7mm Magnum round.

 

[MtnCreek]

How easy is it to use the restroom when wearing your body armor? Can you wear it and still effectively relieve yourself or do you go unprotected during this most vulnerable time?

Thanks!

 

[beatledog7]

If I were to choose to wear body armor while hunting that'll stop every conceivable stray round, or to wear handgun rated armor while teaching, just because an accident could happen, wouldn't I be better off just to quit teaching and go to a specialty meat store to buy venison? But wait, I might get into a car crash on the way to that store, so I'd better wear a helmet. Then again, what if I fall getting to my truck? Gonna need knee and elbow pads...

The odds of getting hit by a stray round while hunting are functionally the same as getting hit by a meteorite. But the odds of getting hit in the head are probably at least 1/3 of the odds of getting hit in the upper torso. So assuming I wear level IV torso plates, what kind of helmet stops a 7mag round?

Joking aside, there is simply no way to protect oneself from every conceivable kind of accidental injury. Follow safety rules. Don't be paranoid. If you are paranoid, don't go hunting.