School me on: Level 3 AR500 Body Armor

[Piglatinhater]

I'm starting to see body armor at the 1 bill mark. Most are ar500 steel, front and back vest. What should I know about body armor?

And yes, I will never use this. But at $100 and supposably rated up to a 308 round, it has me wondering.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Is it coated to reduce fragmentation from the disintegrated bullet?
Your arms could be shredded, deep enough to have nerve damage, if your arms were extended in front of a steel plate that takes a hit from a 123- 165 grain .30 bullet. The nylon carrier itself won't hold those fragments in.

Steel is pretty heavy compared to soft body armor or ceramic plates. BUT, it may be "worth it" if you'll be defending a position and not really doing a lot of traveling with it on.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

video of bullets splattering on plate:

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

another

 

[safebuilder]

As I have progressed through the NIJ maze to get compliant body armor manufacturing status, I can tell you a couple of things. Level 3 is capable of stopping 308 up to 2800 fps(L3 NIJ 1.06 standard). That is the test standard for BODY ARMOR. Steel Plate(ie brinks truck, etc) can be level 3 NIJ 1.08. the 308 rating for that is something like 2745 fps. Both being 147g fmj projectile. There is a lot of armor on the market(eb*y) that is passed off as L3 but only meets the 1.08 standard. Any more questions I will try an answer or copy out of my NIJ info for you. SB

 

[ThatOtherGuy]

Is it coated to reduce fragmentation from the disintegrated bullet?
Your arms could be shredded, deep enough to have nerve damage, if your arms were extended in front of a steel plate that takes a hit from a 123- 165 grain .30 bullet. The nylon carrier itself won't hold those fragments in.

Steel is pretty heavy compared to soft body armor or ceramic plates. BUT, it may be "worth it" if you'll be defending a position and not really doing a lot of traveling with it on.

A multi-layer Line-X coating has been successfully tested for its ability to handle spall.

 

[MRH]

I would go with the level III+ plates. They are proven to give more protection. Ceramic is good too, and significatly lighter, but pricey.

A layer of soft armor over your plates will help prevent spalling, and give an added measure of protection. If you have plates that are uncoated, take them to someone who does rhino lining and have them sprayed.

 

[spavent]

A multi-layer Line-X coating has been successfully tested for its ability to handle spall.

This is done with a perfect straight on shot with very little retained mass in the fragments. IMHO AR 500 steel armor is like buying a HI POINT because it's cheap and it shoots. My thoughts are you you should save your high point money add to it and buy a GLOCK or equivilant some day in the future. It's only advantages are it's cheap and it wont be compromised by a blunt force strike. It's disadvantages are VERY HEAVY, normally not Triple Curve "shooters cut" and bullets bounce all over the place off it. So if you like your arms, legs, face and FRIENDS who may be around you don't get it. If you like incredibly uncomfortable gear that will stop a direct shot then maybe.

 

[Warren Taninbaum]

A lot of good observations and comments regarding plates. Level III+ is a better answer to .556x45MM rounds. The Level III is rated for .308 (7.62x51) but can stop some lower velocity .556 rounds. If weight is an issue (it shouldn't be unless you train often or are in the safety business) there are lightweight Level III+ steel plates (2 pounds less each) or polyethylene plates at 3.2 lbs each. The poly plates are expensive but once you touch them, you don't want anything else! Let me know if I can help further. We sell AR500 Armor, Spartan, HESCO, and other plates along with concealable and tactical body armor. Always happy to answer questions or offer advice.