I posted this on another forum but figure a lot of people here probably don't bother with the BS of that one and someone might find this mildly interesting:

I got my hands on a piece of bullet resistant paneling. I'm not positive about the manufacturer, but it looks the same as ArmorCore (though I suspect they all look similar). I know it's rated level 3, which is basically any pistol caliber (up to .44 magnum). Back on New Years, my buddies and I took it out to test it and I just finally got a new hosting site (stupid google discontinuing picassa) to post pics.

We started with a .22 fired from a M&P15-22 from 50 yards. We didn't know if everything would be absorbed or if ricochet was possible. As it turns out, the panel absorbs the bullet, no ricochet occurred. It also turns out my buddy needed to re-zero his optic! So then I shot the .380 and tried to get it close to the edge, as the seams are supposed to be a weak spot. Didn't hit right on the edge, but kinda close and it stopped it no problem.
.380 ACP (95 gr)


We progressed from .22 through .380, 9mm, .40, and .45 (all FMJ...except the .22). As expected the panel stopped them. None of us have any magnum calibers.

9mm (124 gr)


.40 S&W (165 gr)


.45 ACP (230 gr)


Next we went to the intermediate cartridges, 5.56/.223 (55 gr) and 7.62x39 (123 gr), both FMJ. Then full rifle .30-06 soft points (165 gr). Not surprisingly, they penetrated. I don't know what the condition of the projectiles were or what velocity they were at after going through...no way to find them in the berm and I didn't think ahead. So I don't know how deadly they would've been, but they did kick up dirt like they'd just gone through a paper target. Looking at the exits, my best guess is the 30 cal bullets held together and had enough velocity to be deadly, but it looks to me like the 5.56 may have broken up a bit. The exit hole seems bigger than I'd expect from a straight through. Again, it did kick up dirt behind it though, so some mass stayed together and maintained speed.

We finished with 12ga slug and buckshot. I figured the board would stop them easily...big and heavy but slow. My buddy figured the slug would penetrate but the buckshot wouldn't.



They were both stopped easily.

The whole panel:


The most interesting thing to me was that of the pistols, the .40 had the most visible impact. We clamped the panel to my target stand with binder clips and the .40 blew 3 of them off. Only the slug and buckshot did too (they knocked the clips off and the panel fell forward). None of the other pistol rounds, including the .45 hit hard enough to pop them off. The image below is the backside of the panel, showing the exits of the rifle rounds. Around the exits you can notice the lighter color from the panel layers bulging. You can also see the discoloration below the middle exit hole (.30-06) from the slug. If you look closely at the image, you can see there is a slight bulge right in the middle from the .45, and above right of that, near the right vertical line, a more noticeable one from the .40. You can barely feel a slight bump where the 9mm hit (would be upper left in the image) but it's hardly perceptible.
Rifle exits, 5.56 on the upper left, .30-06 in the middle, 7.62x39 on the right.


What does it all mean? Well, nothing other than the panel held up to what it was rated for and rifle rounds went through. The .40 seeming to hit harder (in my uneducated opinion) simply shows that it has more energy than the 9mm and .45, which isn't hard to figure out, just check the spec sheets. But it doesn't necessarily mean anything for self defense, as bodies aren't made of fiberglass laminated paneling.

Well, I for one am appreciative of the test and the post. Frankly, I was not even familiar with this type of material until I read this.

was it rated LIII or LIIIA?

The DOJ/NIJ tests use two rounds for each level. One is a 9mm/357SIG(357 SIG for level IIIa) to test perforation and another round (40 S&W, 357 Magnum, 44 Magmum) to test more for backface signature. BFS not as relevant for rigid armor plates compared to soft body armor. Just some FYI. The body armor standards and testing requirements are freely downloadable from the DOJ/NIJ. Or just search NIJ body armor standard 0101.06.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
was it rated LIII or LIIIA?

I don't know the technical stuff. The construction guys just cut a piece for me (requires Tyvex type suit and respirator), told me it was type/class 3 and warned me to be careful in handling not to get fiberglass splinters as they're practically invisible.

Again, I'm not sure if it was ArmorCore, but their tech page is: http://www.armorcore.com/docum...ion/technical-specs/

ETA: they also said it can be cut with normal blades, but that they'll dull really fast. They installed the panels directly to the studs, then installed regular gyp board over it.

A few years ago I did a major research project/program rollout related to officer trauma injuries.

The end result led me to fully realize that the only way to consistently survive getting shot as an officer was to not get shot in the head/neck, and not get shot period with a rifle.

Suffice to say...it wasn't a particularly positive revelation, and I left that finding out of my final recommendation.