The Army Has A Round That Punches Through 5.56mm-Resistant Armor

[Cletus]

I should have added with that last post, that to the best of my knowledge, there is no pistol caliber cartridge that will penetrate Level IV or higher armor. That is actually the type of armor Pete's article is about. There may be something some guy whipped up in his basement, like a .500 Smith and Wesson with a tungsten penetrator cemented into it, but I doubt it.

[resister]

There are very few pistol rounds that will penetrate level IIIA and up body armor. The "cop killer" bullet is largely a myth. One of the few able to do so is the 5.7x28mm round, but only the 17 grain bullet will do that from a pistol. It will penetrate level III armor at normal pistol engagement ranges. However, it is not common and the 17 grain bullet is actually restricted for sale to law enforcement. My wife has one.

That is a very light bullet, what makes it able to do so? Very HV?

[Cletus]

That is a very light bullet, what makes it able to do so? Very HV?

Exactly.

[resister]

Exactly.

Once upon a time, I made a single shot, smooth bore 22, that used nail gun blanks. I used a number 4 (scale of 1-5) to push a 30gr bullet. At point blank, it penetrated a brand new 2x4 and a very thick paperback. I suspect that might penetrate. Got rid of it, don't like prison this time of year. It is a rusty river relic at this point. And it was overbore, used foil tape to hold the bullet to the chargf

[Cletus]

I am sorry, R. I just went back and looked at my original post, the SS192 bullet weighs 27 grains, not 17. It must have been a long day yesterday.

Another round that will do it is the SS190, which comes in at 32 grains. Both bullets are super hot, like 2100fps out of a handgun, and will penetrate Level III armor. Neither round though, will penetrate Level IV.

The forum has that stupid rule that will only allow you to edit posts for x amount of time and I just noticed the screwup or I would go back and fix it.

[Cletus]

Once upon a time, I made a single shot, smooth bore 22, that used nail gun blanks. I used a number 4 (scale of 1-5) to push a 30gr bullet. At point blank, it penetrated a brand new 2x4 and a very thick paperback. I suspect that might penetrate. Got rid of it, don't like prison this time of year. It is a rusty river relic at this point. And it was overbore, used foil tape to hold the bullet to the chargf

You have demonstrated repeatedly on this forum and that you are a well informed and creative person. I think you would be a handy guy to have around if the balloon ever goes up.

[resister]

I am sorry, R. I just went back and looked at my original post, the SS192 bullet weighs 27 grains, not 17. It must have been a long day yesterday.

Another round that will do it is the SS190, which comes in at 32 grains. Both bullets are super hot, like 2100fps out of a handgun, and will penetrate Level III armor. Neither round though, will penetrate Level IV.

Kinda reminds me of the .17 cal rifle, but of course that is a rifle round. Bet it would still be pretty hot from a long barreled pistol, especially if they could make it P plus

[resister]

You have demonstrated repeatedly on this forum and that you are a well informed and creative person. I think you would be a handy guy to have around if the balloon ever goes up.

Very kind of you to say, Sir. My friend told me the other day that I can never be bored as I have a new hobby every 5 minutes. You should see my exploding slingshot and sling ammo, slingshot is a 209 primer taped to a lead ball with yarn for tail feathers and the sling ammo uses cap gun caps to prime a hotter load. Both require impacting a hard target, though. Been racking my brains to find a way to do time delayed electronic ignition, stumped, so far. I am a fan of pyro, for sure.

[Adelaide]

There are very few pistol rounds that will penetrate level IIIA and up body armor. The "cop killer" bullet is largely a myth. One of the few able to do so is the 5.7x28mm round, but only the 17 grain bullet will do that from a pistol. It will penetrate level III armor at normal pistol engagement ranges. However, it is not common and the 17 grain bullet is actually restricted for sale to law enforcement. My wife has one.

Thanks - I was not sure how they might be different or the same, and did not realize they weren't as effective as I had heard elsewhere.

[resister]

Peter, do you think copper jacketed steel core bullets at a HV would do the trick? I don't even know if steel core bullets are made, but it seems as long as they have FMJ it should work, right?