Can 7N6 penetrate Level III AR500 armor?

Can 7N6 defeat level III AR500 armor?

  • Yes, it gets through

    Votes: 2 28.6%

  • No, armor stops it

    Votes: 5 71.4%
  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .
A

Andrew Wiggin

New member
5.45x39mm in general, and 7N6 in particular, is relatively high velocity, narrow, and high sectional density. Recall that in an earlier test .223 Rem 45gr varmint defeated the Level III armor at 3,238 fps. The 53 gr 7N6 hit at 3,167 fps, so there is a small decrease in velocity but also an increase in mass and sectional density. Also bear in mind that the armor is rated to stop 7.x62x51mm M80 ball. Don't cheat, make your prediction before you watch the video. What do you think will happen?


Link to test video
 
The 7N6-PS bullet is not nominally an armor piercing bullet but the mild steel core does increase penetration over a lead core.
The core is not a hardened steel or heavy metal penetrator with the sharp tip of armor piercing bullets.
The core is mild steel and blunt on both ends.

David Fortier had some good info on the abilities of the 7N6-PS ammo in the March 10, 2003 issue of The Shotgun News.
He said he was able to put a 7N6-PS bullet through both sides of a Kevlar US helmet at 300 yards.

USMC Firepower Division reported the 7N6-PS was slightly better at penetration on steel plate then the 5.56 55 grain M193.
Penetration is less then the US 5.56 M855 bullet.

The Chinese report that at 640 meters the 7N6-PS was only able to put 4 rounds out of 22 through a 3.5mm hardened steel plate.
The Russians say it will penetrate a 5mm steel plate at 350 meters.

Here's a 7N6-PS bullet I sectioned.
Note the blunt ended mild steel core, the lead cap on top and the hollow cavity in the tip.
There's also a very thin layer of lead surrounding the core between it and the outer steel jacket.

PICT0001.jpg
 
It's a close one for me. It is a little narrower than the 5.56, but if it's rated at less penetration than the 855 which will be stopped by Level III, I'm not sure I think it will make it through. If it does, I predict a "chunking" type effect that we saw where we believed the velocity of the round was actually pushing pieces of the armor out of the back as fragments.
 
7n6 is good ammo, but we have it because it has been superceded by newer version with improved penetration, which we will probably never see.
Then again, when I first read reports of the new "poison bullet" being used in Afghanistan, I never dreamed I'd be shooting it.
 
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