Vest vs. Carry gun

N

Nozler

New member
I have read the advise of wearing a vest capable of stopping what you normally carry everywhere. Then this thought came to me: What if a officer carries a FN Five-Seven?

I don't believe that most street officers will carry that but if the SWAT/HRT/SRT/etc carry it will they need to wear Level III or up?

FN site states the ranges at which the round will penetrate armor but what level armor are they shooting at?
 
Personally, if I was wearing armor, I would wear the highest rated armor that I could work comfortably in. I have thought about getting some heavy duty armor for when I expect trouble and some light armor for daily wear. It's hard to choose. If nothing else, I would definately make sure that your armor has the pockets that let you slide in the steel plates.
 
The 5.7 round can penetrate up to 48 layers of kevlar at 200 yards. Even a IIIa, the heaviest NIJ standard soft vest, is about 26-30 layers, depending on the manufacturer. You'd need about a IIIa with a II behind it in order to stop the bullet before it enters you.
 
NIJ also notes that a level III stops a .308 fmj. I would not want to be in the vest that does that as I can see all my organs turning to jelly from the blunt force trauma.

I wear a IIIa vest for shooting at the range. It stops all handgun ammo (normal anyway), some rifle, a bunch of shotgun stuff.

The range is the only place I know a loaded weapon has been pointed at me by a stranger or several times by people I know. I like to wear at the range to protect against "accidents," but those include a variety of things as well like freak ricochets.
 
Double Naught Spy,

IIIa vests aren't rated for any rifle rounds at all (unless you have a hard plate, and then only on the plate). Don't get touched by a rifle round! :)

I too wear a vest when I go out shooting. It only seems like a good idea.
 
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