# body armor plates.



## gaspump86 (May 5, 2012)

I have question about steel hard armor plates. 
There is a website that sells rifle round steel body armor plates for $150 each. The measurements are 1/4" thick x 10" x 12". I have seen some that say they are a steel/titanium mixture. These say they are only steel and they way about 8lbs each.
My question is what is the difference between these and buying steel plates from a metal shop with same dimensions for $25 each????? What is the difference?


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## chris88idaho (Apr 30, 2012)

I suggest "point blank". The case will stop 9mm round and front and back trauma plates will stop high powered rifle rounds. Saw a soldier take 2 ak-47 rounds (7.62mm) in the chest and lived to tell about it. Spendy, but you are trying to stop bullets. Weighs about 15 to 20 lbs, but next to my m-4 it was my next favorite piece of equipment.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Steel plate can mean any low carbon alloy, for bullet penitration resistance, you need steel with very low sulpher or lead content, It might be worth your while to researh the properties required for penitration resistance and see if you could order that type of plat from a supplier, it would also let you get the pieces cut to the size you want. multiple layers of kevlar fabric would probably be a lot more effective than a sheet of steel,


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

gaspump86 said:


> I have question about steel hard armor plates.
> There is a website that sells rifle round steel body armor plates for $150 each. The measurements are 1/4" thick x 10" x 12". I have seen some that say they are a steel/titanium mixture. These say they are only steel and they way about 8lbs each.
> My question is what is the difference between these and buying steel plates from a metal shop with same dimensions for $25 each????? What is the difference?


Circular plates?

There are very significant differences between an armor spec vs. generic plate steel.

The steel plates (and some ceramic) generally need a backer to block spall. Usually it's just a thin layer of body armor type material.


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## SlobberToofTigger (Dec 27, 2011)

I had large flip targets made by a local guy out of 1/4" steel. Most of my rifles will shoot though them so I am certain there is a bit more to armor plating then just getting steel plates.


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## chris88idaho (Apr 30, 2012)

Talking about a plate that protects your vital organs from bullets... Id just buy ceramic plates designed by engineers, adopted by military, proven in battle. Just me. Ceramic would be much lighter than steel also


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## gaspump86 (May 5, 2012)

chris88idaho said:


> Talking about a plate that protects your vital organs from bullets... Id just buy ceramic plates designed by engineers, adopted by military, proven in battle. Just me. Ceramic would be much lighter than steel also


Yes you are right... i can't afford any thing like that... but they are nice and only about 4lbs


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

If I were doing entry work, I would certainly want to be armored up. But, if I wanted to be fast....

Of course, at my age being fast is mostly a memory. Maybe I should go for the armor. I would if I could afford it. 

Chris is right. Go for the proven stuff. I doubt there are any real deals out there for quality, but I would shy away from any "bargain" plates like whats on ebay.


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## Onebigelf (Sep 17, 2011)

There were steel armor plates on the market for a while very reasonable. I think they were surplus when the military switched to the ceramic to save weight. For combat troops carrying 70lbs, saving 4-5 lbs matters. I bought a couple of the rifle plates back then for about $30 each. I just recently picked up 8x8 side plates for $15 each. I'll see if he has any left. The plates are available cheaply, but they are also available at wildly inflated prices. 

If you are going to get your own steel plates i suggest the AR500 rifle target plates. They are designed to soak up hits without penetrating.

John


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## joelhughes (Aug 30, 2013)

Well I think the most appropriate choice for hard armor plates are Ceramic Allumina Plates or super-light-weight Dymeena plates because steel plates can be made of low resistant alloy that cannot resist the bullet force. Probably ceramic alluminia plates are lot more effective than a sheet of steel. You can see its brief description on Zfi-inc.com.


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

joelhughes said:


> Well I think the most appropriate choice for hard armor plates are Ceramic Allumina Plates or super-light-weight Dymeena plates because steel plates can be made of low resistant alloy that cannot resist the bullet force. Probably ceramic alluminia plates are lot more effective than a sheet of steel. You can see its brief description on Zfi-inc.com.


Dyneema/HDPE plates do not work reliably for M855, one of the most common US military/surplus cartridges. Or any rifle AP round.

There has been a lot of public, empirical testing in the last few years. And there is always good info at http://bulletproofme.com/Quick_Answers.shtml

This is your best info bet--search for info from Dr. Gary Roberts aka DocGKR:
http://www.bing.com/search?q=body+armor+docgkr&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSBR

An interesting video by Andrew Tuohy:


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## ras1219como (Jan 15, 2013)

Most body armor quality steel plates also have a coating on them (dont know what) which helps cut down on the amount of frag that comes off the steel so that you don't get bits of fragmented lead in your face. 

I would buy the manufactured rifle plates and stay away from the machine shop stuff. Even better save up for either ceramic or soft trauma plates. Lighter and more comfy!


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

AR500 is used on trucks in the Iraq war, that is why it is hard to find & cost so much.
It was made to use on heavy equipment as reduce wear plate for shovels & bucket.
The plate will shattered pistol rounds & rifle rounds will only dent it.
A friend had me try to get some for him, he wanted 12" X 18".
No one in S.C. would sale less the a full 48"x96"X1/4" or 4'X8'X1/4" sheet, which they would have to order, from out of state.
This friend said NEVER fire a rifle at a pistol target.If the dent in the target made by the rifle round, was struck by a another round, the round could turn 180 degrees & kill or wound the shooter or anyone watching the shooter.
I have not ideal how or if this is true, but he taught us in the NRA pistol course.
So I am going to believe him until, someone much smarter then I tells me better.
He is law officer also.


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## Jimthewagontraveler (Feb 8, 2012)

Because of weight it would be useless for body armor but has anybody tried a rifle round against the wear bars that are on snow plows? 
They get used for fence posts and everthing else around here.


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## SuspectZero (Feb 3, 2011)

I use ar500 with the zline coating. It will protect against the spalling and can take multiple rounds. Ceramic can be dropped wrong and break. Durabilty is more important than wieght to me in a survival situation. Cost is much lower as well. This means you can purchase more for the family or repeats for yourself.


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## buckylastard (Sep 30, 2013)

Infidel body armor


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## HamiltonFelix (Oct 11, 2011)

Seems to me the 1911TechTalk list owner has a side business making targets; I think he was using T1, but I could be out of date. That AR500 sounds good. 

Some years ago, I recall shooting .30-06 at a door panel from an old halftrack (friend's logging company used to be able to get cheap surplus WWII halftracks and use them to carry his big rock drill, until it became too hard to get tracks), and it barely dented what appeared to be 1/4" steel. It would have blown right through 1/4" mild steel. 

I believe .30-06 AP will go through 1/2" mild steel. My old "gun show buddy" (who passed away in 2006) told me about swiss cheesing a Jap tank with .30-06 AP in a pair of .30 caliber browning machine guns. And I've seen holes through a 1/2" mild steel plate made with a Nosler Ballistic Tip sporting load in a fairly long barreled .300 Winchester Magnum. 

I'd really want to learn about the steel, preferably test shoot a sample, before I bet my life on any unknown plates.

Hmmm..... Ya know... a small "lip" on a plate should serve to discourage lead and copper spatter when the plate is hit.


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