Can bullets pierce a bulletproof vest?

Answer 1

It depends. Generally, you don't find products made that call themselves bullet "proof." What you will find, are armor products that advertise the ability to stop a particular type of ammunition, shrapnel, knife, etc. MOST of the time.

What can pierce a typical kevlar vest? Like the ones used by law enforcement (please don't get mad, I couldn't think of another example...)? These types of vests are generally made to stop subsonic rounds; that includes most bullets fired from handguns and submachine guns (they fire the same type of bullets). What they can't stop:

- High velocity rounds, i.e. hunting rounds, which are rounds that are supersonic, and, of course, "armor piercing." The kind of armore piercing rounds that are really armor piercing, to my knowledge, are all supersonic rifle rounds. If you are being shot at by somebody with these, they are probably working for some government and you aught not mess with them... These rounds aren't stopped because they move much faster and, as a result, carry much more energy in them. A small person gently sits down on a couch, and the springs can resist this. But, if that same person gets a running start and jumps as hard as he or she can on the same couch, it's probably gonna break. That's a lame comparison of how a soft kevlar vest holds up. I know, it's lame.

- A knife. You probably don't believe that, but kevlar vests that you see stopping a pistol round are nearly universally unable to stop a knife impact. Why? Because there is only one impact from a subsonic bullet, supersonic too, but we know they pack too much punch. It hits hard, and it does tear some fibers, but the vest is made to absorb it. A knife, however, has two impacts:

1. The initial inertia of the swing or thrust, which is absorbed by the vest.

2. A second impact resulting from the force of the wielder, which the vest is not able to absorb.

The first impact already broke fibers, so the second impact has less vest to pierce before hitting person. Also, the ratio of a knife's cutting edge relative to the non-cutting sides is much more even than the tiny point of a bullet relative to the sides of it, so there's a lot less of the knife to grab.

How do you stop a knife and most rounds fired by humans? ceramic plates are used by many countries' militaries. The plate goes on top of a kevlar belly. What isn't stopped by the plate, yikes, is theoretically given a second chance to be stopped by the vest. So much energy was lost by busting through the plate that the chance of that same high velocity round being stopped by the kevlar is much greater. Once a plate is cracked or busted though, you aren't supposed to keep using it.

There are vests that are designed to specifically stop a knife; these are particularly popular in gun-"free" Brittain, where knife wounds to officers are higher for some unexplained reason. There are a lot of designs. Turtleskin makes one.

Why do you ask? What kind of life are you living?

I stabbed my ceramic plate with three kinds of knifes, two expensive regular ones and that 300 dollar knife from the movie "The Hunted." It broke the tip off of the two regular knifes and completely flattened the tip of my knife. I also took a tomahawk to a kevlar helmet as hard as I could and it didn't even flinch. That same kevlar didn't even slow down a .223 fired from an M-4... Kevlar helmets are made to stop most shrapnel and subsonic rounds, not high velocity rounds.

Answer 2

It seems like you are asking whether it is legal to wear a bullet proof vest.

You should check this with your country or state law enforcement officials. In CanadaIi believe it is illegal to wear a bullet proof vest

Answer 3

They most certainly do. If you are in a combat MOS (military occupational specialty) such as infantry you will use them regularly, pretty much any military personel in a combat zone will wear one for protection. The types of vest the Army and Marine Corps uses are different from each other, but do the same things. The Marines call theirs "flak jackets".

Answer 4

It depends on what your role is - western militaries typically issue body armor to those who will likely face small arms fire. Most normally, this includes any combat unit, military police, and forward-positioned logistics personnel.

Basically, if the military thinks you'll likely see small arms combat, you'll be issued a vest.

Answer 5

Some are and some aren't. Individual departments' rules, and state and municipal laws and personnel policies decide.

Answer 6

Yes they are very popular in police woman and men. Also some police dogs have them to protect them too.

Answer 7

Uniformed officers are supposed to wear the vests when they are in the field.

Answer 8

They are if they have any sense - those things save lives!