.45-70 vs. Kevlar Vest

[Coal Creek Griff]

I posted this over in the BROW forum too, but I thought there might be some interested readers here.

.45-70 vs. Kevlar Vest:

I have an old (1999) Level II Kevlar ballistic vest that I'm disposing of, so I've been testing it with different types of ammunition.  I decided to shoot it with my .45-70 to see if it would stop the bullet.  This was a very unscientific test.  The vest panel was simply leaned against a log backstop and shot from about 30 yards.  The bullet was a Lyman 457193 at about 415 grains.  The velocity was just over 1400 fps from my Pedersoli Sharps with a 32 inch barrel.

I only fired one shot.  The vest stopped the bullet.  As you can see from the photo, it still has Kevlar fibers embedded into the lead.  The shot pushed the Kevlar into about a 6 inch cone on the back of the vest panel.  The panel itself was thrown about six feet into the air and landed about 15 feet away from the backstop. 

The results really aren't too surprising.  The vest was also stopping 9mm FMJ bullets with a velocity not much less than the .45-70.  On the other hand the protrusion behind the vest was much greater with the .45-70 and I have little doubt that a person would have been very seriously injured or killed from that type of impact, even wearing the vest.  It is certainly not designed to protect from that level of impact, but I thought it was interesting.

CC Griff

[DeaconKC]

Actually I did expect it to stop the .45-70 as the larger the diameter of the bullet, the more effective the weave becomes. I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that strike though!

[Coal Creek Griff]

Like I said, it really wasn't too surprising that it stopped the bullet.  On the other hand, most rifle bullets (.223, 30-30, etc) would have penetrated without ceramic plates.  The vest is certainly not rated to protect users from any rifle bullets.  As you can see, even if it stops it from penetrating the vest, the fabric would simply be driven into a horrendous wound channel.

I really only shot the vest with that rifle out of curiosity.

CC Griff

[Hickok]

Coal Creek, I imagine the blunt drama would have been severe to anyone wearing the vest!

At the least, I doubt a person wouldn't be able to utter any cuss words for some time after the impact!

[cpt dan blodgett]

A thump that hard to the chest might just shred the heart and lung with bone fragments similar to how a HEP round works against tanks

[Ketchums Clayton]

Deming Police Officer Royce Bennett's experience was different.

On July 25, 1979, Bennett stopped Billy Ray Gibson, who fired one shot from a Marlin 1895 in 45/70, striking Bennett on his Second Chance vest. The vest stopped the 405 grain factory load, but the round's momentum pushed intact vest material into Bennett's chest cavity, stopping his heart.

Gibson was tried twice, had 2 hung juries, and walked.