Irony: I considered body armor decades ago, and never bought any. The talk of restricting sales has made me think of it again.
Context: I'm a low-speed, high-drag weekend warrior. I teach History for a living. I'm in my mid-40s, married, with a teenaged daughter. I live in a good (boring) suburban neighborhood.
I usually finish in the middle third at my local USPSA matches. When things go well, I finish just inside the top third. I'll probably never break into the top quarter.
Body armor would be for TEOTWAWKI. I live in the middle of nowhere (seen "Murder Mountain"?). I can easily imagine that if there's a big earthquake or if the power goes out for over a week (it happens) then it'll look like The Road around here. I was a good Boy Scout: I have 40gal of water, a generator, 20gal of gas, a month's supply of food, a wood-burning stove, enough ammo to last me the rest of my life, etc., etc., etc.
I keep a pistol in a Mini-Vault under my bed for anything that goes bump in the night. Long guns are all in a cabinet in my home office, downstairs. (NB: This arrangement is not going to change. Keep your marital or bedroom-decorating advice to yourself.)
If I bought body armor, then it would live with the long guns. If things were bad enough (and I have enough time) that I'm going for the long guns, then I would put on the body armor, too.
Questions:
1. Should I bother?
2. If yes, then what's the best option for ≤$750 or so? Realistically, I'd be content with something that would defeat a pistol round or a blast of buckshot.
Bookmarks