Recommendations for armor rated for SS109 M855 green tip...

[ABNAK]

Yep, but that's the way it's gonna be if you want guaranteed M855A1 defeat paired with M80 defeat, while having something reasonably thin, lightweight, and triple curve.

If you're willing to just apply general rules of thumbs to guess what'll defeat M855A1, a hybrid Level III/III+ plate would be a best guess, as the ceramic strike face is reasonably likely to defeat M855A1, and figure out how much you're willing to pay for how thin/light the plate is. However, those will generally be thicker than the special threat plates designed to defeat M855A1 and ignore M80, as that extra thickness/material is what handles the BFD created by M80's larger kinetic energy (or at least that's my SWAG). So, again, you'll have to balance mobility versus threat defeat, and I personally will always go for mobility.

Yes, yes, and yes! Exactly my specs. Just gotta swallow that price. But again, thanks for the advice.....now I need to start plotting to deceive my wife!

[ABNAK]

Honestly for most people that are only going to have these things for a wrol/shtf situation, the RMA level IV plates are hard to beat.

I like the “buy nvg first” suggestion that was posted earlier in this thread and would say thats sage advice

I just got an email that RMA is going to release a multi curve level IV plate that weighs 8.2# for $159 each.

I think my set of their single curve 1155s will be spares soon. Not the lightest and the hesco special threats will honestly be a better plate that will give adequate protection. Buy what your budget allows I really dont care how you spend your money.

Also If you dont have a fresh ifak as in the shit isnt out of date by 10 years and has atleast 2 staged ready to deploy TQs, 2- israeli bandages, 2 chest seals, duct tape and some bleed stop gauze, add a few pairs of latex gloves (not black) and a blood type patch on the outside or your blood type written on it with permanent marker you need that first.

There is certainly an element of truth to that. Thermal to be specific. I've got AR's out the wazoo, should move a couple to cover these bases. Damn this place!

[Screwball]

I picked III+, mainly for my needs... I do have regular III, which is my home setup. Again, works fine for my needs.

I work for a DHS agency, so we are issued IIIA... and for work, I can’t use anything else. I may disagree, but hard when you are one of 45,000+ officers/agents that are bound by the same policy. I’d love to make plenty of changes, but it’s not in the cards. If I had the option, I’d probably lean towards a Level III, likely in a lighter polymer plate... like my DKX setup (they float, as well; also were pricey). I doubt I’d face AP rounds at work. And for the record for the aluminum foil wearers... we don’t use AP for duty ammo.

So, while I’m issued IIIA, I don’t keep it in my vehicle for a few reasons... hot truck isn’t good for Kevlar, policy dictates it can only be in there in a small number of situations, etc. My truck set is AR500 Lightweight III+... namely because it is steel plate. I know the downsides of it, but being able to sit in a hot truck is the biggest pro. It stays in there unless I’m parking the truck somewhere where it will stay for a period of time. It might be heavier than some options, but like my truck AR (an AR pistol), it isn’t something I’m planning on fighting combatants in the Middle East with. Namely, some nut decides to shoot up a Walmart or school... and I’m near my truck, vest goes on (has my alternate work vest patches that clearly say who I am), gun comes out, and moving towards gunfire I go.

Looking at past situations, might be a guy with an AR or AK... probably XM855 being the more common rounds that I might be going against. Seen the same plates stop it. If the guy does have a .308... I’ve seen the same plates stop multiple XM80. Did not see spall in any of those tests, but comes down to risk/benefit. If I take one in the vitals, it should protect me. Head shot... I look at it as when your number is up, it is up. I do have a helmet that is setup for my NV, but goes back to the Kevlar and sitting in my truck. Personally, you always are going to have risk... and I accept taking a round to the melon to potentially save someone’s life... even if said person doesn’t value my life or says I put children in cages (not to get political, by the way... just pointing out reality and how I actually break it down).

I don’t think we are at the point where we are going to see Mumbai style attacks yet, but even then... I still doubt you’ll see AP rounds being used. Let’s be honest, most L/E in the US wear IIIA. Normal rifle rounds are going to penetrate... so not a real added benefit to get that ammo when you can get more that will do an identical job in most circumstances (might make a difference if you are duking it out with a SWAT team).

Shy of that... I really don’t take too much stock in SHTF or the Federal government going door to door. Still a pretty good country to live in, so if that is your cup of tea, no argument here against IV armor or whatever you desire. Free country.

[ABNAK]

I I doubt I’d face AP rounds at work. And for the record for the aluminum foil wearers... we don’t use AP for duty ammo.

Shy of that... I really don’t take too much stock in SHTF or the Federal government going door to door yet. Still a pretty good country to live in, so if that is your cup of tea, no argument here against IV armor or whatever you desire. Free country.

I think it's a matter of worst-case scenario and being at least nominally prepared for it. Also, the types of people who might be using AP-level stuff domestically are probably taking head shots, not COM.

[Eda]

I picked III+, mainly for my needs... I do have regular III, which is my home setup. Again, works fine for my needs.

I work for a DHS agency, so we are issued IIIA... and for work, I can’t use anything else. I may disagree, but hard when you are one of 45,000+ officers/agents that are bound by the same policy. I’d love to make plenty of changes, but it’s not in the cards. If I had the option, I’d probably lean towards a Level III, likely in a lighter polymer plate... like my DKX setup (they float, as well; also were pricey). I doubt I’d face AP rounds at work. And for the record for the aluminum foil wearers... we don’t use AP for duty ammo.

So, while I’m issued IIIA, I don’t keep it in my vehicle for a few reasons... hot truck isn’t good for Kevlar, policy dictates it can only be in there in a small number of situations, etc. My truck set is AR500 Lightweight III+... namely because it is steel plate. I know the downsides of it, but being able to sit in a hot truck is the biggest pro. It stays in there unless I’m parking the truck somewhere where it will stay for a period of time. It might be heavier than some options, but like my truck AR (an AR pistol), it isn’t something I’m planning on fighting combatants in the Middle East with. Namely, some nut decides to shoot up a Walmart or school... and I’m near my truck, vest goes on (has my alternate work vest patches that clearly say who I am), gun comes out, and moving towards gunfire I go.

Looking at past situations, might be a guy with an AR or AK... probably XM855 being the more common rounds that I might be going against. Seen the same plates stop it. If the guy does have a .308... I’ve seen the same plates stop multiple XM80. Did not see spall in any of those tests, but comes down to risk/benefit. If I take one in the vitals, it should protect me. Head shot... I look at it as when your number is up, it is up. I do have a helmet that is setup for my NV, but goes back to the Kevlar and sitting in my truck. Personally, you always are going to have risk... and I accept taking a round to the melon to potentially save someone’s life... even if said person doesn’t value my life or says I put children in cages (not to get political, by the way... just pointing out reality and how I actually break it down).

I don’t think we are at the point where we are going to see Mumbai style attacks yet, but even then... I still doubt you’ll see AP rounds being used. Let’s be honest, most L/E in the US wear IIIA. Normal rifle rounds are going to penetrate... so not a real added benefit to get that ammo when you can get more that will do an identical job in most circumstances (might make a difference if you are duking it out with a SWAT team).

Shy of that... I really don’t take too much stock in SHTF or the Federal government going door to door. Still a pretty good country to live in, so if that is your cup of tea, no argument here against IV armor or whatever you desire. Free country.

I personally don't approve of steel or UHMWPE polymer plates for duty use because they are so easily defeated by common rifle calibers. Most thugs using rifles have ar's, and while a lot of them are loaded with steel case ammo, many use m855 or m193 as it is commonly available. m855 will poke easily through any UHMWPE/polymer plate, and regular 55gr m193 fmj zips easily through steel armor. With 556 being the most common rifle threat faced by officers, it confuses me as to why so many choose armor that can so easily be defeated buy standard, run of the mill ammo that they are likely to encounter

[Eda]

I picked III+, mainly for my needs... I do have regular III, which is my home setup. Again, works fine for my needs.

I work for a DHS agency, so we are issued IIIA... and for work, I can’t use anything else. I may disagree, but hard when you are one of 45,000+ officers/agents that are bound by the same policy. I’d love to make plenty of changes, but it’s not in the cards. If I had the option, I’d probably lean towards a Level III, likely in a lighter polymer plate... like my DKX setup (they float, as well; also were pricey). I doubt I’d face AP rounds at work. And for the record for the aluminum foil wearers... we don’t use AP for duty ammo.

So, while I’m issued IIIA, I don’t keep it in my vehicle for a few reasons... hot truck isn’t good for Kevlar, policy dictates it can only be in there in a small number of situations, etc. My truck set is AR500 Lightweight III+... namely because it is steel plate. I know the downsides of it, but being able to sit in a hot truck is the biggest pro. It stays in there unless I’m parking the truck somewhere where it will stay for a period of time. It might be heavier than some options, but like my truck AR (an AR pistol), it isn’t something I’m planning on fighting combatants in the Middle East with. Namely, some nut decides to shoot up a Walmart or school... and I’m near my truck, vest goes on (has my alternate work vest patches that clearly say who I am), gun comes out, and moving towards gunfire I go.

Looking at past situations, might be a guy with an AR or AK... probably XM855 being the more common rounds that I might be going against. Seen the same plates stop it. If the guy does have a .308... I’ve seen the same plates stop multiple XM80. Did not see spall in any of those tests, but comes down to risk/benefit. If I take one in the vitals, it should protect me. Head shot... I look at it as when your number is up, it is up. I do have a helmet that is setup for my NV, but goes back to the Kevlar and sitting in my truck. Personally, you always are going to have risk... and I accept taking a round to the melon to potentially save someone’s life... even if said person doesn’t value my life or says I put children in cages (not to get political, by the way... just pointing out reality and how I actually break it down).

I don’t think we are at the point where we are going to see Mumbai style attacks yet, but even then... I still doubt you’ll see AP rounds being used. Let’s be honest, most L/E in the US wear IIIA. Normal rifle rounds are going to penetrate... so not a real added benefit to get that ammo when you can get more that will do an identical job in most circumstances (might make a difference if you are duking it out with a SWAT team).

Shy of that... I really don’t take too much stock in SHTF or the Federal government going door to door. Still a pretty good country to live in, so if that is your cup of tea, no argument here against IV armor or whatever you desire. Free country.

And while you don't issue ap ammo, some departments I know personally issue BH 50gr TSX optimized that defeats a lot of steel and kevlar plates easily. Some duty rounds are unintentionally capable of piercing light armor. And while unlikely, I like to be prepared for the worst case scenario, and in our case it means defeating m855a1 and the occasional m995/m993 and m80a1. And, if you're really effed, 50bmg

[Caduceus]

not to be a smart ass to the Page 3 folks, but I've got about 200 rounds of Black tip.... for no good reason other than I could (ammo is ammo, after all).

I'd imagine a lot of it is still out there, and in "deer country" lots of hunters use big rounds. Level 4 might have it's place, after all...

[99cobra2881]

not to be a smart ass to the Page 3 folks, but I've got about 200 rounds of Black tip.... for no good reason other than I could (ammo is ammo, after all).

I'd imagine a lot of it is still out there, and in "deer country" lots of hunters use big rounds. Level 4 might have it's place, after all...

Not smart ass at all I live in country where there are a lot of deer hunters and bolt rifles hopefully most of the people will be on our side or be on the side of decency but not all will be so I’ll carry the weight of RMA lvl IVs

I’d really like to see RMA level IVs against a 55 grain .243 or something that’s smoking at almost 4000 ft./s would be a damn good test to see.

[Eda]

Not smart ass at all I live in country where there are a lot of deer hunters and bolt rifles hopefully most of the people will be on our side or be on the side of decency but not all will be so I’ll carry the weight of RMA lvl IVs

I’d really like to see RMA level IVs against a 55 grain .243 or something that’s smoking at almost 4000 ft./s would be a damn good test to see.

You would be surprised the stuff you see people digging out of their ammo cabinets. Yesterday at the range I saw an older guy shooting his mosin at the range. I saw with his first shot it punched a hole clean through the ar500 range target at 200 yards. I immediately went over and told him that he was killing the range and he apologized and I looked at his ammo and his freshly cracked spam can of API 7.62x54r. I asked him about it and told him how much it was worth now, and he sheepishly looked at me and said he didn't know that it was anything special and that he had bought it at a gunshot in the 80s for like 70$

[99cobra2881]

You would be surprised the stuff you see people digging out of their ammo cabinets. Yesterday at the range I saw an older guy shooting his mosin at the range. I saw with his first shot it punched a hole clean through the ar500 range target at 200 yards. I immediately went over and told him that he was killing the range and he apologized and I looked at his ammo and his freshly cracked spam can of API 7.62x54r. I asked him about it and told him how much it was worth now, and he sheepishly looked at me and said he didn't know that it was anything special and that he had bought it at a gunshot in the 80s for like 70$

That right there alone wouldve been worth the price of admission. 🤣

Dude is ready to lay down some serious hate and he doesnt even know it. Just out plinking with his mosin and some 30+ years old gunshow ammo.

Thats a classic range story thats not a cringe range story.