Should I get a plate carrier?

[twa2471]

Man Oh Man are there ever allot of opinions contained here in this thread!!! Wow!

I know I hadn't been back here in quite some time and don't want to ruffle feathers but this is something I saw back a while ago and even though it's a satirical thing, it still brings up some good points if you look past the surface of it. I'm a 2 tour 101st Airborne Nam combat vet that was on an Air Assault team so I'm not really talking through my bubblegum when it comes to combat situations, I've been there done that.

But this little thingy I'm putting up kinda sums up what I notice with many peoples idea of what they "need". Hope you get a chuckle out of it. But don't forget there is a underlying message contained in it and kind of keep those points in mind.

The fitness and skills with your chosen weapon part of the equation is probably way more important than most any other factor when it comes to your ultimate survival if the SHTF more than any equipment you may have or need.

IMHO, hit and run tactics(gorilla tactics) are a far superior than trying to stand off any force . 99% Of people do not have the training or skills, fitness levels or even the mind set for that matter to actually kill someone in a real battle. So all of those are far more important factors to consider than the actual equipment you have or want. Training, proficiency and fitness are without a doubt are what people should concentrate on more than anything else IMHO.

The best gear in the world won't do you any good whats so ever if you don't know how to, can't physically or don't have the skills to use. Bottom line! And I think this thing I'm putting up will not only give you a laugh but point out the mind set of people many of us may already know personally. See if you agree.

This Defiantly would apply to one of my 350lb Nephews that has more tac-cool BS than anyone you ever saw!! That would probably have a heart attack if he was to run even 50 yards,,,,

 

[twa2471]

OOP's ,,forgot to pit up the link,,,DUH!!!

 

[decklin]

OOP's ,,forgot to pit up the link,,,DUH!!!

Oh, my gosh. I love that. I've got friends that're gonna enjoy this!

 

[twa2471]

I'm glad you enjoyed it,,but it certainly does answer/address almost everything in this post,,
Don't it now ??

I know I just can't help but roll my eyes sometime when I talk to or see folks that have never served but are eerily like the,,thing? ,,in the video. Oh My God some of the chuckle heads I've seen at the AR/AK counters just plain drive me up the Frigging wall sometimes when I here them talk. Oh My God,,they've got more BS than a Spring Turkey !!!
Sadly my Nephew is just as bad! I'd like to reach out and just give them all a,,,
good slap up side the head!! GEZZZZ

Now don't get me wrong here now folks I sure don't want to dis-wad anyone from enjoying shooting sports and having good gear. I grew up with Pa owning a small gun shop so I grew up around guns and am 66 now, so I've been in the game for a bit now. Possibly some of you may have even seen some of my builds on other forums/sites before?
But my advice to anyone ,you have to start with the basics I'd mentioned before and master them and build on that from there. Heck better yet just join the military and get thousands of dollars worth of FREE ,,training and get to the levels where you should be,, before you even consider buying any of this tac-cool stuff and gear yourselves up to swat team levels, basics come FIRST!.

Believe me, you may think your a good shot, can handle a gun and can handle yourself, are able to kick butt on Call Of Duty and all Bad A** and all that good stuff. But Hey ,let me tell ya, when your in a tactical situation getting shot at ,it's a whole different ball of wax my friends, You'd better have REAL SKILLS THEN Mister!!! And unless you've been there you won't understand and I don't think you'll ever be able find anyone that has, that can explain it either. It's just not something you can describe or imagine, honestly.
If you don't have military grade skills your just kidding yourself by getting military grade gear and all the do-dads and are more of a danger to yourself and those around you, than the danger your facing ,if you don't. You need to square yourself away first before you even go down that road. Or you'll just end up like the guy in the video,,,

a unskilled victim with shiny new gear ,, Seriously.

 

[slimmer13]

I'm glad you enjoyed it,,but it certainly does answer/address almost everything in this post,,
Don't it now ??

I know I just can't help but roll my eyes sometime when I talk to or see folks that have never served but are eerily like the,,thing? ,,in the video. Oh My God some of the chuckle heads I've seen at the AR/AK counters just plain drive me up the Frigging wall sometimes when I here them talk. Oh My God,,they've got more BS than a Spring Turkey !!!
Sadly my Nephew is just as bad! I'd like to reach out and just give them all a,,,
good slap up side the head!! GEZZZZ

Now don't get me wrong here now folks I sure don't want to dis-wad anyone from enjoying shooting sports and having good gear. I grew up with Pa owning a small gun shop so I grew up around guns and am 66 now, so I've been in the game for a bit now. Possibly some of you may have even seen some of my builds on other forums/sites before?
But my advice to anyone ,you have to start with the basics I'd mentioned before and master them and build on that from there. Heck better yet just join the military and get thousands of dollars worth of FREE ,,training and get to the levels where you should be,, before you even consider buying any of this tac-cool stuff and gear yourselves up to swat team levels, basics come FIRST!.

Believe me, you may think your a good shot, can handle a gun and can handle yourself, are able to kick butt on Call Of Duty and all Bad A** and all that good stuff. But Hey ,let me tell ya, when your in a tactical situation getting shot at ,it's a whole different ball of wax my friends, You'd better have REAL SKILLS THEN Mister!!! And unless you've been there you won't understand and I don't think you'll ever be able find anyone that has, that can explain it either. It's just not something you can describe or imagine, honestly.
If you don't have military grade skills your just kidding yourself by getting military grade gear and all the do-dads and are more of a danger to yourself and those around you, than the danger your facing ,if you don't. You need to square yourself away first before you even go down that road. Or you'll just end up like the guy in the video,,,

a unskilled victim with shiny new gear ,, Seriously.

I played on a paintball team when I was in my 20s so I'm pretty much a Delta SEAL so I agree completely about the wanna be operators.

Posers lol

 

[CamoDeafie]

I paid $30 I think for the Diamondback Tactical Fast Attack Size L plate carrier in coyote brown at a flea market..... it fits my military gear collection, though I won't hesitate to use it when I get plates in there. Otherwise...it's the old Second Chance soft armor and steel trauma plate that it came with for under-shirt wear if I feel I need the armor...if not, then just a simple belt kit or chest rig for whichever system I have. Chest rig for 995 carbine and 9mm pistol combo; belt kit for AR15 (when I acquire one..... it's higher on my priorities than plates) or transfer 9mm pouches to the belt kit and remove AR15 pouches and then just run it like a PLCE belt kit. I used to play paintball oh a decade ago.... so.... more like Elmer Fudd nowadays

Like I alluded to before...training, mobility and working on basic shooting skills is far more useful than just having the armor and gear and not working on the skills.

 

[erudne]

I'm embarrassed that this thread has become such an ego driven Pishing Contest. None of the recent posts contribute to the OP. I've seen more mature dialogs at a Cub Scout Convention. Time to lock this thread down

 

[tc556guy]

can't speak for everyone else but in my case I started out in the LBE/ Woodland camo days and by the time I retired after a couple of years in Afghanistan 22 years later I had an idea of how I'd want my LE PC set up if I had an active shooter incident I had to deal with.

I wont deny that I could use some more PT than what I've been getting since I retired

 

[twa2471]

For sure, after a very serious fall in 06 putting me on the disabled list permanently plus pushing 66 now,, the old grey stallion just ain't what he used to be either!!! My previous six pack is now a 12 pack,,
But Hey,,a 12 packs better anyways,,isn't it??? Ya ,,I'm sticking with that one

 

[DuneHopper]

If something in the form of SHTF. Seriously the variables will be too vast to gauge the practical use of body armor or not. My fear is that people will think body armor will make me superman and may tend to put themselves out to offense and false sense of safety will get you killed.
In LE training they tell you that many officers have died wearing body armor its often when they walked up to a car or something and thought they were invincible at close ranges and medium ranged body armor can be way less effective then people realize. At close range ( 20ft or less) a 7.62x39 will not only knock you on your bubblegum, it going to in all likely break a few ribs and even stop your heart body armor might stop the penetration but it wont stop inertia. Kinda think like a boxer hitting you in the chest unguarded, it wont penetrate but it can damage internals break rips. The best way to survive with body armor is to not get shot and think of body armor like a tool not a savior.

 

[twa2471]

Exactly the correct mind set there DuneHopper.

Unfortunately it's the people like my porky Nephew that scares me most, 0 training,0 combat experience ,out shape& overweight and extremely limited actual firearms experience and clueless,,,But Boy Oh Boy,,
he suuuuure is good at Call Of Duty !!!!! I just can't help but shake my head and roll my eyes sometimes!!!

Those are the "operators " I fear and sadly the ones that seem to feel they ,,,NEED it the most .

For SHTF preps and if you can afford it or if your a LEO,or are constantly in areas where safety is an huge issue. By all means get it! Duh!!! A No brainier.

But here in VT there doesn't really seem to be all that much of a need for it while I'm out fishing or something!! Ya some of the people that are associated with all the drugs coming into this area now are becoming a concern but not so much so that I'd buy any.
I just let my training, being observant and staying aware of my surroundings and using common sense be my guide.

But as you pointed out it's not the be all & do all ,,many think it is either.

I got hit by a glancing blow from a round in the helmet in Nam and though it didn't really hurt me, it took me quite some time to clear my head and get back into the battle, it really rang my bell and I was down for quite some time!!!
If that happened on the streets,,,you'd be dead, someone could just walk up and finish you off in a heart beat and as you aptly pointed out,,it don't make you superman.

 

[Brutus57]

I kick myself or not buying a surplus M113 that dude on I-5 near Battleground had by the dozens when I was much younger. That's just the sort of BA I need at my age.

Brutus Out

 

[mjbskwim]

So what about something like this? Would this be a good alternative to a plate carrier?

 

[CamoDeafie]

So what about something like this? Would this be a good alternative to a plate carrier?

while that is a good idea; I think it would be more useful if it were say; mounted on a 270 degree rotating pintle mount, onto a Steadicam harness system; since the Steadicam system enables a person to comfortably move and utilize up to 60 or so lbs of heavy duty video camera equipment for filming..... (and there's a few of those that have had firearms mounted, most notably in ALIENS as the balance harness for the M56 smart gun carried by Vasquez lol)
With the Steadicam harness, it would enable the user to practically have both hands free for his firearms, or for calling on radio while shooting on one hand, or signalling.

Steadicam mount harness from the side.

 

[erudne]

Sooo the mass of the earth is equal to the mass of an individual human?
This is what Socialist education is based on, idiocy.

 

[Medic!]

Not sure of your collation here?

But I give you credit for noticing I'm an Idiot.

 

[erudne]

A man should buy what he wants, for his own reasons, The stumbling block for most 'would be men' is the fact that they have no idea of how they can earn a living. It's not like their mothers know how, beyond getting preggers and dumping their 'Bad Boy' for a monthly check. Sad situation

 

[slimmer13]

It's not the force that would drop you. It's the surprise and pain. Like when you zip a little skin up in your zipper. Drops you like a Chuck Norris roundhouse.

 

[erudne]

Not sure of your coalition here?

But I give you credit for noticing I'm an Idiot.

When I was young the only way to access any info was the phone book and the local library... To complete school assignments it was vital to get physical possession of the very few books that held the info. Often the books were simply not available because they were stolen or horded. No one gave a bleep to one's success or even to your survival. The next step was to travel, via public transportation, 20 miles, to the county library hoping for a copy of needed book. People were murdered on that rail system but it was deemed so important that small children learned small lessons about small subjects that they were directed 20 miles away from home to learn them.
But I grow tired speaking to those that will never comprehend

 

[erudne]

Still a free country; If you need it you can buy it at Unlimited in Washougal w/ no paper trail