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Do you own body armor?

  • No

    Votes: 53 40.5%
  • Yes - Vest for just me

    Votes: 22 16.8%
  • Yes - Vest for me and my wife/family

    Votes: 12 9.2%
  • No, but I want to

    Votes: 44 33.6%

  • Total voters
    131
To my understanding most intermediate rounds like 5.56/.223 and 7.62x39 will go straight through body armor. It is also to my understanding that most body armor only protects the bearer from small arms fire such as those from a handgun. In a SHTF situation one would most likely be engaged from further away with rifles. If one is not engaged in at a distance, one could expect a guerilla like attack; I mean, after all, in a SHTF dumb dumbs do not survive, you will be attacked by the smarter and more vicious. Also, body armor will not protect you from the crudest of weapons, like baseball bats with infinite ammo, flaming torches, rocks, spears and molitov cocktails.

You work your way up. Every list has a priority, and you can never be prepared enough. But if you don't have fire retardant clothes and a 1950's diving suit, you shouldn't be talking down to the people with large caches of ammo and guns. After all, the best defense is to not exchange gunfire right?
 
In my Jeep most of the time I have my vest, a 5 cell mag-light, and my survival knife. In addition to my Glock 17 and 3 mags CC'd on me. Having a vest is better than not having one. Having an armored car or magic bubble is even better but I wasn't issued either or those.
 
I can hunt food with body armor?

Are guns only good for killing men?..............Try not to spin the topic.

No comment on being lighter to get away faster?

Is the $500 you spend on Level III plates the best use of money when buying survival supplies?

I think you need to include "the other guy" in your plans.

Sure, you might not want to fight anyone and have a nice plan to go run out to the woods somewhere, but what about "the other guy"? What about the guy that wants what you have? You don't think he's out there? You think everyone is going to run to the nearest safeway and leave you be?

Knocking people for having armor is a mute point. There are few advantages for not having armor; nevertheless, having armor outweighs the negatives. Sure there's weight and mobility issues...but then I could point out that maybe you need to hit the gym more.

Getting more armor is on my to-do list for my wife and friends....even looking into making my own.
 
I think you need to include "the other guy" in your plans.

Sure, you might not want to fight anyone and have a nice plan to go run out to the woods somewhere, but what about "the other guy"? What about the guy that wants what you have? You don't think he's out there? You think everyone is going to run to the nearest safeway and leave you be?

Knocking people for having armor is a mute point. There are few advantages for not having armor; nevertheless, having armor outweighs the negatives. Sure there's weight and mobility issues...but then I could point out that maybe you need to hit the gym more.

Getting more armor is on my to-do list for my wife and friends....even looking into making my own.

He's not trying to say that body armor is useless. He's just saying that you shouldn't call it ridiculous to not have some. He's also saying that body armor won't protect your head. He also goes further to say that body armor is not a good defense, and I concur because body armor does not make you invincible because most intermediate cartridges will penetrate it. Sure, it doesn't hurt you to have it, but the original poster makes it seem like it's crucial survival gear. Remember the two vest wearing cops that were gunned down in Seattle a little bit ago? How about the four in the coffee shop? Bullet proof vests are far down my list of things I need, but don't get me wrong, it's not anywhere near the bottom as Hefeweizen or a cooler that has ice to keep my ice cream cold in a SHTF situation.
 
When SHTF I'm going asian medieval....
PXIMD00Z.jpg
 
I think you need to include "the other guy" in your plans.

Sure, you might not want to fight anyone and have a nice plan to go run out to the woods somewhere, but what about "the other guy"? What about the guy that wants what you have? You don't think he's out there? You think everyone is going to run to the nearest safeway and leave you be?

Knocking people for having armor is a mute point. There are few advantages for not having armor; nevertheless, having armor outweighs the negatives. Sure there's weight and mobility issues...but then I could point out that maybe you need to hit the gym more.

I think you need to include "Combat Aversion" to your plans.................See how assumptions work?
You just assumed that I don't anticipate being shot at.
I'll assume that with your vest, you will run into the first fire-fight you see. Machete in one hand and AK-47 converted to full auto in the other.

Not knocking anyone. I was saying it is not "ridiculous" to have them as a lower priority.

The OP is basicly saying that we are stupid if we buy food and ammo over combat gear.

His survival method is right..............mine is wrong ..............(even though I never stated if I have a vest or not)

As far as hitting the GYM.............doesn't matter. The strongest man in the world can only carry X amount of stuff.

You wear your vest............... I'll carry 6 more bottles of water. The latter should be more likely to help save my children's lives.
 
I think you need to include "Combat Aversion" to your plans.................See how assumptions work?
You just assumed that I don't anticipate being shot at.
I'll assume that with your vest, you will run into the first fire-fight you see. Machete in one hand and AK-47 converted to full auto in the other.

Interesting assumption. I'm automatically a Rambo type for having armor and guns.

You wear your vest............... I'll carry 6 more bottles of water. The latter should be more likely to help save my children's lives.

lol, not if someone shoots you and takes your water...


All I'm saying is that having all those supplies without enough defenses is like having a mansion without any type of security. Putting all your eggs in one basket is asking for trouble. It's like placing all your money under your mattress in a house without fire insurance.

Survival comes with a mindset. Gear and supplies can only get you so far...if your neighbor has the presence of mind to wait until you sleep and take it from you by force then who is better prepared?

Plan, prepare the plan some more. Try to stay at least a step or two above the next guy.

What is everyone going to be doing when something bad happens? Runnning to the gas station? Then you should stock up with gas. Running to the store? then you should stock up on food and water.

But then, when you stock up- people notice. At first, they'll come with their hand out...then they'll try to take it by force.

It's SURVIVAL...if you think it won't happen, do some reading about Katrina.
 
This thread makes me want to trade in my BMW 3 series for a BMW 7 series with the protection package (handgun caliber bulletproof windows and panels, resistant against most rifle rounds) but the gas mileage on it is horrible toting around twice the weight of the normal car because of all the armor.

You know, since we brought up armored cars and all...
 
if i have to take a shot at a zombie all decked out in bdu's and lbv's chaulked full of mre's, will be aiming for the head anyway. the service rifle crowd is pretty fair when it comes to judging windage and elevation.

ya have to shoot teh zombies in the head anyway so body armor shouldnt be a factor. if ya cant get a good enough head shot, a shot to the knee should bring em down until a good enough head shot presents itself.
 
usually standing out in the open is perfect for zombies. its not recommended unless you have at least a dozen thirties loaded and ready. more ammo is always better, so as much as you can carry, .223 is a great zombie cartridge.

the nice thing about zombies is they usually tend not to shoot back.

thinking about escape is key when running low on ammo in a zombie firefight.
 
I will say that there is a scenario for everything. I own a vest, but I also wear it for my job. Some may think it superfluous in a SHTF scenario but you never know who may be coming to your door.

As far as an armored car, just line your Tahoe with phone books. It may not be completely bulletproof, but it'll give you more cover. Just gotta ride "gangsta" so you sit below the windows.

And as far as the cost of body armor, you can buy IIIA concealable for $250 on sale from Galls. It's made by Point Blank and it's pretty light.
 
Last Edited:
Not knocking anyone. I was saying it is not "ridiculous" to have them as a lower priority.

So we are emphatically clear, what I said was "I find it ridiculous that guys talk about huge stores of ammo, guns, etc, but don't have body armor."
Meaning: Focusing all on offense and neglecting defense is ridiculous when it comes to your life.

The OP is basicly saying that we are stupid if we buy food and ammo over combat gear.
Never said, used or implied that anyone is stupid. You just conjured that term up yourself. Buying food and ammo is the exact opposite of being stupid. Both are necessary and you entirely missed the purpose of the post, failed to read it, or simply made your own large and very false assumptions to make yourself sound better.

If you want to keep straying to other topics as armored cars and buying food, neither of which were mentioned before you typed them, then go make your own thread in the Off Topic Section.

As far as hitting the GYM.............doesn't matter.
I'd go for an ad hominem here but I won't.
 

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