tula .45 ammo, crappy load altogether? or .45 is weak?

Kaniffy117 · Mar 14, 2012

So last saturday me, my dad, and my friend all went shooting out past darrington. We had lots of fun but my friend brought an old kevlar vest for us to shoot, needless to say it got tattered to bits by my AK and my friends AR didnt help it either lol. But we decided to test to see if it would still stop a pistol round, he shot it with his 9mm 2 of the 5 rounds were stopped the others went through, well I decided to have at it with my .45 Glock, all my .45's bounced off the vest like they were effin BB's... I even shot it point blank and still not even a mushroomed bullet. We found one of the .45s on the ground nearby pretty much intact. I was shooting Tula ammo which i know is cheap but is it that badly loaded the bullets just bounce off stuff? I mean my Glock fed the rounds fine, no mis-fires nothing but the bullets wouldnt mushroom or penentrate the vest. I just want to know if its the ammo manufacturer or if .45 does indeed just bounce off vest. Also I was shooting FMJ.

Steve06 · Mar 14, 2012

Considering that the 0.45 is traveling at about 860fps (if loaded to standard specs) it would never penetrate a Level 2A vest no matter what pistol launched it. The 9mm, if loaded to NATO specs would be traveling considerably faster at just over 1120fps (I think) and might very well penetrate a 2A that has been shot up. . . . . . or not.

Kaniffy117 · Mar 14, 2012

Steve06 said:
Considering that the 0.45 is traveling at about 860fps (if loaded to standard specs) it would never penetrate a Level 2A vest no matter what pistol launched it. The 9mm, if loaded to NATO specs would be traveling considerably faster at just over 1120fps (I think) and might very well penetrate a 2A that has been shot up. . . . . . or not.

but shouldnt the rounds atleast mushroom and get stuck inside the vest? Also I shot it altleast 10 times from a distance of 4 or 5 feet and every round connected yet there was barely any damage if any at all done... Im wondering if the tula ammo is just utter crap or if .45 is weak.

Steve06 · Mar 14, 2012

If the bullet is a hollow point it will mushroom but not penetrate all the way and it might stick in the vest but not penetrate. Penetration is all about velocity. With the 0.45 it could easily break ribs or knock a person down but it won't penetrate the Level 2A. Take a 0.22 in a rifle and it will zip right through that vest and maybe come out the other side. Velocity. My experience with Tula 9mm and 0.45 is that it is dirty, stinks, is not particularly accurate but it is not slow. Never had a problem with it in Glocks.

Kaniffy117 · Mar 14, 2012

I was shooting FMJ would that shatter upon impact with the vest? Cause I was able to find one of the .45's and it was completely intact there was barely a dent in the nose, at point blank range wouldn't the bullet have shattered at the least? Thats my biggest question, shouldn't the bullet have done some form of serious deformation when it made contact with the vest?

eganx · Mar 14, 2012

What was the vest on? Was it hanging? Was it on a dummy? Was there anything behind the vest supporting it......like clay or ballistic gel? This should have a major impact on what the vest/bullet will do.

Chipperxd · Mar 14, 2012

eganx said:
What was the vest on? Was it hanging? Was it on a dummy? Was there anything behind the vest supporting it......like clay or ballistic gel? This should have a major impact on what the vest/bullet will do.

This. If the vest was just hanging, it will aborb the impact. OP should try again on the vest against a hard surface or atleast against something that has some support for the vest.

Kaniffy117 · Mar 14, 2012

The vest was hanging onto a shot up piece of 30" diameter corrugated steel pipe

Steve06 · Mar 14, 2012

The only bullets that I have seen "shatter" upon impact are specifically designed to do that, frangible bullets. Tula does not make them. That would be a defect as far as I am concerned. Eganx is correct in that the backing supporting the vest is very important in how the bullet will react to the media and the vest to the impact of the bullet.

jordanvraptor · Mar 15, 2012

I have actually shot a 2A vest with a .454 Casull out of a Ruger Alaskan and it did not penetrate. It was also shot with a.45 ACP hollowpoints and 9mm ball. The .45 rounds impart the energy to the kevlar but unless it is against something solid like mentioned before, its energy is dispersed. A 7.62 x 25 round would go through both front and back panels nearly every time... Kevlar is good stuff.

Swedish K · Mar 15, 2012

I've never shot the tula .45 ammo - I will say that a few weeks ago I had my AR out - 24" - I had been shooting PMC, then a box of American Eagle - consistent groups at 100 and 200 yards - a friend handed me a mag of tula he brought along - it grouped ok but at 100 it was about 3" lower than the other ammo.

When it comes to 45 and the vest you have to consider the slower velocity of the 45 compared to the 9mm and the greater area the .45 spreads the impact over. another thing you might consider is since you had already shot it up with the AK and AR - the 9mm that penetrated might have hit areas damaged by the earlier shots. Especially if you hit an existing hole from the 223 with the 9mm - its far easier to open up an existing hole a bit than to punch a new one.

Blitzkrieg · Mar 15, 2012

45 ACP is not a penetrating round, this is quite normal

Kaniffy117 · Mar 15, 2012

Thanks for the reply guys! I was just trying to wrap my head around why the bullet was intact when it made contact with the vest at point blank range. I guess its a normal thing to happen?

Blitzkrieg · Mar 15, 2012

Yes, hardball 45 is designed not to deform

Stomper · Mar 16, 2012

.45FMJ is to simulate hitting someone with a Volkswagon Beetle traveling at 940fps... go ahead, wear that soft armor... it'll contain your cracked sternum, and keep your shattered ribs from spraying through your skin.