How thick does chest armor have to be to stop a bullet? In inches?

Question

I am trying to compare the thickness of possibly Kevlar to Rhino skin. I was wondering what the minimal thickness is needed to stop a bullet, compared to Rhinoskin. Im trying to compare animal armor defense to man made. Range between 60-75yards or closer.

I would say for example, a Winchester rifle of appropriate caliber, to what standard low end military surplus rifle would do. I dont know much about guns, so this makes it a bit harder.

this is for a research paper ppl, so dont be hesitant. why I pick a subject that I know nothing about, is beyond me. I dont know anything about guns other than they go boom after you load the ammo, aim and pull trigger.

Answer 1

This site will have all the information you need. http://www.bulletproofme.com

Answer 2

To be quite honest, you've left too many variables untouched to give you any sort of definite answer.

You have to know, roughly, what kind of bullets you need to be stopping. A bullet from a .45 ACP will prove much easier to stop than one from a .30-06, and while there is almost no difference in caliber between a 9mm parabellum's, and a .357 Magnum's bullet, the latter will almost certainly have considerably more power behind it, and will thus demand more armor to capture. Further still, you will find that the kind of bullet matters—even if fired from exactly the same weapon, developing exactly the same power and velocity when it leaves the barrel. (There's a reason armor piercing bullets are called that; it's the bullet's construction)

What I can tell you: Assuming you are talking about a modern, flexible armor, such as kevlar, you might find a vest rated as a Threat Level II (two) will be able to stop a typical .357 Magnum's bullet, even at a rather close distance. A kevlar vest rated as such, will have flexible armor seeming to be about (or slightly more than) one-quarter inch in thickness. (¼")

To my knowledge, Threat Level ratings were retired by the federal agency rating body armor a while back, but they seem to allow a person a good sense of how different calibers / cartridges roughly compare to one another.

This page might prove helpful for that:
http://www.bsstgmbh.de/BSSTV20/html/english/eThreat.htm

Answer 3

Armor's material of construction is just as important and it's necessary thickness is a direct correlation of this.

"I would say for example, a Winchester rifle of appropriate caliber, to what standard low end military surplus rifle would do. I dint know much about guns, so this makes it a bit harder."
Best leads us to a .308 Winchester round and it's 7.62x51mm NATO brother.

A level III plate can be 25mm, but will not defeat a rifle round, yet a Level IV plate may be 16mm thick and will defeat .30-'06 fire.
Current soft armor will not stop a rifle round, metallic or ceramic plates are needed to absorb and dissipate the energy of the round. High level trauma plates will defeat the 7.62mm x 63mm (.30-06) with Armor piercing bullets, these usually weigh over 6 lbs each.
Unfortunately armor manufacturers are often secretive concerning the details of their armor.
http://www.closefocusresearch.com/html/national_institute_of_justice_.html
will give you the stopping power of the official rating levels for further study.

The most resilient animal skin in relation to it's thickness you will most likely find would be crocodile skin. There are many stories of large crocodile's skin stopping .30 caliber rifles. Shark's skin is also extremely resilient. As far as strength as a ratio to thickness the "skin" of insects, their exoskeleton, would most likely be the strongest, but this is not skin in the true sense of the word. However, hypothetically an ant's protective layer may be only 0.1 mm thick but I would assume to be much stronger, perhaps 10 times stronger, than 0.1mm of elephant skin would prove to be.
The problem with most large mammals is that it is not the skin that is so tough it is the thick layers of fat and muscle under the skin which pose a problem to bullet penetration

Answer 4

Please note Body armor will stop the bullet but not the Energy.
Many people have died while wearing top notch Body armor that sustained a chest impact.
The bullet was stopped but the kinetic energy was transferred to bone.
Where as the bone shattered and became the new projectile and in some cases multiple projectiles.
Most military and law enforcement agency’s practice not getting hit if it can be avoided.
By the way did you know most body armor manufactures also marker a groin guard made of the same material, that would a kinetic energy Class I would like to avoid.
When I was required to wear mine that was the article of armor I excluded from my ensemble

Answer 5

It depends on the size of the bullet. Are you planning for a 22 attack or a 50 caliber? Also you must consider at what range. Will it be point blank or 50 yards? How thick is your armor? Are you sure that you will get hit in the chest? Make sure the person that targets you has a very good aim!

Answer 6

it depends what kind of bullet the caliber of bullet and the range

Answer 7

Why? Are you planning on robbing a bank?

It depends on the type of gun and bullet.

Answer 8

depends on what caliber bullet, what type of tip on the bullet, what grain, and at what distance.

Answer 9

It also depends on what the vest is made of.