Steel armor is an amazing way to stop a bullet, should you need to, but will it be as effective after it’s been heated to campfire temperatures?
Steel armor is made to stand up to the test of time and always be there when you need it. But, is there anything that would make steel armor prematurely lose its bullet-stopping ability?
To find out if excessive heat would make any difference, Demolition Ranch recently decided to drop a steel plate into a campfire and shoot it, just to see what would happen.
Amazing Results
-.308 – Went right through
– 5.56 Green Tip – Went right through
– Frangible rounds – Went through
– 9mm FMJ – Did not go through
The fact that the campfire is able to soften up the steel and make swiss cheese with the ,308 rounds is actually really surprising. The normal melting point of normal steel is around 2500-degrees Fahrenheit, which is a temperature that most campfires don’t really achieve.
And, even more interesting is the long-term results after the plate cooled back down.
Cheap .223 – Some shots went through some didn’t
An interesting experiment, what is unique is that this steel piece was softened up by a mere camp fire. Not by any chemicals or a blow torch, something to ponder over.
Sources: Demolition Ranch, Chris Buckner
