Will a Bulletproof mask save your life?

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 1/12/2017 | J Hines

[w1n1]

If you ever find yourself in a shootout situation, having a bulletproof vest is a great start in helping you to survive. But, as many people will be quick to point out, you can still be shot in the head. Luckily, you might be able to solve that problem with a bulletproof mask.

Enter Bulkar, but warning this isn't a fashionable thing to wear if you need to stop by the "stop and rob" store to get get some milk. But the positive thing about the mask is that it is a lightweight kevelar level II. Which means its able to stop any thing from a .22 round to a .357 Magnum. However, it won't stop a Smith & Wesson .500 magnum. Here's the results from Demo Ranch as they take their shot at this face mask.

• 22 - only grazed the mask
• 380 acp - didn't go through
• 9mm - didn't penetrate, but probably feel the punch.
• 40 cal Smith&Wesson - had good punched but didn't penetrate all the way through
• 44 Special - facemask caught the bullet, but will knock your teeth out
• 44 Magnum w hollow point - this ballistic will go faster than the special, still didn't go all the way through
• 17 HMR - Its a 22 magnum case down to take a 17 cal bullet, velocity is fast, didn't go all the way through
• Smith&Wesson 500 Magnum - Big and powerful round, went all the way through the mask

Oh yeh, check out the footage here.

[TexasGator]

BBC ... shot the eye out

[TexasGator]

BB.

[headstamp 2]

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/106976-german-sniper-mask-wwi/

[The_Media_never_lie]

OK, now. Should I wear this mask along with a bullet proof vest next time I fly?

[TexasGator]

[Gaffer]

I’d consider the pure energy delivered to the head, not so much penetration. One of the bad things about IEDs is what it does to the brain and organs. Localizing significant energy on the head cannot be a good thing IMO.

[Fiddlstix]

Bookmark

[Daniel Ramsey]

Pretty stupid if you ask me.I’m not going to say anything about a glaring weakness head armor has.

[fella]

Wearing one of those into 7/11 will make you need it.

[Bratch]

Jack Bauer laughs at eye holes.

[FatherofFive]

Localizing significant energy on the head cannot be a good thing IMO.

Methinks that is still better than an entry and exit wound.

[Lazamataz]

Flamethrower results?

[alternatives?]

It seems like a tradeoff with less visibility and comfort. With more of both you might avoid getting shot in the first place.

[Azeem]

This is something only a gamer who knows nothing would find cool. It limits visions and makes hitting the bad guy more difficult. If you don’t have a weapon you need to run. This makes it harder to see and takes time to put on. If you have any gear, put the vest on first.

I want to see this stop a 5.7 and 7.62x25mm.

[RC one]

I think that, in the absence of a readily available supply of Armor piercing projectiles, the next best solution to body armor is actually a high velocity 110 grain Hornady VMAX. This round won't do much of anything against body armor itself but I can't think of a more damaging round for extremity shots.

The smaller 5.56 mm versions would be effective too but the 7.62 version would be devastating.

I saw a guy that had been shot in the thigh by a 7.62 fmj round from about 25 yards away. His leg was about 50% detached. I think that a 110 grain VMAX round would have taken that leg off completely. And if it didn't, the trauma surgeon would have to do it. That was a special situation and the guy that got shot was rapidly stabilized and medevaced. I assume he kept his leg but I don't know.

Back to the point, a 110 grain VMAX to the thigh would have a high probability of causing death. Without immediate medical intervention, exsanguination would be rapid. If you were shot in the arm with such a projectile, I guarantee you, you're losing that arm immediately-right there on the battlefield in the middle of the firefight and you're going to bleed to death unless your buddy gets a tourniquet on your stump-right there on the battlefield, in the middle of the firefight.

Bottom line, if you can't defeat the armor, you need maximize damage to the extremities.

[Blue Devil Reaganite]

I would also want to make sure I was well-protected just below the bulletproof vest.
http://www.nuttybuddyballistic.com

[xp38]

masks do have their drawbacks

[MeanWestTexan]

A ballistic face shield offers similar, if not better, protection, and does not harm visibility nearly as badly.

[Garth Tater]

I’d consider the pure energy delivered to the head, not so much penetration.

The energy delivered by the bullet to its target is slightly less than the energy delivered to your unprotected hand by the gun's recoil (due to air resistance encountered by the bullet.) It's the focused energy due to the small cross section of the bullet that allows it to penetrate while the recoil energy is spread across the surface of your hand (and spread out over time due to the recoil spring in the case of an automatic.) What you feel behind a rigid mask should be considerably less than your hand feels when firing a revolver.