Are “cop killer” bullets and “armor piercing” bullets the same thing then?
According to Wikipedia, cop killer bullets are brass shot coated in teflon. Because of movies, people believe the teflon coating makes them armor piercing, but according to the manufacturer, the teflon kept a bullet from ricocheting off doors and window glass, because the teflon sticks to the glossy surface instead, of reflecting off. Because of the teflon stickiness, kevlar actually is more effective in stopping a cop killer bullet.
Armor piercing bullets are actually steel core and shaped to a point. The point pushes a concentrated force into whatever solid object it hits.
By the way, the best bullet for most effective killing, in my opinion, is the hollow point the bullet hits skin, and smashes, and often breaking into pieces, making a shredded wound. An armor piercing round will more likely go right through, making a less shredded wound.
Now, the AR15 bullet looks armor piercing, but really, the bullet tumbles through the air, like a shuriken. When it hits a person, it enters one place, ricochets around and comes out somewhere else, leaving an internal trail of shredded meat and shattered bones.
NO. The bullets they’re trying to ban are just steel core bullets. Since the 5.56 is a pretty weak round to begin with, they wanted something that would penetrate better, like a vehicle door, window glass, wall, etc., especially at longer ranges. (That’s why it’s called a penetrator round.) Just about any high powered deer rifle will penetrate body armor. That’s why they have ceramic plates to protect your heart & vitals. A SWAT entry team is probably the only people not military you will find wearing level 3 or better body armor. I don’t think civilians can even buy that stuff.
Level II and Level IIIa soft body armor will protect you from handguns, but for protection against rifles you will require additional hard armor plates. Traditionally these are used in conjunction with Level IIIa bullet proof vests, and are available in Level III, which will protect against regular rifle rounds, and Level IV, which will provide protection from regular rifle rounds and also armor piercing rounds. These plates will add additional weight to a bullet proof vest, and so should only be used when required in extremely high risk situations.
They’re synonymous now, even though there’s a difference.