Zombie Killing Goodness: RCI's rotating shotgun magazine

Just saw this post at the Firearms Blog about a new rotary magazine for shotguns that can provide up to 23 rounds for a converted semi-auto shotgun.

It does look heavy... but for premises defense against zombie hordes, 2 or 3 of these things lined up would be just the ticket.

Ballistic Blankets and door panels

Police 911 also sells ballistic blankets and custom-made door panels.

Stand-Alone Plates and Titanium

911 Police Store has a variety of trauma and rifle plates available for sale.

They have a variety of materials. Ceramic, polyethylene, steel and titanium are available in combination with aramid fabrics and soft rubber covers.

I like Titanium myself. Same strength as steel for half the weight, although many manufacturers seem to mix titanium and steel together.

Ballistic Combat Boots

Check out these combat boots designed to protect against land mines.

Concealable Body Armour

Fortis concealable body armour looks like it would easily concealed under a dress shirt, unfortunately I cannot find anyone in the US who sells it other than Brigade QM, who won't sell it to civilians.

Least Expensive Option: Trauma Plates

Bulletproof Me sells trauma plates that are NOT designed to stop rifles. They could stop a handgun round or a baseball bat, but definitely not a rifle.

The advantage is that they are inexpensive.

5 inch by 8 inch plates are only $15-40, depending on material type. Combine that with a Blackhawk Lo-Viz plate carrier (also $40) and you've subtle front armor for less than $100.

Alternatively, you can get 8.5 inch by 11 inch Level IIIA plates here for $90, ostensibly for a notebook.

Undercover Body Armor Options

First, a minimalist vest for $275 is available here.

Second, BulletProof Me sells a jacket with a built-in vest for roughly $700.

Third, Survival Armor produces a deep cover armor carrier here, the carrier is available at AFMO and the body armor itself is sold by GMS Tactical.

Fourth, bulletproof backpacks are available.

Been there...

Post by a medic in Iraq with some footage of used body armor.

Body Armor Acronyms

BCS - Beez Combat Systems (a firm)

BALCS - Body Armor/Load Carriage System

CIRAS - Combat Integrated Releasable Armor System |Wikipedia|

ESAPI - Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts

ICW - In Conjunction With

ICW plates are designed to be worn with soft body armor and their armor rating assumes they are used in conjunction with a certain level of soft body armor.

LBV - Load Bearing Vest

NIJ - National Institute of Justice

PPI - Protective Products International (a firm)

RAV - Releasable Assault Vest

RBR - RBR Tactical (a firm)

RRV - Rhodesian Reconnaissance Vest (A style that carries a front plate and molle straps on the front)

SAPI - Small Arms Protective Inserts

XSAPI - Improved Small Arms Protective Inserts

N.B. XSAPI is more a military design spec more than an industry standard at this time. See this June, 2007 Military.com article and this November, 2008 Defense Review article for more.

Stand Alone Body Armor Plates

With body armor, there's always a trade-off between mobility, comfort and protection.

Some operators prefer using plates only without soft body armor:

First, from someone who claims to be a combat veteran.

Originally Posted by SW-Shooter:
Does anyone actually use these without the ballistic armor? I just can't figure out why you would.

Because if you have the right plates, they do the lion's share of the work at stopping stuff, and the ballistic panels are basically just padding. Nice, but unneccessary with the right plates. I can speak only for myself and my little band of happy cutthroats, but...

Pounds may equal pain, but bulk is something I've found to fatigue me more in the long run, because padding = bulk, which means I have to force simple movements and full range of motion is a freakin' pipedream. Less bulk = more mobility, and I prefer having a chance to get the hell out of the way BEFORE letting the plate get tested by a bullet smack. Mobility hurts less, and fatigue brought on by bulk and weight further reduces what mobility the two allow. Admittedly, it's a gamble in threat areas where shrapnel is a possibility, but is that your environment?

I don't use ballistic panels. I've taken a hit in the front plate with a Dragunov round, and an AK shot later the same day, so I already know that stand-alone plates work without the padding, and mobility is roughly the same plates-only as it is with panels-only, whereas plates & panels = stupid slow. It felt like the Jolly Green Giant hit me with a ball-peen hammer (D'OH!) and the bruise was positively HDTV-color, but that's any hit you take.

I can imagine a lot of folks tossing their hands up in horror at the thought of plates with no ballistic cloth, and I understand why, but it works with stand-alone plates. Which may justify somebody's "use-in-conjunction-with" plate purchase
__________________
Light a man a fire, you keep him warm for a night.

Set a man on fire, you keep him warm for the rest of his life.

|Link|

Next, word of mouth from an airsoft forum that SEALs prefer to wear just plates (not even a helmet).

You know, with most SF it's really a matter of opinion. I spent some down time chatting with a force rec. guy and he did gripe about a narrow selection. I belive his exact words were: "We get like to pick out most of our loadout, but if you want to be able to f-ing converse or whatever, then be a SEAL." He also said that on the ops they ran with the SEALs, that most of them were wearing 5.11 pants,underarmor tshirt, and plate carrier bc of the heat. no soft armour vest, no helmet. LOL, I think that's what he meant by his previously mentioned statement. Anyways, just had to write. It's always cool when you meet up with a SF guy still serving. |Link|

Finally, some random guy who uses steel plates only as an option for low profile armor:

FWIW,
I use steel plates for concealment. I would rather have a heavy set-up than walk around being that guy.

Steel is not optimal by any means if you plan on getting in a gun fight, but for low-pro stuff, it's less obvious and easier on the wallet. |Link|

Dyneema Video Testing

Anything can be staged, but this is an interesting video purporting to torture test Dyneema vests by a Finnish company, Combat Protective Equipment |AT|SR|. They burn the vests for 30 & 60 seconds before shooting them with handgun rounds. One test involved 30 rounds from an H&K MP-5.

They also shoot their tactical vests with 7.62 NATO rounds (from a G3 or G3 clone I believe).

Bullet Resistant Fabrics

There are basically 2 types of bullet resistant materials currently.

The first class of fibers are "aromatic polyamides," the two terms merge into the portemanteau of aramid (See Wikipedia).

The other type of fabric is polyethylene (or simply PE). Bullet resistant polyethylenes have high molecular weight. Low molecular weight PE is used in all sorts of "wicking" fabrics.

PE is generally sensitive to sunlight and heat. Bullet resistant panels are typically housed in "carriers" made of nylon and cotton that help protect the panels from UV and heat.

One new class of PE fabric is Dyneema. Dyneema is "ultra high molecular weight polyethylene" or UHMWPE (See Wikipedia). Dyneema is a very lightweight and flexible bulletproof fabric that floats, so it is good for naval operations.

Aramids, on the other hand, have excellent heat resistance. Kevlar and Twaron are chemically similar to Nomex (the material used to protect NASCAR drivers from flame).

There are 2 different ways of manufacturing aramids, however: woven and laminated. One example of a laminated aramid is Goldflex. The fibers are essentially sealed in a matrix, which creates a more comfortable (and less bulky) fabric.

According to this forum post, laminate aramids are not as strong as woven aramids:

Vests with Goldflex or any other hybrid laminate materials have a record of deterioration which begins almost immediately after manufacture. This deterioration is accelerated by water/humidity/perspiration (vests get hot!) and has been responsible for issued vests failing to stop ballistic threats on many documented occasions. Contact shots have also been known to burn through them (brand new vests) like butter. Stick with 100% Kevlar or Twaron which have a proven record of working after decades of wear under most environments. Kevlar and Twaron are a little heavier and are more stiff but you may as well wear something that works. Another advantage is that Kevlar/Twaron can often be found at a lower price since it is considered "older" technology.

A good resource for comparing the two types of fabrics is the Handbook of Composites avaialble thru Google Books.

MANPADS - Sounds like a diaper

MANPADS are man-portable air-defense systems, like Stinger missiles. According to this tidbit, the Somali pirates may have acquired them, and they are game changers.

The Press Trust of India reported an Indian Navy statement of concern that the Somali pirates now have acquired shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles [or man-portable air-defense](MANPADs). If confirmed, the connections and resources that would enable Somalis to acquire MANPADs from the international gray arms market would signify they are a much more organized and serious threat than simple Somali clansmen trying to provide for their families.

Of greater tactical significance, the use of rapid response teams flown in helicopters has been key tactic responsible for putting the pirates on the defensive. MANPADs would increase the risks and tend to neutralize that modern advantage. |Nightwatch, March 23, 2009|

Stingers helped drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan and they may well affect how international navies deal with these pirates.

Are Surface Navies Obsolete? Ship-killing ICBMs say YES!

According to this Defense Review article, the Chinese have adapted ICBM's to track and destroy naval units with conventional explosives.

Even if true, that doesn't necessarily mean that surface navies are obsolete, just much less useful against the Chinese and their client states.

Drum Fed Shotguns: AA-12

From Futureweapons. The AA-12 would be terrifying at close range.

The 12 gauge grenades they mention later in the segment would be bad ass.

Mag Fed Shotguns: Saiga

Saiga shotguns are Russian made and fed with a magazine and would definitely be some sweet zombie killing machines, especially these models with a lot of gunsmithing refinements from R & R Racing.

Here's a music video of people enjoying a short-barreled Saiga shotgun.

Personal Defense Weapons: P90 Review

Get Some!

Historical Weapons: MP40 vs. Kar 98