armor up? 2 of 2

ARMOR UP 2

Usually the scenario being used to justify body armor is taken from fiction.  The fed dudes attack at 3am ( just as they were taught by the Soviet KGB-but we are in the land of the free so of course it is not the same thing at all ) and our chiseled chin all American hero is awoken by his faithful companion Sparky who would have barked a bit earlier but he was busy being nose deep in his ass getting an early morning snack-but, you know, whatever dude because dogs are still better than electronics-and after leaping from bed he quickly dons his body armor and grabs his All-‘Murican M14 with night vision device to battle his evil nemesis’( I can’t for the life of me remember which militia porn novel that was from ).  I think that the above is more of a cautionary tale about living in a typical suburban house than it is about needing armor.  If you are that worried the Feds are going to shoot you in bed, I’d be armoring the house a heck of a lot better, not my scrawny ass.  Cement and rebar filled cinderblock, bars ( and heavy duty screen for grenades ) on the windows and a steel door with sufficient anchors and steel bar levels isn’t as cheap as a vest, but it sure isn’t a terrible investment either.  Hell, you need that just to live in NYC or L.A. right now anyway.

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Here is another aspect of wearing a vest I’d be concerned about.  It is a huge blinking sign saying. “please, Sir, may I ‘ave another round in me face?”.  It is all well and good to envision wearing armor at home or behind barricades, but if a breech does occur, are you sure you want to advertise that your assailant should shoot you in the head?  Again, if you are wearing thin enough armor to be concealed, it will mostly just stop pistol rounds.  Which is great for a cop, but in a more war-like setting, everyone is going to be armed with more than a mere pistol.  If you and your enemies are ONLY using pistols because of their concealability, that means you are in a criminal or terrorist situation, but not a real shooting war.  And I am talking about war here, not the others.  Survivalists are going to see war, not a revolution or a police action ( I seriously hope you don’t live in a crime zone or plan on being in a situation you can’t run away from if the alleged terrorists attack-and I say “alleged” because I’m convinced they are all false flag attacks sponsored by nation state intelligence agencies.  Again, fiction loves those rural/small town attacks to showcase vulnerability, but historically state sponsored terrorism doesn’t work that way ).  War means shotguns and carbines and thin armor doesn’t do jack against them at close range.  So if you wear a “real” rifle stopper, they can see it.

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Proponents of armor also point to studies showing cloth headgear wearing troops suffering something like 600% increases in shrapnel injuries, used to justify the issuance of, at first, metal and then Kevlar helmets.  Then the TactiCool preppers buy their own brain buckets in an orgy of military worship and think they are now indestructible.  We’ll ignore the difference between flack jackets and bullet proof jackets for now.  This brings us full circle back to the mobility and effectiveness aspects.  It also points out the use of statistics to justify actions to solve a different problem.  Helmets are named brain buckets for a reason.  The troops who actually see combat are not the same personnel that approve issued equipment.  Two thirds of your head are still exposed, so a helmet lost the same utility after WWI as a bayonet did.  They are good for sticking your head up in a trench while under artillery barrage and not much else.  In the open, they are good containers for the remains of your exploded head and face.  Don’t confuse helmets with vests and don’t confuse shrapnel with bullets.

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The last aspect of vests are the financial.  It is all well and good to say your life is worth $300 ( or whatever amount-it can go up to $3k as you justify a thirty caliber battle rifle with night vision ).  Is your life worth $300k?  Evidently not because you won’t leave your McMansion smack dab in the middle of an urban sprawl of millions.  But I shan’t digress there again.  No, I’m merely saying that being poor and frugal, shouldn’t you be thinking of taking your very limited prepper budget and doing something smarter with it?  $300 of wheat is almost three years worth of calories.  Don’t you think the odds of running out of food are greater than the odds of an overrated piece of equipment being able to save you ( remember, in the movies an armor wearing combatant manfully “shakes it off” and continues on.  In a lot of cases, in real life, a hospital is needed to go along with that vest )? 

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$300 won’t buy a whole lot of ammunition anymore, granted, but isn’t more ammo likely to come in much more handy than a vest that may or may not work as advertised?  I think your family is better off with more food and more ammunition to fight back with, rather than a magical talisman to protect them as they passively cower.  The food can give them strength to shoot more ammo at the assailants PRIOR to getting shot.  Now, having said all that, you might think no price is too high to pay to increase your survival odds.  I can’t say much against that.  If you are financially in a position to spend the money on what you perceive to be a needed piece of equipment, it might help and most likely couldn’t hurt ( just don’t get pissy with me if it gets you shot in the face ), so why not?  But if you are pinching pennies and watching your spending, I’d call this one over rated.  I certainly don’t own a vest, nor do I seem to covet one no matter how much war gamming I do.  But of course, to each his own.

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