Thinking of calibers best suited for use on body armor?

[Valorius]

In handguns regular old FMJ 7.62x25mm Tok will penetrate a IIIA vest at close range, even fired from a pistol.

The new Rock Island Arsenal .22 TCM shows a lot of promise, but i've not seen any vest tests with it yet. It may penetrate level IIIA, it may not.

Your best bet though is the FN Five Seven. There are rounds from Elite ammunition and Clark ammunition that will defeat multiple Level IIIA panels. FN's own now discontinued SS192 will also defeat a level IIIA vest. I've shot that bullet through 48 layers of soft Kevlar personally.

Short of hard ballistic lvl III/IV inserts, soft body armor is not going to stop hot 5.7mm rounds, even at extended ranges. Given the Five Seven's huge capacity, super low recoil and extreme light weight, it is IMO the best PDW caliber pistol on the market today.

But there are still room for improvements IMO. Some people find the FsN's controls to be a bit quirky.

A lot of people have previously scoffed when i suggested that it is very wise to have a carry piece and especially a home defense piece that is capable of defeating 20 year old ex police surplus body armor. Well...i think this will open some eyes.

You can get level IIIA body armor that will stop any 9mm, .40. .357 or .44 on the civvie market for all of $75 used on ebay. ANY criminal can afford $75, let alone a serious criminal like a home invader, serial killer or a mass murderer.

If your home defense gun is a shotgun, only .50 caliber 3" magnum high velocity sabot slugs (12 ga) will penetrate a level IIIA vest. I'd go with the solid copper barnes type sabots. Remington sells them.