#Ballistic

As at least five or six out of ten doctors would probably agree, the head is a relatively important part of the human body. It contains your brain, as well as all of the necessary organs and equipment for four out of the five senses. Even less severe head wounds tend to bleed heavily due to the local proliferation of many of the circulatory system’s smallest blood vessels, needed to feed oxygen-rich red blood cells to critical pieces of corporeal infrastructure. Given this, it is generally considered a good idea to protect your head from injury by using a helmet during risky activities, which can often include shooting and shooting-related activities or professions. Indiana-based Citizen’s Armor Co. has come up with a reasonably inexpensive way to provide their customers with some cranial conservation, even from ballistic threats like shrapnel or small arms fire, plus offer some of the more sought-after features of pricier helmet options. Enter the “ Tendy Defendy“.

AR500 Armor, the company mostly known for making steel body armor and targets, is entering the helmet market. Being specialized in manufacturing products from high strength steel alloys, they have designed a steel ballistic helmet called Militia Helmet. This is a rather unique product on the market dominated by helmets made of composite materials.

One thing that is almost a sure bet we all own, but do not always put a tremendous amount of thought in are our shooting glasses or eyewear. When it comes to shooting, hunting, boating, and generally being an active outdoors person we all probably own a slew of glasses (where did I put them again?), but who honestly meticulously weighs their options before those fateful repeated purchases. I know we are all guilty of this (myself included), but the difference between the el’ cheapos and mucho primos can be pretty significant and simultaneously difficult to see on the surface. In this TFB Review, we take a look at 4 different sets of eyewear from the Oakley Standard Issue series and the lines of Ballistic, Thin Blue Line, and Speed Jacket.

Ops Core has long been known for their bump and ballistic helmets and was gracious enough to send me an XP Ballistic Fast Helmet for review. Also included was the new eye protection offering called the step-in visor.

Ops-Core is releasing a new line of Fast Helmets in both ballistic and carbon fiber. The ballistic version will first be released with an MSRP of $1700 and weighs lighter than its predecessor. A sales rep at the Ops-Core booth said the SF was 6% lighter when compared to the Maritime helmet.

Miles starts by examining the Cadex M2 Cradle Mount, designed for the Browning M2. On inspection of the mount we see the zero gravity capability and the ease of use provided for manipulating the Browning M2. On top of the Browning we notice the Cadex Kolos mount integrating a recoil mitigation system and a powered ballistic reticle optic. As Miles moves to the Sheep Dog Rifle, Rob Furlong discusses the calibers offered in the new actions as well as the new chassis offered for 2018.

Whether it is a shotgun slug or an Accelerator bullet (.223 caliber bullet in a .308 caliber sabot), their sabots/wads can damage the chronographs. Sabots and wads are designed to separate from the projectile right after leaving the muzzle. After the separation, their trajectory may slightly change in an unpredictable pattern. Although the sabots and wads are lighter and have much lower velocities than the actual projectiles, they can still pack some punch, enough to damage the chronographs or any other fragile equipment (cameras, Decibel meters, and whatnot) on their way.

At the Security & Counter Terror Expo outside of London EFAFLEX introduced their EFAPROTECT Ballistic shutter. The shutter is a sort of garage door opener that rolls up into a box above an entrance and deploys extremely quickly to shield an entrance from various small arms threats up to 7.62x51mm NATO. The dimensions appear to be that of an oversized door, allowing the device to be fitted into existing entryways with various modifications. How the device is controlled was not mentioned but it most likely has a remote control station where it can be operated, in addition to possibly a manual override at the physical doorway (most likely on the inside of the entry). I’d imagine that the device comes with significant safety precautions and warnings because being caught in it might end up in a bad way.

Though I’ve been involved with shooting sports for a long time, Chronographs never really interested me before.  When people were setting them up on crowded range days, it could be a big time-killer for everybody else while the user tried to get the shades right, get their equipment in line, and check and recheck the spacing.  Moreover, they were very sensitive to light, could be knocked over by wind, could be thrown off by bright light reflecting off the range surface, the displays could be hard to read, and some models were useless indoors.  I also didn’t compete frequently enough to require reloading equipment, and didn’t need to download ammunition close to velocities that might be borderline in order to stay competitive at my level.

In the second installment of Ballistics 101, we took a look at the concept of a “ballistic coefficient”, or a drag model based on an empirically tested projectile, against which other projectiles can be measured and compared. Mentioned in that post – but not explained – was the concept of form factor, which is the subject of today’s installment.

Robert Kaiser, CEO of PPSS Group, demonstrates that his company’s ballistic vests work by getting one of his staff to shoot him at point blank range with a 9mm Glock 19 …

The gang at ESS have done it again. I have not seen Ari and Steve of ESS since they took me to Boomershoot last April in Idaho. As expected their booth was very busy. They have outfitted me in the past with their Crossbow and Supressor shooting glasses. I love that I can change the lenses out to different tints. When I wear the copper tint the world just pops. I will let a fellow shooter try them on at a long range match and they can’t believe it. I need all of the help I can get to see that bullseye at 1000 yards away. These glasses make it happen. And now they have a tan colored frame that I love. I also have some of their sunglasses models. This new Credence design is way cool.

The smartphone ballistic calculator that started it all, KAC’s Bullet Flight, is now available for Android.

Wired Magazine tested three different level IIIA ballistic vests at the Oregon Ballistics Lab.

Miguel Caballero, a Colombian, is a designer of ballistic vests for military and police and “bullet proof” fashionable clothing. Apparently he requires all new employees to be shot while wearing one of his ballistic vests! Here is a video showing blogger Erik R. Trinidad of The Global trip being shot point blank by a .38 Special revolver.