Armor piercing bullets?

[Cyclonite]

Just picked a a new .45 baby eagle....ordered 200 rounds of aguila .45 117gr hollowpoints. From what iv read they have some pretty good penetrating power...I have yet to fire them. More to follow after some range time this week. Check em out 4.99 for 20 rounds if you order 10+ boxes on Natchez

http://www.packing.org/oldnews/article/?article=6005

[nbk2000]

An 'iv' is something you put into a person through a needle in their arm.

'I've' is what you use when referring to yourself.

Just exactly how are these 'armor piercing' bullets? From the provided link, doesn't sound any more penetrating than any regular hot-load to me.

[Sodium Cyanide]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't hollow points have less of a chance of penetrating armor than non-hollow point bullets? They would expand, and spread the force onto a larger surface area and have less force to penetrate the armor methinks.

[TreverSlyFox]

Sounds like a nice round, but for the money you have tied up in a .45 you could buy 2 Russian/Romainian CZ-52s and thousands of rounds of ammo. The CZ-52 puts a 95gr FMJ 7.62x25 round down range at over 1400fps and is a legendary "Vest" killer.

Though it's not a weapon for the faint of heart. It's big, heavy, loud, shoots a foot of flame out the barrel, has an energetic muzzle jump and is only an 8 rounder. But it costs less than $150.00 in excellent condition and 1200 rounds of ammo is under $130.00 Slap that in a gangbangers hand and if he shoots it sideways he's likely to knock himself out with it when he catches it in his teeth. Damn thing is a hoot to shoot at night though. :eek: It takes a little getting use to but after awhile you can put all 8 in a mans chest at 25 yards.

[ann]

The mixed alloy aguila IQ rounds are NOT AP in any way shape or form.I have tested it myself... in fact they are a poor round in all ways and are fadeing away as most "EXOTIC" BULLETS do.

I have seen tests with this round on a 3/4-inch ballistic polycarbonate plate, but so what most standard ball rounds will do the same.

[AcMav]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't hollow points have less of a chance of penetrating armor than non-hollow point bullets?
You're correct in this assumption, the reason the police and most people use Jacketed Hollow Point rounds because they balloon out upon impact, the Jackets are serrated so upon impact the bullet spreads, thus creating as much trauma as possible.
However the Full Metal Jacket rounds have much more penetrating power because they do not blossom at all upon impact. This creates a much lesser chance of a kill shot because the bullet creates a clean wound, you need a much bigger FMJ Round than a JHP round to kill. These rounds are not without their benefits though as a FMJ round will easily pierce small defenses (Drywall, Thin Sheet Metal, Body Armor).
Personally I'd go for the Full Metal Jacket rounds, its better to wound than kill (Wounding takes two soldiers off the front line, possibly more if you're dealing with piggies, lesser charges IF you happen to get caught, where as killing its done with). In conclusion though I doubt it really matters, if you hit a piggy he's going to go running even if it doesn't break his vest.

[Shadowmartyr]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't hollow points have less of a chance of penetrating armor than non-hollow point bullets? They would expand, and spread the force onto a larger surface area and have less force to penetrate the armor methinks.

He is right.

Hollow points are the exact opposite of what your wanting to do, penetrate armor. The bullet tip is hollow in the center so when it hits it will form a mushroom shape and spread and have more surface area.

What you are wanting is ballistic tipped ammunition. However they don't make it for ACP rounds.

It's mainly used for high caliber rifles (sniper rifles mainly, .308 and beyond).

[Mr Science]

Taken from Wikipedia:
Armor-piercing ammunition is used to penetrate hardened armored targets such as body armor, vehicle armor, concrete, tanks and other defenses, depending on the caliber of the firearms. Armor-piercing ammunition consists of a hardened steel, tungsten-carbide, or depleted uranium penetrator enclosed within a softer material, such as copper or aluminum. Armor-piercing ammunition can range from rifle and pistol caliber rounds all the way up to tank rounds.

Rifle and pistol rounds are usually built around a penetrator of steel or tungsten. Aircraft and tank rounds sometimes use a core of depleted uranium. This penetrator is a pointed mass of high-density material that is designed to retain its shape and carry the maximum possible amount of energy as deep as possible into the target. Depleted-uranium penetrators have the advantage of being pyrophoric and self-sharpening on impact, resulting in incredible heat and energy focused on a minimal area of the target's armor. Some rounds also use explosive or incendiary tips to aid in the penetration of thicker armor.

Rifle armor-piercing ammunition generally carries its hardened penetrator within a copper or cupro-nickel jacket, similar to the jacket that would surround lead in a conventional projectile. Upon impact on a hard target, the copper case is destroyed, but the penetrator continues its motion and penetrates the substance. Similar armor-piercing ammunition for pistols has also been developed. It is of similar design to the rifle ammo above.

The entire projectile is not normally made of the same material as the penetrator because the physical characteristics that make a good penetrator (tough, hard metal) make the material equally harmful to the barrel of the gun firing the round.

Contrary to common belief, teflon or other coatings on the bullet do not in themselves help it penetrate deeper. Teflon-coated bullets were meant to help reduce the wear on the barrel as a result of firing hardened projectiles. Teflon coating was a trend that has largely faded, in part because of laws resulting from this misconception.

The legality of AP pistol ammo puzzles me...sometimes I hear AP rounds (for the pistol) are illegal, yet sometimes on gunbroker, you see AP rounds for sale. For instance: http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=83399144

I might be getting confused with manufacturers policies however (selling only to LE or licensed dealers; not the law, just their policy). Obviously they are hard to obtain (pistol AP in general), but if someone could clarify this, that would be nice. Sorry if I am getting off the subject.

[Charles Owlen Picket]

from what I understand of US fed gov law, PRE-manufactured AP rounds (fully loaded complete cartridges) are verbotten - but you may purchase bullets for handloading. HOWEVER....5.56 green tips may be sold off as surplus. As are black tip 30.06 from Korea, etc, etc.

[Big Mac]

Sounds like a nice round, but for the money you have tied up in a .45 you could buy 2 Russian/Romainian CZ-52s and thousands of rounds of ammo. The CZ-52 puts a 95gr FMJ 7.62x25 round down range at over 1400fps and is a legendary "Vest" killer.

Though it's not a weapon for the faint of heart. It's big, heavy, loud, shoots a foot of flame out the barrel, has an energetic muzzle jump and is only an 8 rounder. But it costs less than $150.00 in excellent condition and 1200 rounds of ammo is under $130.00 Slap that in a gangbangers hand and if he shoots it sideways he's likely to knock himself out with it when he catches it in his teeth. Damn thing is a hoot to shoot at night though. :eek: It takes a little getting use to but after awhile you can put all 8 in a mans chest at 25 yards.

Hate to revive a rather old post but I love my CZ-52. I got it from a neighbor for 30 bucks. I was rather happy when he said that I could have it for 30. Originally it was supposed to be 90 and paid off 30 a month. After the first month he just shrugged and said, "You'll get more use out of it than me. 30 will do."

The small size of the round belies its potent power. I am also rather impressed by its ergonomics. Especially considering that the grip appears to be cumbersome, it really is not as long as you don't have carnie-folk hands.

So in short, I have to fully agree with you on that.