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BLENDED
METAL
While
LeMas' RBCD blended metal ammo wasn't up to this year's glass-busting
challenge, it performed as advertised against all other targeted
mediums. Essentially the same types of targets that were lined
up at the past two Shoot-outs (August 2001, August 2002 AFJ)
were again engaged this year. Handgun ammo (9mm and 10mm)
that wouldn't penetrate an 8-inch block of clay cleanly cut
through 1/8-inch T-304 stainless steel panels and created
devastating effects in blocks of raw meat. The same type of
.300 WinMag round that tore through an airliner windshield
and penetrated a ½-inch AR500 (hardened armor) steel
plate expended all its energy passing through just four layers
of ordinary, 5/8-inch wallboard.
Once again,
evaluators who hadn't previously witnessed the performance
of this ammo were effusive in their praise of the RBCD line:
"This ammo is awesome," wrote one. "I can't
say enough good things about it. Armored steel or cockpit
windows can't stop these rounds. Only tissue or drywall will.
I've never seen anything like this. Also, there is almost
no deflection when punching through glass (even cockpit windows).
Amazing!"
Another
noted: "Very impressed with how the ammo will go through
body armor and steel and will also tear apart a chunk of meat."
COMPOSITE
PLATE
The evaluator's
comment regarding "body armor" referred to another
series of challenges conducted at this year's Shoot-out. Carson
City, Nev.-based U.S. Global Nanospace Inc. (USGN), which
produces composite body armor, blast shields and airline cockpit
doors, recently completed work on a prototype protective ring
for Humvee gunners. The "Save-A-Gunner" (S.A.G.)
turret, which weighs less than 200 pounds, is made principally
of the company's proprietary G-Lam nanofiber.
Originally
designed to protect gunners against 7.62-caliber rounds, the
latest S.A.G. prototype is capable of protecting a gunner
against .50-caliber rounds, according to company officials;
that was enough to net it an invitation to showcase the new
system at Blackwater.
The original
plan was to shoot the ring with various ammo types but, considering
the cost of fabricating the device, company officials wisely
decided to offer up 12-inch plates of the material for the
evaluation. The 1.25-inch-thick plates are formed from a G-Lam/ceramic
composite.
With the
plates propped up in front of a target stand, a CheyTac marksman
loosed a .408 round (419 grains/2,950 fps) from a distance
of about 50 yards. The round punched through the plate.
The LeMas
team then decided to see what its .300 WinMag HAARP round
(130 grains/3,700 fps) could do: It, too, tore through the
plate.
It's a
distinct understatement to say that the representatives from
Global Nanospace were surprised by the effects of the CheyTac
.408 and the RBCD .300 WinMag on their plates. But most observers
realized that the terminal effects of both these rounds are
different from those produced by NATO-standard .50-caliber
ball ammo. Acknowledging that fact, we later rounded up some
.50-caliber ammo and put it through an FNH Hecate II from
100 yards away. To the relief of the Global Nanospace folks,
their heavier (1.4-inch-thick) panel withstood the impact
of all three rounds.
The USGN
team also invited observers to take a crack at piercing the
company's Guardian Cockpit Security Door. A shooter from FNH
took them up on the offer. Using a P90 subgun, the shooter
peppered the door from about 15 feet with about 20 rounds
of closely packed 5.7-by-28mm ammo (55.5 grains/2,346 fps).
The door held.
One evaluator
quickly followed up with the Global Nanospace representatives
and put them in touch with officials involved in the "up-armored"
Humvee program. The evaluator also asked the ADS team if defrosting
elements could be embedded in its bullet-resistant glass.
It wouldn't be at all surprising to see an up-armored Humvee
test rig sporting new windows and a protective ring for its
gunner.
In addition
to their current line of bullet-resistant products, the folks
at Global Nanospace are experimenting with composite liners
for mailboxes, waste receptacles and other containers that
might be used by terrorists as repositories for bombs. They
brought with them a pair of standard-size mailboxes - the
kind seen on street corners throughout America. One was outfitted
with a protective blast liner; the other wasn't. The idea
was to detonate an explosive charge in each box to demonstrate
their product's blast-resistance properties. This one certainly
didn't go as they expected (see related story on page 42).
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