I got my hands on a piece of bullet resistant paneling. I'm not positive about the manufacturer, but it looks the same as ArmorCore (though I suspect they all look similar). I know it's rated level 3, which is basically any pistol caliber (up to .44 magnum). Back on New Years, my buddies and I took it out to test it and I finally got a new hosting site (stupid google discontinuing picassa) to post pics.

We started with a .22 fired from a M&P15-22 from 50 yards. We didn't know if everything would be absorbed or if ricochet was possible. As it turns out, the panel absorbs the bullet, no ricochet occurred. It also turns out my buddy needed to re-zero his optic!  So then I shot the .380 and tried to get it close to the edge, as the seams are supposed to be a weak spot. Didn't hit right on the edge, but kinda close and it stopped it no problem.
.380 ACP (95 gr)


We progressed from .22 through .380, 9mm, .40, and .45 (all FMJ...except the .22). As expected the panel stopped them. None of us have any magnum calibers.

9mm (124 gr)


.40 S&W (165 gr)


.45 ACP (230 gr)


Next we went to the intermediate cartridges, 5.56/.223 (55 gr) and 7.62x39 (123 gr), both FMJ. Then full rifle .30-06 soft points (165 gr). Not surprisingly, they penetrated. I don't know what the condition of the projectiles were or what velocity they were at after going through...no way to find them in the berm and I didn't think ahead. So I don't know how deadly they would've been, but they did kick up dirt like they'd just gone through a paper target. Looking at the exits, my best guess is the 30 cal bullets held together and had enough velocity to be deadly, but it looks to me like the 5.56 may have broken up a bit.  The exit hole seems bigger than I'd expect from a straight through.  Again, it did kick up dirt behind it though, so some mass stayed together and maintained speed.

We finished with 12ga slug and buckshot. I figured the board would stop them easily...big and heavy but slow. My buddy figured the slug would penetrate but the buckshot wouldn't.



They were both stopped easily.

The whole panel:


The most interesting thing to me was that of the pistols, the .40 had the most visible impact. We clamped the panel to my target stand with binder clips and the .40 blew 3 of them off. Only the slug and buckshot did too (they knocked the clips off and the panel fell forward). None of the other pistol rounds, including the .45 hit hard enough to pop them off. The image below is the backside of the panel, showing the exits of the rifle rounds. Around the exits you can notice the lighter color from the panel layers bulging. You can also see the discoloration below the middle exit hole (.30-06) from the slug. If you look closely at the image, you can see there is a slight bulge right in the middle from the .45, and above right of that, near the right vertical line, a more noticeable one from the .40. You can barely feel a slight bump where the 9mm hit (would be upper left in the image) but it's hardly perceptible.
Rifle exits, 5.56 on the upper left, .30-06 in the middle, 7.62x39 on the right.


What does it all mean?  Well, nothing other than the panel held up to what it was rated for and rifle rounds went through. The .40 seeming to hit harder (in my uneducated opinion) simply shows that it has more energy than the 9mm and .45, which isn't hard to figure out, just check the spec sheets. But it doesn't necessarily mean anything for self defense, as bodies aren't made of fiberglass laminated paneling.

Thanks for sharing, it's always cool to shoot stuff

Hey, great report. And it looks like you had fun doing it.

Great test.

Where did you get the paneling? Wouldn't mind lining the back of my SUV and door panels with it if the price is reasonable.

These panels are designed for buildings. It's like drywall, they install it to the studs, then drywall over it. I don't know the cost, it's part of a renovation they're doing at my work. The drywallers were nice enough to set aside a large scrap piece for me. I do know they had to wear Tyvex-type suits and respirators when cutting it. They said it can be cut with normal blades, but they'll dull quickly. Also have to be careful handling it to avoid practically invisible fiber splinters.

There are vehicle applications out there, a quick google search resulted with http://www.bulldogdirect.com/personal-vehicle-armor-kits/ which estimates $14,000.

Look up Armortex as one manufacturer. The stuff is awesome and comes in 4x8' sheets 3/8" to a full 1" thick depending on ballistic rating. Now the not fun part is the price and cost to ship. The price on a level 2 is around $400 per sheet and then that sheet weighs about 150-160 lbs. To save on shipping, if anyone in your area is building a bank or commercial building like a city office or police station, talk to the contractor and see if they will allow you to add to their order.