Video: BulletSafe Bulletproof Cap Production Prototype
Russ Chastain 04.27.15
Back in December, I posted about a conceptual bulletproof cap. Some folks pooh-poohed the idea out of hand, but I looked up BulletSafe’s president at the 2015 SHOT Show and had a talk with him. I found out it was definitely a real product.
I recently learned that the first panel had been made on their new tooling, and true to form Tom shot video of a preliminary test.
Using a 45 ACP round with 230-grain bullets, two rounds were fired into the cap. Since there was just one panel, it was of course re-used for each shot. That’s not ideal for a scientific test, but life isn’t perfect–and these tests weren’t scientific.
The first shot, which was made at roughly two yards according to BulletSafe president Tom Nardone, deformed the panel about 25-30 millimeters and would have resulted in considerable head trauma, but it may be survivable, which a 230-grain slug through one’s noggin in that location certainly would not be.
A second shot was taken on a white “deformable head,” which looks to be styrofoam. The cap didn’t fit the head very well, and the force was largely transferred to its nose. Much of a person’s facial bones would likely have been broken if they were hit in that way.
A third shot was made into the same kind of head, but without the cap. Naturally, the bullet passed right on through.
Nay-sayers will continue to say nay and ridicule this cap. I say, let ’em. So what if they do? I know that if there was a better-than-even chance that someone would shoot at me and I couldn’t use any better protection (such as a Kevlar helmet), I’d much rather have this thing than a regular ol’ cap or hat.
A bullet to the head is not a minor thing, but it looks like this cap can help dissipate a bullet’s energy and at least prevent it from passing through your brain.
Personally, I hope I never have to find out.
