Stupid Human Trick with Bullet Proof Vest

RugerHound

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Casa Grande, Arizona
A tragedy for the young man who died, and the young lady who shot him...

A violation of the 1st rule of firearms: Never point a gun at anything/anyone you don't intend to kill... :(

A South Carolina man died Wednesday morning after police say he asked one of his friends to fire a gun into a bulletproof vest he was wearing, Fox Carolina reported.

The bullet reportedly missed the Kevlar vest and hit Blake Wardell, 26, in the chest. Friends performed CPR, but Wardell bled to death in the garage, the report said. The death was classified a homicide. The bulletproof vest was about 10 years old and the weapon was called a small-caliber gun, The State reported.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/05/15/south-carolina-man-dies-trying-out-bulletproof-vest-report-says/?intcmp=latestnews
 
I recall years ago, I think his name was Jim Davis, was the maker of Second Change vests, used to shoot himself in the chest to PROVE they did the job !!! it would leave a black and blue mark on his skin....oh well, NOT me
 
the original post is tragic.

I recall many many years ago, I was watching local news (don't recall area, but major city) and the police department were getting their first vest. During a live news broadcast, the reporter put the vest on and ask the chief of police to shoot him! SOB if he didn't pull out his pistol, stepped BACK and popped him in the chest. I am sure the station had to pay an FCC fine for the language as the reporter rolled around on the ground....now that was funny
 
JFB said:
the original post is tragic.

I recall many many years ago, I was watching local news (don't recall area, but major city) and the police department were getting their first vest. During a live news broadcast, the reporter put the vest on and ask the chief of police to shoot him! SOB if he didn't pull out his pistol, stepped BACK and popped him in the chest. I am sure the station had to pay an FCC fine for the language as the reporter rolled around on the ground....now that was funny


I don't care who you are, that was funny!
 
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rugerguy said:
I recall years ago, I think his name was Jim Davis, was the maker of Second Change vests, used to shoot himself in the chest to PROVE they did the job !!! it would leave a black and blue mark on his skin....oh well, NOT me
Name is Richard Davis, he was the owner of Second Chance bullet proof vests, headquartered in Central Lake, Michigan. I knew him personally when I was a kid growing up near there. He did indeed shoot himself in the upper gut, not the chest, to prove his product on numerous occasions. He shot himself in the event that if something went wrong there would be no one else liable. Largest caliber used was a 44 Mag. Generally he used a 357 Mag, the 44 knocked the wind out of him too badly. Only reason he stopped was his doctor told him it was beating up his insides too much. One tough SOB, maybe not wrapped quite tight enough.

The poor girl is charged with involuntary manslaughter even though they believe she was asked to shoot the man? I can't say why she agreed to it, but I think the worst she should be charged with is reckless discharge of a firearm. She missed. She was asked to shoot the vest, who wouldn't have a case of the nerves in this situation. Multiple people on scene, no peer pressure right? Reeks badly of "hey hold my beer I got an idea!"
 
When vest first came out for LEOs in the mid 70s one of the guys on a neighboring Sheriffs Office tried out his new one by shooting his brother in law in the chest. Yes, it stopped the bullet from a 357. The blunt trauma damned near killed him what with a huge hematoma and broken sternum Ten years later when I came back to go to college there he was in some of my classes trying to get a degree so somebody would hire him. Nope, a 4 year degree is NOT going to make up for being a dumb ass and getting fired. THAT stays with you, forever.

Of course I also went to college with a kid in his early 20s that had 4 DUIs. The profs and the CJ Department took his money and kept encouraging him. I'd been a LEO for 10-12 years by then. I tried to tell him that NOBODY was going to hire him unless it was the smallest PD in the USA. In the end he ended up and still/was fighting wildfires in the spring, summer and fall and being a ski patrol guy in the winters. Never did find a LEO job. Of course I'm not sure he isn't having more fun as is.

Yes, the vest only works if THAT is where the bullet hits. Probably shouldn't say this but I never could figure out why the bad guys knowing your probably wearing a vest didn't simply pop cops in the thigh and break your femur and probably hit an artery. Of course most have a long history of felony stupid by then. Due to the the prevalence of vest over the years Federal LEO training changed from 3 in the center of mass, to two in center of mass and then one in the forehead. It is/was called the Israeli Method. Even if wearing a vest the blunt trauma from two center of mass is going to slow most people down, then.................

Involuntary Manslaughter, doing something so damned dumb and reckless that you SHOULD have realized what the result could be. Voluntary involves the intent to do grievous bodily harm. Involuntary is just that, you SHOULD have known better and the assumption is that no REASONABLE person would have committed the act.

RWT
 
Back in 1974, some smart salesman tried a stunt at my gun club, putting a "bulletproof vest" he was promoting at the target line and challenging the members to put a bullet into it. The cameras were rolling when a fellow walked up to the firing line carrying a Super Blackhawk, fired a shot and the cameras filmed the vest falling to the floor with a gaping hole in the front. End of stunt.

That's why they call them "ballistic vests", not "bulletproof vests."
 
500jrh said:
rugerguy said:
I recall years ago, I think his name was Jim Davis, was the maker of Second Change vests, used to shoot himself in the chest to PROVE they did the job !!! it would leave a black and blue mark on his skin....oh well, NOT me
Name is Richard Davis, he was the owner of Second Chance bullet proof vests, headquartered in Central Lake, Michigan. I knew him personally when I was a kid growing up near there. He did indeed shoot himself in the upper gut, not the chest, to prove his product on numerous occasions. He shot himself in the event that if something went wrong there would be no one else liable. Largest caliber used was a 44 Mag. Generally he used a 357 Mag, the 44 knocked the wind out of him too badly. Only reason he stopped was his doctor told him it was beating up his insides too much. One tough SOB, maybe not wrapped quite tight enough.


You beat me to it. I know Richard as well and I can't correct a thing you said. :wink:
 
Cholo said:
Jimbo, WTH are you trying to say?
Let me be perfectly clear for you.

In America almost anybody can buy a gun because of the 2nd amendment. We have the RKBA.
When you combine that with the fact that many in this country are less than intelligent, (intelligence is not a requirement to own a gun) or careless, you can end up with serious injuries and possibly death.
Guns are lethal weapons after all, and if not handled correctly they can cause great harm.

It is a fact that in America people are going to get shot by accident. Sometimes the gun owner shoots himself sometimes it is somebody else. :shock:
 
Turns out it as a felon who shot the guy (missing the vest), and the girl lied to cover up that fact! Now they both face charges...

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/255...fatal-shooting
 
Jimbo357mag said:
Cholo said:
Jimbo, WTH are you trying to say?
Let me be perfectly clear for you.

In America almost anybody can buy a gun because of the 2nd amendment. We have the RKBA.
When you combine that with the fact that many in this country are less than intelligent, (intelligence is not a requirement to own a gun) or careless, you can end up with serious injuries and possibly death.
Guns are lethal weapons after all, and if not handled correctly they can cause great harm.

It is a fact that in America people are going to get shot by accident. Sometimes the gun owner shoots himself sometimes it is somebody else. :shock:

So what do you suggest Jimbo?
 
The reason that body armor makers stopped making titanium trauma plates with thin skin of Kevlar for under uniform vest was because to make the plate more comfortable to wear it was flat against the chest, but angled back towards the top of your sternum.
They found that the hard plate wound indeed spread the blunt force trauma caused by the impact of a bullet, but often times the bullet would ride up the plate if it hit right at the point where the plate angled back and strike you in the throat or jaw. That thin layer of Kevlar was supposed to catch the bullet but it didn't always do this .
For about the last 15 years or so now the trauma plate is just more layers of Kevlar .This doesn't spread the impact out as well as the hard plates did, but the bullets don't ride up them either.

I've taken a hit in the vest from a lowly 38 spl right in the sternum and it Hurts!!!! .That vest saved my life ,but boy I was one sore puppy for almost a month .
Funny thing I didn't even feel it at the time, guess I was too pumped up on adrenaline at the time .
My Partner ask my if I was all right? I said " yea , why shouldn't I be? he said dude you took a round in the chest ,I looked down and there was a bullet hole in my uniform shirt, right square dead C.O.M in that hard trauma plate.
The bullet was down just over my duty belt .I didn't feel a thing, till the next day .
Felt like someone had hit me in the chest with a 10 pound sledge hammer .
All I can say is I got lucky and got to check that box .Bad thing is the shooter got away .
He was a gang banger that ended up in a pine box a few years later .
Not by me but by another gang banger , guess he wasn't wearing a vest .
Lou
 
JImbo's comment looks like the typical Anti-gun spiel of those that would disarm us.
"some people are stupid, so NOBODY should be able to purchase or own a gun without Government approval."
 
Colonialgirl said:
JImbo's comment looks like the typical Anti-gun spiel of those that would disarm us.
"some people are stupid, so NOBODY should be able to purchase or own a gun without Government approval."
AAAAAAAAAAAAH NO, I didn't say or infer that.

What I did mean to say is that in America stupid gun owners are more likely to have an accident with a gun that ends in a fatality. I didn't think anybody could have a problem with that fact of life. :shock:
 
wolfsong said:
What's with the "in America", "Americans", "in this country" qualifiers and references, Jimbo?
In many other countries it is not so easy to own a gun, hence on average, fewer accidental shootings. How could you not figure that out? Should I look up the statistics for you?

So, "The right to keep and bear arms + the right to be stupid = oops, he dead!!" is difficult for some people to understand? I don't get it? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
 

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