09-12-2011, 12:51 PM
I tend to agree that mass > material in general for most barrier penetration (ceramic/concrete). Then again if you are limited to roughly the same mass, material makes all of the difference, especially when dealing with real-deal armor plate.
168 grain .30-06 lead core is going to perform a LOT better than 62 grain steel core at similar velocities, but 165 grain .30-06 AP is going to perform considerably better than the lead core counterpart. Needless to say, both are important for barrier penetration.
I would be very interested to see a M2-AP style core inside of a 125 grain 6.5 MM bullet and the effect vs. 3/8" AR500 plate, concrete, and ballistic gel. And whatever combination of the above.
168 grain .30-06 lead core is going to perform a LOT better than 62 grain steel core at similar velocities, but 165 grain .30-06 AP is going to perform considerably better than the lead core counterpart. Needless to say, both are important for barrier penetration.
I would be very interested to see a M2-AP style core inside of a 125 grain 6.5 MM bullet and the effect vs. 3/8" AR500 plate, concrete, and ballistic gel. And whatever combination of the above.