Greetings Mr Rawles,
“G.I. Jim” recently opined in follow-up to “A Combat Gear Primer” that while effective in stopping bullets, modern body armor will not protect you from blunt force. While true in a general sense, Jim’s comment that blunt force will incapacitate someone is simply untrue. The documented history is clear on this but two individuals immediately come to mind:
1.) Richard Davis, the founder of Second Chance Body Armor, who routinely had himself shot with a .44 Magnum at contact distance to prove the value of his product. He was never incapacitated in any way.
2.) Fast forward to the recent war in Iraq and the widely-shown video of an American medic shot by an Islamist sniper. The soldier is hit, falls, but instantly gets up with his weapon shouldered and seeks cover. This lucky young man was never out of the fight.
These are but two examples of the fallacy that blunt force trauma from a bullet hit will incapacitate an individual wearing body armor. – WildcatActual