ballistic panel behind 2nd row of seats (1 Viewer)

[SL404]

Hello, unfortunately, I now live in a city where random gun violence seems to be the norm (Atlanta). I also have young children in car seats. I want to create a ballistic panel that I can attach to the back of the 2nd row of seats to prevent a bullet entering the rear of the vehicle from striking the occupants. The footprint would be roughly the same footprint as the backs of the seats.

Any advice on how to do this would be appreciated

 

[FLWookie]

I sent you a DM.

 

[TheForger]

1. What is the max caliber you are trying to stop?
2. Do you care about weight?
3. How much money are you willing to spend?

Bullet resistance takes into account the size, velocity, and special features (ie. FMJ, armor piercing, incendiary, etc...) of the round. I manufacture custom steel doors & frames and when we do a ballistic one we typically use 14ga stainless or galvanneal steel, then we put 12ga lead or steel plate behind the faces of the header & jambs (the trim that you see when looking straight on at the door opening). In the end these frames can be anywhere from 3/16" to 1/4" thick or more because the thicknesses can be increased or decreased to accommodate client specs. Doors are a similar fashion but also have a core material. Big difference between trying to stop a 9mm vs. 7.62x58. Keep in mind these get extremely heavy. Ceramic & polyethylene are kind of the new thing but are much more expensive and often single-round-use

 

[Exiled]

Being originally from Caracas, I'm very surprised by your request. How bad are things in Atlanta??? Any opportunity to relocate instead? Just curious, saw many up-armored 80 series (no 100s in Venezuela) back home and to do it right, you will lose a LOT of interior space/usability. An errant (or aimed) bullet will penetrate all windows and -depending on distance- all doors in a 100 so if you really want to protect the kiddos, you probably need to extend beyond a ballistic panel. Just my $0.02.

I will ask my friend/former business partner for you, he makes a living armoring vehicles in Caracas and he's done a LOT of Land Cruisers (primarily 70/80/200).

 

[Manhattan]

How bad are things in Atlanta???

Not bad. They're worse than before but NOTHING like Caracas. Most large cities in the U.S. have seen an increase in violent crime in the past two years. But, Atlanta's not even in the top 20 in the U.S.

Buckhead - a neighborhood ironically known for its high incomes, property values and Rodeo Drive level shopping - has seen an increase in violent crime in the past year or so, mostly around Lenox and Phipps shopping malls.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I would be looking up moving companies and realtors, not half-measure protections from stray bullets.

If you did go the route of protective panels, I'd just do a clear sheet of 1" polycarbonate. Seems that would stop enough to check this box.

 

[Tanner H]

As crazy as it sounds, a 6 year old died in my area due to road rage...another car fired a shot into the back of the other car. went through the trunk, into the kids car seat. pains me just writing this bull s***.

 

[FLWookie]

I would be looking up moving companies and realtors, not half-measure protections from stray bullets.

If you did go the route of protective panels, I'd just do a clear sheet of 1" polycarbonate. Seems that would stop enough to check this box.

1" poly will spall when impacted with NIJ Level IIIA threats. It needs to be a laminate in order to provide in plane shear energy dissipation. Poly is also soft. We typically use two layers of 3/8" acrylic backed with a 1/8" poly to act as a catcher mitt.

As i Stated in my DM to you, NIJ Level IIIA is the most realistic and available solution to you. Going up to Level III will provide .30 caliber lead core rifle protection (M80 Ball) but is twice as heavy, for any material system, which in armor equates to 2-3 times as expensive.

 

[bencallaway]

Edited to not be a jerk… What part of Atlanta are you in?

Are you equally concerned about trees falling on your car while driving? Tornados? Objects in the road being kicked up by cars in front of you? Al Qaeda?

More than random shootings nation wide, kids in Atlanta die from parents forgetting they are in the back seat and leaving them in a hot car after they pick them up from day care.

 

[FlammableFishie]

From what I understand, most of these shootings are happening at the mall or bars in the wee hours. It's not like they're random shootings... People start beef and get shot over stupid things. You're more likely to get in a serious wreck than get shot if you mind your own business.

 

[Manhattan]

Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and more effective to wrap the carseat in a bulletproof vest? That's not intended to be a dumb idea. Well, other than it's part of a dumb thread.

 

[bamabrock]

whether you agree with his premise or not, give the guy tech advice on the topic or move to the next thread.

 

[utflowerman]

Huh. A guy wants to protect his child and we treat him like trash… Outstanding community members on here.

Regardless of whether or not we think his concerns are valid…they are his concerns. And, if any of us lost a child due to a random act of violence, I’m sure we would question if we did everything we could have to prevent it.

 

[informationjunky]

Shootings on metro Atlanta roadways this year have killed 15, injured others

Add freeway shootings to the dangers Atlanta drivers and passenger face, as a growing number of people have been shot on busy Atlanta interstates and roadways this year.

www.ajc.com

35 reported shootings so far.

 

[Mchodl]

Police Ford Explorers are fitted with a pretty thin sheet of metal in the rear of the driver seat backrest fabric and sheets of metal in the door panels. You could get some steel sheet and form it to fit on the back of the rear seats and get some more cut to mount inside the doors and trunk. Not sure about the windows but perhaps some kind of laminate. Never broken a police car window to check that part out.

Steel Armor Plate | Steel Plate Armor | Bulldog Direct Protective Systems

We provide a verity of SteeL Armor Plate AR 500, MIL-A-46100, MIL-A-12560 Class 1 and 2, MIL-A-46177 Bulldog Commercial Steel Armor Plate is a high hard commercial ballistic steel .

www.bulldogdirect.com

 

[white_lx]

Have you looked at lightweight synthetic super-fiber (spectra/dyneema/kevlar)? It looks like you can buy woven sheets online in the USA. It could be fitted inside the back of the seats and possibly removed and re-used if you ever sell the vehicle.

Here are is a good video of what a properly fitted (model 70) Landcruiser can survive (steel balls at 14m10s):

 

[bencallaway]

I think outfitting the kids in bulletproof vests makes the most sense. Also probably a good idea to arm the kids. Something like a Ruger LC9 would fit a car-seat-aged child's hand pretty well.

 

[Manhattan]

Huh. A guy wants to protect his child and we treat him like trash… Outstanding community members on here.

Regardless of whether or not we think his concerns are valid…they are his concerns. And, if any of us lost a child due to a random act of violence, I’m sure we would question if we did everything we could have to prevent it.

Nope. The stats don't support the inane original post. Worse, it inaccurately paints Atlanta (my home) in a bad light. Despite a recent surge in shootings, Atlanta still isn't remotely close to being on the most violent/deadly list. He and his family are more likely to be struck by a tree, another car... a deer... than a bullet while driving in Atlanta.

Also, the vest around the car seat would offer more protection for the kid(s) than one panel behind one seat.

 

[bamabrock]

Nope. The stats don't support the inane original post. Worse, it inaccurately paints Atlanta (my home) in a bad light. Despite a recent surge in shootings, Atlanta still isn't remotely close to being on the most violent/deadly list. He and his family are more likely to be struck by a tree, another car... a deer... than a bullet while driving in Atlanta.

Also, the vest around the car seat would offer more protection for the kid(s) than one panel behind one seat.

‘Covid Crime Wave’ Weighed Heavily on Atlanta Mayor (Published 2021)

Keisha Lance Bottoms, who announced she would not run for re-election, faced criticism for her city’s sharp increase in violence.

www.nytimes.com

"In Atlanta, crime has continued raging into 2021. In the first 18 weeks of the year, police statistics show homicides up 57 percent, rapes up 55 percent, aggravated assaults up 36 percent and auto thefts up 31 percent compared with the same period last year."



if the guy wants to be concerned, he has his reason. If you have not substantive information to provide his thread, troll elsewhere. This isn't that type of forum.

 

[kwon-offroad]

I live in Atlanta, and have been here for 36 years. 23 of those have been inside the city, between downtown and midtown and surrounding area. Crime is up, yes. But they are also up in the burbs and across the country. Most of it has been micro focused in specific areas and for ‘common denominator’ causes. And the random shootings aren’t really random but have been found to be aggravated (i.e. road rage, etc.). I personally think this is overreaction, but I won’t ever tell a parent how to raise/protect their children.

I don’t know where you live specifically but have any of these recent events occurred very close to you or your vicinity?