The Gun Counter

So it occurred to me that entry teams (SWAT) often have head and torso body armor, but unless they are wearing the heavy armored visors, they don't have any protection for their face. Would a clear ballistic shield in the shape of an upside-down U, that attached to the handguard rails of a rifle, be of any value? If any of you have seen the game Army of Two, they have a similar concept.

I haven't found much comparable, although THIS is close. All of the other rifle compatible shields are either full shields, or rolling barriers, whereas this would be designed to suppliment existing worn armor, while not restricting mobility.

Thoughts and comments on the usefulness/marketability of such a shield?

I suspect that if you want ballistic protection you're better off attaching it to your body, rather than your weapon. Unless it's a crew served weapon, of course.

Think helmet with a visor. Putting an actual shield on your rifle is just going to make it harder for you to engage targets. And move through confined spaces. Malfunction drills could potentially become very entertaining.

good Shit bro... I need one for my army of two loadout lol


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wooden swords

Jistuason wrote:good Shit bro... I need one for my army of two loadout lol

Beat me to it, heh.

Wow, this is such a zombie thread, I reached for my shotgun when I saw it!

JustinR wrote:Wow, this is such a zombie thread, I reached for my shotgun when I saw it!

Less than a year, it's still fresh!

I've heard of worse ideas.

No, I'm not implying that either is a terrible idea. They all have their merits and trade-offs.

If it could be light enough, would this make more sense for snipers?

BDK wrote:If it could be light enough, would this make more sense for snipers?

They did this, sort of, in WW I. Ze Germans often sandbagged a steel plate with a firing port in a fixed position. The shooter had some ballistic protection and could aim and fire with some level of impunity.

The Brits started pulling their bullets and seating them backwards. This let them punch through the plate and even caused some spall on the back side, adding some liveliness to already being shot at. The constant oscillating development of new ideas and development of ways to counter the new ideas will be forever working against you. The good news is for at least some part, it also works against the other guy.

I think weight considerations take a back seat to camouflaging an obvious plate or shield. If a trained individual can detect and interpret something as small and as simple as the black dot created by a scope's objective or non-matching vegetation, then that plate will likely stand out in ways detrimental to longevity or collecting retirement.

The distances a military sniper operates at also negate the effectiveness of a shield from everything that isn't counter-sniper oriented or indirect fire. Better use can likely be made of terrain, cover, and displacement. Also, Hadji usually isn't making 600-1000 yard shots with his AK, though Syrian shooters seem to be able to fight through the "Inshallah" school of thought when returning fire and actually aim. They bear watching, IMHO.

Lastly, pounds are pain. It is apparently hard enough to get people to wear even SAPI plates they think they don't need. Lugging around a manhole cover on a 3 day lay up that has turned into 7 days.... That shield is going to get buried or drowned somewhere and combat lossed.

The best use would seem to be a fixed support weapon emplacement. Humvee turrets, the Mk 26 Mod whichever soft mount the Navy uses for perimeter defense, things like this. I'll grant that at least the Mk 26 plate could stand some improvements in both area and ballistic protection.

Personally, I'd rather carry something more useful like ammo or water.

BDK wrote:If it could be light enough, would this make more sense for snipers?

It would have to weigh nothing for them to be interested in taking it, and it would also have to blend in perfectly.

Scouting (and patrolling/comm/FAC/JTAC/recon) is just as, if not more important to sniping for a sniper. If they're detected, they're leaving.