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U.L. RATED BALLISTIC BARRIER MATERIALS

There are a wide variety of materials we use for ballistic barriers from polycarbonates, advanced polymer sheets, ballistic fiberglass, specialty steels, aluminum alloys, mild steel in appropriate thicknesses and many more. Some are very expensive and others are quite affordable according to goals. Stopping a handgun bullet is significantly easier to stop than a rifle bullet. We will try to walk you through your options to find materials in your budget to help mitigate any ballistic threats. Even if a material only stops handguns and not rifles, it does absorb a fair amount of the rifle bullets energy making it less lethal. To God be the Glory, lets keep our congregations safe.

LEXAN MR5 ABRASION RESISTANT POLYCARBONATE

While most abrasion resistant polycarbonate is not U.L. rated some is. In these cases the only difference is a vendor or manufacturer of a particular ballistic product sent whatever abrasion resistant polycarbonate chosen for the job in to be certified. The above Lexan MR5 is almost never seen marketed as U.L. rated ballistic material but the above pictured arrived from a bankrupted armor truck manufacturer with a U.L. Level 2 rating in writing from where they paid to have it tested on their dime. We can buy the same product locally form several vendors but without the brand in the first picture and letter what we buy from our polycarbonate supplier is not U.L. rated though its exactly the same. This is 3/8" and have tested up to 45 acp including 9mm and other common rounds. Some high pressure ammunition like 40 S&W, 357 SIG and even a few highly specialized Law Enforcement Only 9mm rounds will barely sneak through a single layer. Notice that it carries a DOT compliance rating for vehicle windows and its ability to stop fast moving objects is why used for race car windshields and armored cars.

CALSAK HYZOID BRAND BULLET RESISTANT RATED POLYCARBONATE LAMINATE

Here are some examples of true bullet rated ballistic sheets. It is three layers of material, two thin hard scratch resistant outer layers and one thick inner layer designed to stop a bullet its rated for. Up side is it has U.L. Rating for ballistic materials and down side is expense. It comes in Ratings from U.L. 1 to U.L. 7 with U.L. 5 being where rifle protection begins. With proper thickness abrasion resistant polycarbonates can do same job while saving a lot of money unless you get a discount on insurance rates for using ballistic rated materials in barriers or required to use it such as in banks or cash teller windows.

U.L. APPROVED BALLISTIC MATERIALS & TESTING

There are all kinds of ballistic sheets available for barriers. Our favorite non ferrous is Dyneema followed by Spectra and then a myriad of different ballistic fiberglass blends. Most (except Dyneema) pretty much have the same threat rating for a given thickness. We can commonly purchase ballistic fiberglass in 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/4" and 1 1/2". 3/8" will generally stop up top 9mm, 1/2" most handguns then we begin to get into rifle threat rated from 1" and thicker. You pay for what you get and get what you pay for. 1/2" is expensive but not considering it will protect your people from most handguns. If your concerned with rifles we suggest 1 1/4" minimum unless using 3/4" and 1" in conjunction with other materials. We often "sandwich" panels using a mix of ballistic fiberglass and abrasion rsistant steel or T6 and T7 aluminum. According to application and goals often a mixture of materials gives outstanding performance and allows us to aadjust threat level to fit an area with less room available than can protect with ballistic fiberglass alone.

BULLETS THAT LOST THE FIGHT AGAINST SOME OF THE ITEMS ON THIS PAGE

First picture above is a piece of UHMWPE which is one of the lightest and most expensive ballistic materials can buy in sheet form. Sticking out of it is Federal HST 45 acp hollowpoint fired from ten feet and 25% of the bullet is still sticking out of the face it was stopped so quuicly with minimal backface signature whis we will discuss later. We will be posting more photographs and information on ballistic materials to show how easy some are to impliment. Will also list vendors other than our company as in past have really only worked locally and not equipped to work much outside of the North Georgia area unless its providing items that can be shipped such as pulpits. We will give any advice we can and many of these materials can be installed by most handi-men or contrators. Have even seen church members install bsllistic fiberglass on church work days. Check back regularly for additional an updated files.