Testing 9×39 SP6 AP Ammo Against Body Armor

Today I have a chance to test out a couple rounds of SP6 armor-piercing 9x39mm ammo, using an ex-Russian AS Val rifle. First I’ll try an MNIJ Level 3A soft vest, which is rated for pistol rounds. Second, I will move up to a VPAM6 hard plate. That’s a European standard certified for 7.62x39mm ball (roughly on part with NIJ Level 3).

The round sails through the soft armor, of course. But on the hard plate, it fails – even when I managed to hit right next to a previous round’s impact, which would have been it’s best opportunity to get through.

Of course, this is not really surprising; this is the performance intended from 9x39mm subsonic AP, and I’m not the first person to demonstrate it. But I wasn’t going to turn does the chance to do it myself!