Bourque Industries trauma plate/armor!

[imaguy3]

So I don't know if any of you saw this last year. John Bourque has a company he's starting up in Tucson and he invented an aluminum alloy he calls "Kryron" which has incredible ballistic properties (among other things). Last year he did a little blurb for the local news where they went at a helmet made with this stuff, weighing only 6lbs (Russian equivalent is almost 15lbs), yet stopping all the AK and AR ammo they could throw at it. I looked then and couldn't find anything on these guys...

So fast forward to this year and they were at the gunshow here in Tucson a cple weeks ago. I got talking to the guys and they're currently awaiting their NIJ cert for the Level IIIA and above plates, but they are currently selling Level II trauma plates. I bought one b/c this stuff truly is impressive (and the price is right!). It is cheaper than the soft trauma plates that Pima Uniforms (for you locals) sells, yet is more effective! When I picked up my plate I asked about the stand alone rifle plates, they are estimating that the price will be about the same as the current ceramics, however this is superior in every way....

They have a dvd (which I have a copy of) which shows some testing a Fl. Sheriff's office did, and also what they did for the military in Utah. If you call them they may send one to your agency for out of towners... Several impressive tests on it... The Sheriff's office took the trauma plate that I have, created a pipe bomb with 6oz of C4, placed it 14" away from the trauma plate, no penetration through the trauma plate. But the most impressive is they placed their "Fatboy" (stand alone plate) behind and against a piece of steel plate. Took a .50BMG from 50feet away, shot through the steel plate and struck the "Fatboy". No penetration of the body armor!

The stand alone plate is the first ever to stop all 6 rounds of 7.62x51 Nato FMJ in NIJ testing. Not only that, but with no spalling that is common with ceramic plates. http://news.yahoo.com/bourque-industries-makes-body-armor-history-exceptional-nij-133025783.html

So anyway when I went to their shop at 5333 E. Drexel (for those local) John himself took me in the back and offered to shoot my Level II soft trauma right next to the one I was buying to show me the difference.... Here you go for viewing pleasure. Now granted this is just the trauma plate with no vest behind it, but the illustration is clear.

1st he took my level II soft trauma plate (from my Second Chance Level II vest, 06 standard). He fshot it with a .40SW from approximately 10'. Check out that deformation, can we say ouch!

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/imaguy3/borque%20plate/softtraumaplate.jpg

Then he setup his trauma plate, from same distance with same round. I highlighted the impact on the clay and the backface area so you could see just where it was.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/imaguy3/borque%20plate/bourqueplate.jpg

So yeah, the it will hurt wayyyyy less! Not only that, but unlike soft armor this is effective on the edge. So you gain an extra half inch of protection on the edges of the plate that the soft plates can't provide! I'm sure if you L/E guys local to me go down there you can get one yourself, or at least get one ordered (they're currently setting up that shop for higher production, still a startup company)

[blueiron]

Interesting. The company website has been "suspended".

http://bourqueindustries.com/cgi-sys/suspendedpage.cgi

[wprebeck]

http://tactical.bourqueindustries.com/

[freeride88]

What's the pricing like? Where can we order?

[imaguy3]

On Facebook Bourque was saying that they were having issues with the host or whatever, but they have a site back up.

I saw them at the gunshow and remembered what I saw on the news. Went and talked with them, found out they were selling the plates for $120 that day. I don't know if that's normal price, gunshow price, or L/E price. You can call them and check though I'm sure. They have a cple numbers listed. (520) 624-5248, (520) 574-4416

They were also handing out a dvd at the show, if you call maybe they'll send one too... When I was there they were in the process of getting the building ready to start producing product. However they don't have the NIJ cert yet, as far as I know... so they can only sell the "level II" plates... But I'm confident that this is stronger than it's rated. You saw the difference b/t the level II soft plate and their "level II" with the .40...

Here's my setup now. I have the bourque plate in front of my old Level IIIA trauma plate, in front of my Level II vest. As you can see the bourque plate is the same thickness as a level IIIA soft plate... In this 6x9 area on my chest I feel quite confident... It's also not restrictive or heavy in any way!

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/imaguy3/borque%20plate/bourqueplate3.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u70/imaguy3/borque%20plate/bourqueplate2.jpg

[imaguy3]

here's an article about the order to the Fl. Sheriff's Department for the testing... http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=49239191

[blueiron]

http://tactical.bourqueindustries.com/

That site isn't working for me either. I must not have clearance for tactical stuff any more.

[imaguy3]

That site isn't working for me either. I must not have clearance for tactical stuff any more.

Guess not b/c it works fine on my computer... however their website leaves a ton to be desired. They are a startup company still, but the material has great promise if they can make it! I'm just glad I have mine :cool:

[Newcop761]

That site isn't working for me either. I must not ha :ve clearance for tactical stuff any more.

http://whoweare.bourqueindustries.com/?r=1#

One last try. Succede or you'll have to turn in your Ovaltine decoder ring!
:tongueout: