# Can a Cross-Bow (etc.) Penetrate Kevlar Body Armor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2001, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-cross-bow-etc-penetrate-kevlar-body-armor/74566 "2001-08-02T00:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-cross-bow-etc-penetrate-kevlar-body-armor/74566/21 "2001-08-05T06:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > **What kind of body armor does the President wear?** It’s called “secret service agents”. As everybody knows by now, they actually train to interpose their bodies between the President and a potential threat and “catch the bullet”. Body armor is not really very concealable. Police detectives often wear “overvests” that they can put on and remove quickly so they don’t walk around all the time looking like they have something stuffed under their collars. I’d imagine that the POTUS doesn’t wear body armor so as to avoid projecting a lack of confidence. If he does, in fact, wear protective armor, I’d imagine that it’s of pretty limited value since it would have to be thin enough to be unnoticable to others. I’ve seen protective service training films where agents are trained to quickly throw an overvest around their principle if a threat suddenly appears, lending credence to the assumption that most Important Persons don’t wear anything under their clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-cross-bow-etc-penetrate-kevlar-body-armor/74566/22 "2001-08-05T21:34:35Z")
:reads op: Hmmm. :gets up and walks to closet: :takes something out and walks to window: #TWANG# #SCREAM# :returns “thing” to closet: :sits back at PC: [PhilHartman] Yes, it can! [/PhilHartman] ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-cross-bow-etc-penetrate-kevlar-body-armor/74566/23 "2001-08-06T00:52:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sewalk \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > > **What kind of body armor does the President wear?** > > It’s called “secret service agents”. As everybody knows by now, they actually train to interpose their bodies between the President and a potential threat and “catch the bullet”. Body armor is not really very concealable. Police detectives often wear “overvests” that they can put on and remove quickly so they don’t walk around all the time looking like they have something stuffed under their collars. I’d imagine that the POTUS doesn’t wear body armor so as to avoid projecting a lack of confidence. If he does, in fact, wear protective armor, I’d imagine that it’s of pretty limited value since it would have to be thin enough to be unnoticable to others. I’ve seen protective service training films where agents are trained to quickly throw an overvest around their principle if a threat suddenly appears, lending credence to the assumption that most Important Persons don’t wear anything under their clothes. \*\* Maybe “body armor” wasn’t the right term, but I do believe that presidents (at least sometimes) wear some kind of protection. I’m fairly certain that I read an interview with Ronald Reagan in which he said he would occasionally have to wear a bulletproof vest, and how much he disliked it. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-cross-bow-etc-penetrate-kevlar-body-armor/74566/24 "2001-08-06T01:36:35Z")
[This](http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/169587.pdf) ought to answer most questions. Warning: Requires Abode Acrobat[sup]tm[/sup] Reader, and is _big_ (102 pages). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-cross-bow-etc-penetrate-kevlar-body-armor/74566.md?page=1)