The Cheap & Easy Way to Make Armor Piercing Ammo Several years ago I suggested to a friend who reloads his own cartridges, to try inserting a tire stud in a .45 ACP hollow point. He tried it and reported back to me he had succeeded. When firing the ammo at steel plate, he told me it penetrated 1/4" steel plate. Tire studs consist of a 1/8" tungsten carbide steel rod, jacketed in a lightweight aluminum casing. Tungsten Carbide is the hardest steel known to man, which gives it the necessary strength to pierce almost anything it hits at high velocity. Tire studs can be purchased in quantity from almost any tire supply company. Myers Tire Supply branches are all over the United States. This is just one example. https://www.myerstiresupply.com/