The key limiting factor in the 4e rule set is:
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Originally Posted by 4e Player's Manual, p. 82
PENETRATION LIMIT: If the base damage rating of the weapon is 2 steps lower than the modified armor level or more, the attack is fully deflected, no matter how many [reticle] or [bullet] were rolled for the attack.
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(Emphasis is Free League's. The same rule also appears on p. 73 in the context of infantry combat.)
This has the reasonable effect of minimizing "golden BB" hits, as well as overcoming some of the improbable penetration results that, for instance,
Twilight: 2013's rules yielded before errata. However, it also negates the potential for multiple rapid-succession hits in the same spot to "peck" through armor.
Thus, in this game engine, a 30mm AC firing AP ammo (Damage 6, no armor penetration modifier) will never get a frontal kill on a T-72 (Front Armor 9), even if an expert gunner firing at max rate generates 7 total successes. While this may not align well with current real-world evidence, we need to bear in mind that any game engine is a simplified mathematical model of reality. Individual correspondents will differ on the degree of simplification they're able or willing to accept before their suspension of disbelief is rudely violated...
- C.