To compare the ballistic protection characteristics of perforated plates made of different steel materials against 12.7 mm perforating ammunition, the ballistic gun, light curtain velocity measurement system, and high-speed camera were used to study its ballistic performance, and the ballistic protection, perforated plate damage area, core fracture and core deflection characteristics of perforated plates made of different armor steel materials were compared. The results show that the ballistic protection performance of C-2 and H-1 perforated plates is better than that of C-1 and C-3 perforated plates, the protection performance of C-1 and C-3 is equivalent, and the protection coefficient of H-1 can reach or even exceed that of C-2. The hole damage area of an H-1 perforated plate is larger than that of a circular perforated plate, and the number of bullet core fractures is more, but its crack arrest performance is poor. The damage area of a single interconnection hole in perforated plates of different armor steel materials meets the linear relationship, and its linear slope can characterize the degree of hole loss. The damage of a single interconnection hole with hexagonal holes is greater than that of perforated plates with circular holes. At the same time, the projectile deflection angle of perforated plates made of different armor steel materials also conforms to the linear relationship, and the fitting linear slope can measure the degree of core deflection. The higher the hardness of perforated plates with circular holes, the greater the core deflection, while the degree of core deflection of hexagonal holes is greater than that of perforated plates with circular holes.