So I picked up some 50gr frangible jacketed 5.56 ammo on sale yesterday and was wondering how this ammo would serve for hunting/sd (primarily hunting). Now, I know that frangible ammo was designed to break apart upon hitting a hard target, but would probably act just like a FMJ on a soft target (ie flesh). I've read online that it would be horrible ammo for flesh because it would not do what it is designed to (which even if it did, that's a massive energy dump), but I got to thinking that the projectile is longer than your standard FMJ round, which should enhance the tumbling factor and the amount of damage that the round would cause right? It seems that no matter how you look at ammo, it can never truly be predicted because of so many factors. Anyways, just wondering y'alls opinion.

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Isaiah 43:1-3

Frangible ammo is designed as a self defense round. It is designed not to over penetrate or exit it's intended target.

EDIT: I thought that I had deleted this comment as it was not a complete comment and I did not have time to finish it. I'm not sure why it did not get deleted, but it didn't. Again, it was incomplete and needed deleted. Since it has been quoted now, I'll leave it up and hope the members understand that it is an incomplete comment.

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SDMF

Not necessarily.

There are two types of "frangible" ammo.

MagSafe, Glaser, DRT, G2 Research R.I.P. etc are considered SD "frangible" ammo.

Then there is the training type "frangible" using bullets that are composed of non-toxic powdered metals like zinc, copper, tin etc that is sintered together with an inert polymer binder. This type of ammo is designed to disintegrate upon striking something harder than itself. THIS type of frangible ammo should NOT be used for SD because of their light weight bullets can cause malfunctions and the bullets can even break off at the case neck if they strike the barrel or frame's feed ramp just right. In addition such bullets act like a solid/FMJ in soft tissue.

Wow, I'm glad that that comment deleted like it was supposed to. Read that line with a little sarcasm...I wanted to delete it as it was an incomplete answer and I didn't have time to finish it.

Gotta love modern technology not working correctly...

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SDMF

Actually, the original intent of 5.56mm frangible ammunition in military applications was for training use. I was in charge of frangible ammunition development for the USAF for a number of years, and the requirement was for lead-free ammunition (both primer and bullet). The idea of frangibility was to eliminate ricochet hazards, and the requirement was for complete bullet breakup at an incident angle of 5 degrees on gravel, concrete, or steel. The USAF bullet had a core of a plastic-powdered copper composite with a gilding metal jacket. Keep in mind that most USAF ranges are 25 meters and indoor, with only a few exceptions. Another characteristic was that the extreme range had to be significantly less than that of the M193 or M855 rounds, because some USAF outdoor ranges had encroachment issues.

Which goes back to my original question.. Since the bullet is now essentially a longer than standard FMJ, wouldn't that create more of a tumbling effect causing more soft tissue damage?

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Isaiah 43:1-3

We're confusing two different types of ammo here.

Magsafe and Glaser are prefragmented which is different than frangible ammo.

Frangible ammo is designed to disintegrate when it hits an object harder than the ammo itself. Prefragmented ammo is designed to break apart in several pieces instead of disintegrating.

First I would question using a 22 caliber bullet for hunting anything other than varmints. Frangible ammo is usually not recommended for big game but okay for varmints.

Second, both frangible and prefragmented ammo normally do not penetrate well.

I personally would not rely on either for hunting or self defense. I would use it at the range and choose the appropriate ammo for hunting and self defense.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Just dropping coyotes with the AR

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Isaiah 43:1-3