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- Oct 17, 2006
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There's a lot of sea stories, war stories, myths & fairy tales about ammunition performance. No exception for the 5.56 x 45 mm round. If you read the Snopes decision it'll not only dismember a body, it'll shoot through buildings. I don't believe that, having burned a lot of it-mostly paid for by employers-but things do change and when I ran across some M855 green tip at a great price I grabbed a box.
I've got a post on here about Hornady Critical Defense and M193. I did the same water filled milk jugs and 4 layers of denim test with the M855 and duplicated the M193 results. 2 shattered jugs and calculated 5.8 inches of penetration. Hummm. The PMC website identified the bullet type as LAP, but didn't explain-either on the site or to an email- what that means.
If I'd have done the online research first, I'd have saved $13. There were several good links, but the best was to an NRA article. It covers a lot, including ammo types that actually are armor piercing. There's a discussion of why the cartridge has little effect on slightly built opponents. ETA: also notes that with 55 and 62 gr bullets, the 1-9 twist is more accurate than the 1- 7. https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/testing-the-army-s-m855a1-standard-ball-cartridge/
Short form: M855 is only a product improved M193. It has the same trajectory and uses the same sight settings as M193 but has only VERY slightly improved penetration capability on chance barriers. It replaced M193 (except possibly for some training) and the green painted tip only shows that it's not M193. After reading all this I expect the LAP acronym might mean "limited additional penetration".
M855A1 replaces M855 and is an other matter entirely. It has a bronze colored tungsten carbide penetrator tip separate from the jacket. It's intended to penetrate current body armor types. A quick check showed some advertised for sale......at about $3 a round plus shipping. I don't really see a personal need for any or for any M995 (black paint tip).
I've got a post on here about Hornady Critical Defense and M193. I did the same water filled milk jugs and 4 layers of denim test with the M855 and duplicated the M193 results. 2 shattered jugs and calculated 5.8 inches of penetration. Hummm. The PMC website identified the bullet type as LAP, but didn't explain-either on the site or to an email- what that means.
If I'd have done the online research first, I'd have saved $13. There were several good links, but the best was to an NRA article. It covers a lot, including ammo types that actually are armor piercing. There's a discussion of why the cartridge has little effect on slightly built opponents. ETA: also notes that with 55 and 62 gr bullets, the 1-9 twist is more accurate than the 1- 7. https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/testing-the-army-s-m855a1-standard-ball-cartridge/
Short form: M855 is only a product improved M193. It has the same trajectory and uses the same sight settings as M193 but has only VERY slightly improved penetration capability on chance barriers. It replaced M193 (except possibly for some training) and the green painted tip only shows that it's not M193. After reading all this I expect the LAP acronym might mean "limited additional penetration".
M855A1 replaces M855 and is an other matter entirely. It has a bronze colored tungsten carbide penetrator tip separate from the jacket. It's intended to penetrate current body armor types. A quick check showed some advertised for sale......at about $3 a round plus shipping. I don't really see a personal need for any or for any M995 (black paint tip).
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