M855 Ammo question
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1,595 Posts
It's the worst stuff you can shoot, if you have any send it to me so I can depose of it for you. Your lucky if you can get 1 moa out of it.
Joking aside it is probably one of the best rounds to have if SHTF. The M855 is manufactured by Lake City arsenal for the military. NATO designated SS109. If it has a cross stamped on the bottom it means that it passed all military test. It has 19-grain steel penetrating tip but is not armor piercing.
Joking aside it is probably one of the best rounds to have if SHTF. The M855 is manufactured by Lake City arsenal for the military. NATO designated SS109. If it has a cross stamped on the bottom it means that it passed all military test. It has 19-grain steel penetrating tip but is not armor piercing.
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21,643 Posts
M855 is not really surplus it is the standard round for m4 5.56 62 gr often called green tip may or may not be painted. The stuff marked LC for Lake city is considered as good as it gets and weather sold on the open market to the US Army the same round. However be careful some times LC sells factory seconds. Ones that did not make QC. they sell it openly and honest however some buy it clean it up and resell it.
If it looks dirty oily ect back away or buy it dirt cheap.
The 62gr round shoots much better int the AR/m4 16 inch 1 in 7 than the light 55 gr that the m193 has. The 193 55 gr did outstanding in a 20 inch 1 in 12
Do not let the bluing around the neck bother you LC does not polish the brass it is normal. It can be sold under many brand this is a can from Federal you will see LC in the number for Lake City.
US military no longer sells surplus ammo.
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Just a side note of facts NATO Ball (U.S.: M855) can penetrate up to 3 mm (about 1⁄8 in) of steel at 600 meters.[20] According to Nammo, a Norwegian ammunition producer, the M995 can penetrate up to 12 mm (nearly 1⁄2 in) of RHA steel at 100 meters.[21]
If it looks dirty oily ect back away or buy it dirt cheap.
The 62gr round shoots much better int the AR/m4 16 inch 1 in 7 than the light 55 gr that the m193 has. The 193 55 gr did outstanding in a 20 inch 1 in 12
Do not let the bluing around the neck bother you LC does not polish the brass it is normal. It can be sold under many brand this is a can from Federal you will see LC in the number for Lake City.
US military no longer sells surplus ammo.
Just a side note of facts NATO Ball (U.S.: M855) can penetrate up to 3 mm (about 1⁄8 in) of steel at 600 meters.[20] According to Nammo, a Norwegian ammunition producer, the M995 can penetrate up to 12 mm (nearly 1⁄2 in) of RHA steel at 100 meters.[21]
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Many people who buy M193 (55 gr) or M855 (62 gr) think that it is military surplus, but most is not and is made for the civilian market. The Lake City plant is run by private companies to maintain and also use the plant for their own production, Such as the Federal and American Eagle brand. I know Olin-Winchester ran it at one time but I don't know if they have the contract now.
BAE Systems and Olin Corp.'s Winchester Ammunition Division have announced that they have formed a joint venture to pursue the U.S. Army's contract to manage, operate and maintain the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.
The new company, called U.S. Munitions, will submit a proposal for the contract, which has a potential value in excess of $2 billion in sales over 10 years.
The Company said that U.S. Munitions combines the capabilities of BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, a subsidiary of BAE Systems, Inc., and Winchester Ammunition, a division of Olin Corp. U.S. Munitions provides experience in facilities management and ammunition manufacturing for the U.S. military.
BAE Systems and Olin Corp.'s Winchester Ammunition Division have announced that they have formed a joint venture to pursue the U.S. Army's contract to manage, operate and maintain the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.
The new company, called U.S. Munitions, will submit a proposal for the contract, which has a potential value in excess of $2 billion in sales over 10 years.
The Company said that U.S. Munitions combines the capabilities of BAE Systems Ordnance Systems, a subsidiary of BAE Systems, Inc., and Winchester Ammunition, a division of Olin Corp. U.S. Munitions provides experience in facilities management and ammunition manufacturing for the U.S. military.
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8,068 Posts
Until the recent spike in prices, I was buying 1000 round loose pack boxes of the Lake City M855 and was always plenty happy with them. (For now, I refuse to spend $1 per round for 5.56 so I have not bought any in a while.) The only thing is, the brass is a pain to reload. The military requires them to crimp the primers when they are seated. Removing the crimp was always one of my least favorite exercises.
However, I did figure out a solution a couple months ago... I chucked up a 60 degree countersink bit in my drill press. I rotated the drill press table out of the way and spun the bit at about 300 RPMs. Then I just hold the primer pocket up to the spinning countersink for 2-3 seconds. It is just enough to cut off the remaining crimp without damaging the primer pocket. I do throw them back into the cleaning tumbler for 20-30 minutes afterwards just to make sure I get all of the brass filings out. Using that method, it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare 100 casings (plus cleaning time), as opposed to about an hour or hour and a half doing it with the hand reamer that came with my reloading set.
However, I did figure out a solution a couple months ago... I chucked up a 60 degree countersink bit in my drill press. I rotated the drill press table out of the way and spun the bit at about 300 RPMs. Then I just hold the primer pocket up to the spinning countersink for 2-3 seconds. It is just enough to cut off the remaining crimp without damaging the primer pocket. I do throw them back into the cleaning tumbler for 20-30 minutes afterwards just to make sure I get all of the brass filings out. Using that method, it only takes about 10 minutes to prepare 100 casings (plus cleaning time), as opposed to about an hour or hour and a half doing it with the hand reamer that came with my reloading set.
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938 Posts
It is pretty good ammo. I picked some up for around $8 a box and it shoots 2 MOA consistently. It is designed to be effective against barriers (windshields, car doors).
I also shoot the 64 grain XM856 tactical tracer rounds. That is also good ammo. That runs me about $9 a box.
I see you decided to go ahead and buy it. You won't be disappointed.
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Tracers are fun at night, but I have started one to many fires with them. But when they show up at a low cost I have no problem picking up a can.
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I read in a SHTF fiction book how they used tracers to ignite car gas tanks, not sure if it works but sounds reasonable.
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Tracer rounds will definitely start fires, as the Army shows us out in Utah once in awhile when they're doing machine gun training....
Most gun ranges ban them for that reason. I shoot them on private land, and they are really cool around dusk. The 64 grain bullets work well in 1 in 7" twist barrels, but your rifle barrel has to be made to handle tracers (hard chrome lined or melonite coated) because the tracer chemical is harsh on metals. All my 5.56 carbines can handle tracer rounds.
In a SHTF situation they may come in handy. The problem with tracers is they work both ways - you see where the rounds are going, and if you are shooting at something that can shoot back, they can see where the rounds are coming from....
Still, useful in the right situations.
I learned a technique from an old Army dog man (scout/sniper) - he used to load five tracer rounds in a mag first, then regular ammo. That way he would be able to see when he was running low on rounds and could get a new mag ready.
He also said that you need to "shoot and scoot" if you use them.... Otherwise, use regular ammo.
Most gun ranges ban them for that reason. I shoot them on private land, and they are really cool around dusk. The 64 grain bullets work well in 1 in 7" twist barrels, but your rifle barrel has to be made to handle tracers (hard chrome lined or melonite coated) because the tracer chemical is harsh on metals. All my 5.56 carbines can handle tracer rounds.
In a SHTF situation they may come in handy. The problem with tracers is they work both ways - you see where the rounds are going, and if you are shooting at something that can shoot back, they can see where the rounds are coming from....
Still, useful in the right situations.
I learned a technique from an old Army dog man (scout/sniper) - he used to load five tracer rounds in a mag first, then regular ammo. That way he would be able to see when he was running low on rounds and could get a new mag ready.
He also said that you need to "shoot and scoot" if you use them.... Otherwise, use regular ammo.
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