Posted on 05/11/2011 7:14:14 PM PDT by Redcitizen
ABERDEEN, Md. --- Tell a Soldier he's loading "environmentally friendly" ammo into his M4 mag and he might be skeptical about whether it's as effective as its lead counterpart.
But Army officials here say the new M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round -- with its steel core instead of a toxic lead slug -- is far more effective than the current round, doubling the effective range and for the first time giving M4-wielding Joes the ability to penetrate barriers once reserved for higher-caliber rounds.
"There's a stigma among Soldiers about something that's 'green,' " said Lt. Col. Jeff Woods, the Army's small caliber ammunition product manager. "This is a clear case where making something environmentally friendly works for us."
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
"I can't say that it's more lethal than the M855. That depends on how the round hits a target," Woods said, emphasizing that accuracy is paramount. "But what I can say is that you'll see the same effects every time with this round.
In other words, this round will make the same hole as the regular M855 greentip which was already engineered to penetrate body armor and steel helmets. IMHO they are going for penetration at the expense of "stopping power" on unarmored targets. Personally speaking, I will take penetration though.
This is just an Liberal ploy at gun control from another angle.
“doubling the effective range”
BS.
I agree. Same effective range as any other 5.56 round.
Meet the new M855A1 round. Same as the regular M855/SS109.
Yup, it’s just steel piercing, which is nothing new.
What would someone have to do to double the effective range of a 5.56 round? Heavier bullet, more powerful load, longer barrel? How can they increase range from I think 400-450m to around 800?
Promotional vid from the Army: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAIU5FQA7EM
Trying to squeeze more performance out of what is basically a varmint cartridge.If they want to double the effective range,they should start issuing 7.62x51 caliber weapons.
But it’s “super pointy”
I think Lt. Col. Jeff Woods is FOS
I think they mean to say if they can get a hit out to 800 meters, the new M855A1 round will dig deeper than a standard M855 round. The M16A2s are equipped with 800 meter sights but the rfile are usually used up to 400 meters.
Repeal the laws of physics.
I got the impression he is reading from the official manual. Its a promotional video- he won’t say it’s the same round with a different colored tip.
I think he is trying to say it can penetrate 1/4 steel plate out to 300 yards. all the rest of it sounds barmy.
It cant be as effective as .308 and it cant have the same effect in soft tissue as lead.
Lt Col Woods needs to send each of us a case for evaluation purposes.
It is the only way to settle this matter.
I think something in between using the same cartrige size, like the 6.5 and 6.8mm rounds out there would probably be best. I believe they were working on such a round and some special forces use it. For one thing, it would still use the same M4 receiver and magazine, just change out the upper. No need to retrain troops to a new rifle.
LoL "Doubling the effective range"...LoL.
Why does this smell like BS from a Obama-sucking pentagon-sponsored group? Now, it might not actually “BE” BS, but it smells like BS.
Barrel life “doubled” as well?
(See, if they can “sell” a captive military who must obey their marching orders, then the greenies/enviro’s can come back to the hunting/self-defense groups and say, “See? The military is using steel shot and steel bullets, so we must take your lead bullets and prohibit them as environmentally unsafe !”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.