ARMOR PIERCING! As in steel core. Been illegal in .308 for a long time. People that were paying attention knew this was coming. Coulda been done by Bush. When did the AR pistol come on the scene?
This is not specific only to steel core ammo (M998 is ball ammo BTW). Read the BATFE definition of AP ammo. Steel core is NOT a requirement.
Armor piercing ammunition
18 U.S.C., § 921(a)(17)(B)
•A projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or
•A full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.
The only exception is based on the US Attorney General exempting rounds used for sporting or specific industrial purposes (BTW the AG is anti-gun). The new EO rule is stating that 5.56mm and any round available in a handgun platform that can penetrate soft body armor is no longer deemed as exempt for sporting purposes.
As you will note, the requirement for armor piercing is that the ammo is larger than .22 caliber and can be made from any number of common alloy casings in whole or in combination. A steel or solid core is NOT a requirement (i.e green tip ammo).
As I stated, using the BATFE definition of AP, this rule change could include all high velocity ammo that is capable of penetrating soft body armor and can be found in a handgun platform. This is basically any high velocity caliber ammo from .223/5.56 to .50 caliber.
The sole purpose of this rule change is to implement two criteria for removing the “sporting purposes” exemption. 1. can penetrate body armor; 2. can be found in a handgun platform. Any rifle ammo that meets these two criteria are eligible for losing the exemption. That is the point of this rule change!