Posted on 03/12/2015 11:39:08 AM PDT by Red Steel
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday raised new concerns about surplus military ammo used in popular AR-15 rifles and pistols just days after pulling back on a proposal to ban the ammo because it could threaten police safety.
In a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, ATF Director B. Todd Jones said all types of the 5.56 military-style ammo used by shooters pose a threat to police as more people buy the AR-15-style pistols.
"Any 5.56 round" is "a challenge for officer safety," he said. Jones asked lawmakers to help in a review of a 1986 bill written to protect police from so-called "cop killer" rounds that largely exempted rifle ammo like the 5.56 because it has been used by target shooters, not criminals.
His agency's move to ban the 5.56 M855 version was condemned by the National Rifle Association and majorities in the House and Senate and as a result was pulled back though not abandoned. At the hearing Jones said that nearly 90,000 comments on the proposal were received, many negative.
As a result, he said that the ATF will suspend rewriting the "framework" used to exempt armor piercing ammo from sale or use. "It probably isn't going to happen any time soon," he said. Jones also said, "We are not going to move forward."
The 5.56 M855 round, he said, is military surplus, typically has a green tip and was used in the M-16. There are several versions of the 5.56. The M855carries a bullet that can penetrate police body armor, though shooters often debate that.
The ATF singled it out for a ban because more AR-15 style pistols that can shoot the ammo are being produced and presumably could be used by criminals in police shootouts. The AR-15 can also shoot the less lethal .223 round, which was not targeted by ATF in the ban proposal.
Police groups, however, said the pistols are not being used against cops.
The NRA and some 52 senators said they also feared that the ATF move was an Obama administration bid for gun control targeted at the AR-15.
only armor piercing ammo is banned
all ammo is armor piercing
all ammo is banned.
“The difference between the two is that a 5.56 mm case can handle higher pressures.”
Nope. It’s the chamber that can handle stronger loads. The 5.56 chamber has a longer throat than the .223. A longer throat means more volume. More volume means the peak pressure in the chamber is reduced.
Right... in a way.... if the firearm is designed for 5.56, it will shoot .223.
If it is designed .223, then it was only designed to withstand pressures of a .223, not a 5.56.
It will still shoot a 5.56. But it is not tested to 5.56 pressure and might fail.
5.56 will shoot 5.56 and .223.
.223 will only shoot 5.56.
Is that what he said? That is knowledge even an average novice has. If the guy is a manager in a gun shop, then his must have above average knowledge.
IF the GOPe had balls...
They would take the ATF and
Ban them.
Shut them down.
Defund them.
Remove their access to all their buildings, changing all the locks.
Unregister thier cars and trucks and reposes them.
Sell all their supplies, including badges, guns, ammo, computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones, typerwriters, papers and even take their red swingline office staplers.
Reassign all thier personnel to other less anti-American agencies..
“If AR style pistols are so dangerous, why aren’t they banned?”
Anyone who has ever shot an AR-style pistol probably wonders the same thing. The muzzle flash and blast are intimidating to say the least.
It is rather more like “beltway disease”.
the idio-crats of the beltway are pissed off and this is a sour grapes statement.
They would probably want to ban assault crime think next...
Wow.
Just... wow.
I think you typoed there.
forgot the “all”
Actually, the problem isn't with the cases, but the chambers that hold the case.
The .223 Remington chambers are usually rated for lower pressures and have tighter neck tolerances. So, firing a 5.56mm round in a chamber meant for .223 could result in a failure due to the case sticking or because it's not up to the task of containing the pressures.
Also, the 5.56mm has a longer headspace (leade) than the .223. This means that the bolt may not fully lock when a 5.56mm is fired in a .223 rifle.
Remember, you can fire a .223 round in a rifle meant for 5.56mm, but you should not fire 5.56mm in a rifle meant for .223.
The Remington bolt-action pistol and the Thompson-Center Contender both chambered rifle cartridges long before the roll-your-own AR pistols became an issue. There were a few other makes and models that I'm forgetting, too... including one that I believe had a rotary breech that looked like a miniaturized piece of field artillery.
Technically, this justification pre-existed the asinine "cop-killer bullet" ATF regulations.
I’m starting to discern a pattern...
Spot on.
Gotta get CWII started so Barry can try to declare martial law and get that president for life thing going. :-)
A lot of pistol ammo will penetrate body armor!!
Body armor is useless if shot in the face.
Let me check my pocket constitution... nope, nothing in it about “officer safety”. Pound sand.
Gun shop owners sometimes say some stupid things from fear of liability. Many years ago I took a girlfriend to a big sporting goods store to get her some ammo for her new Ruger SP-101. I wanted to get her some .357 as well as some .38+P for it. Just wanted a box of each, thank you very much.
But Mr. Gun Counter Manager felt the need to lecture us (me) on the legal liabilities of using .357 due to the potential of it crashing through walls and killing neighbors all around. To the point of acting like he wasn't going to sell us a box of .357. Last time I spent any money at their gun counter.
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