Mk318 vs 5.56 75gr TAP

[regal]

I asked Palmetto if they would be getting any more of the xm223sp1 in, and they said "That was a contract overrun, and we do not expect to be able to stock it again at this time." I'm not sure why they'd still show it on the website as "temporarily out of stock" if they don't expect to have more...maybe they're as hopeful as I am. I bought a small amount of it planning to test it out then buy a good bit more, then found it was sold out.

I have searched quite a bit and I haven't found it available anywhere lately.

Now mk318 is $550/1000. Muzzle velocity from a 14.5" barrel is significantly higher than the fed .223sp1.

Corp lawyers restricting Federal to .223 vs 5.56 loadings for the public is worse than any LOW requirements the military is being "held" to. Soon mk318 will be priced like M885.

I like Doc and his work but xm223sp1 has the right projectile but the wrong powder/case for SD thanks to idiots blowing up their varmit .223 barrels using 5.56 .


If you are LEO or an insider or incredibly rich Doc's thread (advice) makes a lot of sense. Otherwise wait till quality mk318 is $400/100 for your stockpiling and load a few mags with real 5.56 bonded from G&R.

[TehLlama]

I'd still say that if it were a more educated market, the demand would be for a 5.56 pressure 50gr TSX loading, since that would work across the widest gamut of SD applications and still perform well in SBR's. For any of the longer range stuff, TAP T2 and 69gr/77gr SMK loads like the Mk262 or TAP LE 75 start to make sense again.

I have a lot of Mk318 right now, and it should be fine, but I made that decision based on availability and trying to ensure reasonable muzzle velocity out of 14.5" and shorter barrels. I do think the 50gr is the better option, and it still leaves the most affordable 55gr XM193 clone stuff as practice and large stockpile ammunition.

[Altair]

I asked Palmetto if they would be getting any more of the xm223sp1 in, and they said "That was a contract overrun, and we do not expect to be able to stock it again at this time." I'm not sure why they'd still show it on the website as "temporarily out of stock" if they don't expect to have more...maybe they're as hopeful as I am. I bought a small amount of it planning to test it out then buy a good bit more, then found it was sold out.

I have searched quite a bit and I haven't found it available anywhere lately.

That is unfortunate news. I had hoped to pick up a few more thousand in 2012.

[Altair]

Now mk318 is $550/1000. Muzzle velocity from a 14.5" barrel is significantly higher than the fed .223sp1.

Corp lawyers restricting Federal to .223 vs 5.56 loadings for the public is worse than any LOW requirements the military is being "held" to. Soon mk318 will be priced like M885.

I like Doc and his work but xm223sp1 has the right projectile but the wrong powder/case for SD thanks to idiots blowing up their varmit .223 barrels using 5.56 .


If you are LEO or an insider or incredibly rich Doc's thread (advice) makes a lot of sense. Otherwise wait till quality mk318 is $400/100 for your stockpiling and load a few mags with real 5.56 bonded from G&R.

I would prefer the XM223SP1 loaded to 5.56 pressure but you have to remember that expanding projectiles are typically less velocity dependant than fragmenting ones. I'm still getting good expansion from the XM223SP1 from a 7.5" barrel. I don't know the lower threshold for the Mk318 but I don't expect it to frag well from that short a barrel.

You also have to consider that the Mk318 will overpenetrate. There is an accepted minimum and maximum penetration for a reason. While I like Mk318, and if the price comes down it will replace M193 and M855 as my volume stock ammo, it will not replace premium ammo for home defense or patrol work.

[Leatherneck556]

Now mk318 is $550/1000.

Where are you finding those prices at!?

[Altair]

Where are you finding those prices at!?

+1

Palmetto State has them at $399.75/500 ($799.50/1000) and they are usually very competitive with their pricing.

http://www.palmettostatearmory.com/1433.php

[krichbaum]

+1

Palmetto State has them at $399.75/500 ($799.50/1000) and they are usually very competitive with their pricing.

http://www.palmettostatearmory.com/1433.php

That price at $550/1000 was probably referring the BVAC load using MK318 projectiles. I don't know much about it but it's not the same as far as I'm concerned...maybe time and testing will say otherwise though. For now, Palmetto is the cheapest place to buy MK318 I believe (and I bought a bit myself recently).

[kenndapp]

That price at $550/1000 was probably referring the BVAC load using MK318 projectiles. I don't know much about it but it's not the same as far as I'm concerned...maybe time and testing will say otherwise though. For now, Palmetto is the cheapest place to buy MK318 I believe (and I bought a bit myself recently).

in my experience, bvac loads velocity depending fragmenting otm's to .223 pressures and labels them 5.56. this alone has turned me off to bvac. the company they spawned from ( hsm ) does in fact load a hornady 75g otm to true 5.56 pressures. i have a bunch of it. good stuff. i dont think they load a mk 318 clone yet. if they ever do it will be as close as they could get it to the real deal at a fraction of the cost. so...........can any one comment anything more on 75g tap vs mk318 in unobstructed shots?

[Leatherneck556]

That price at $550/1000 was probably referring the BVAC load using MK318 projectiles.

Oh. Never mind then; that doesn't count at all.

[urbankaos04]

So, I see that the bottom line for anyone looking for a decent BB load that will not be prohibitively expensive is to purchase either the .223 SPEER 55 and 64 gr GOLD DOT JSPs, but one is still looking at about $498.60 for 500 rds going by G&R prices, which ain't that cheap either. However, everything else is either too difficult to get, not available to non-LEOs, even more expensive or, damn, all three. (i.e., 5.56mm Federal 62 gr TBBC (XM556FBIT3), 5.56mm Winchester JSP (Q3313/RA556B) and the 5.56mm version of the SPEER Gold Dots). If the preceding is wrong, please correct me.

Question: Do/can individual LEOs get the SPEER loads for discounted prices? And can they get a hold of the 5.56mm SPEER loads?

ETA 1: Wouldn't it be great to see some steel cased, 5.56mm SPEER 55/64gr GOLD DOT JSPs sorta like the Hornady 75gr practice rounds in order to get the cost lower? For example, one can order 500 rounds of the Hornady practice load for $220 before delivery costs (once again, this is using G&R pricing).

ETA 2: Is the small amount of exposed lead on the SPEER rounds a non-issue? I remember DocGKR saying that this was an issue with some rounds that had more exposed lead.