M855 at 500 Y

[WillBrink]

Even at 500Y, no joke on the jello. I know M855 does not have the best rep for accuracy, but seems like if you do your job, have the right set up, it will do its job. I have no experience shooting at those distances so can't comment one way or another:

[markm]

Now that's a gun video I'll actually watch... when I get home though.

[WickedWillis]

I wonder how drastically the performance changes dropping under an 18" barrel. I know M855 is pretty well appreciated on here.

[WillBrink]

I wonder how drastically the performance changes dropping under an 18" barrel. I know M855 is pretty well appreciated on here.

My understanding is the M855 designed to perform well from the M4, vs M193 which was designed to perform best from longer M16A1s per my discussion with Ash Hess. I also posted a vid of the M855 from a 7.5" pistol in the dedicated thread on loads for SBRs/PDWs, and it seemed perform well enough for it's design. So, I suspect performance well under 18" per design and I'm sure sure if there's any performance improvements from 18" barrels.

[1168]

Terminal performance suffers with lost velocity. Hitting an E-type at 500 with M855 isn’t particularly hard, though.

[Delta-3]

He's shooting left handed. How can we possibly take this man's test seriously? (j/k)
Many dismiss the 5.56 as too diminutive for humans. ( I was one of them) Ask around to those that know, the 5.56 (in various bullet configurations) has killed a lot of people. It'll do it's job if you do yours.

[WillBrink]

He's shooting left handed. How can we possibly take this man's test seriously? (j/k)
Many dismiss the 5.56 as too diminutive for humans. ( I was one of them) Ask around to those that know, the 5.56 (in various bullet configurations) has killed a lot of people. It'll do it's job if you do yours.

Talking with someone from NSW the other day and I asked his thoughts on the 6.8 conversion, and he said "everyone I shot with the 5.56 stayed dead."

A deep talk on terminal ballistics and such it was not.

[okie]

The deficiencies of M855 are way overblown, and its benefits are way underappreciated. Most of it boils down to urban legend started by the guy who wrote Black Hawk Down.

The issue with it ice picking is something that affects all FMJ Spitzer type bullets. They have to enter the target at a slight angle in order to tumble, and whether they tumble and to what degree depends on the magnitude of that angle, which just boils down to luck. That said, the more stabilized the bullet in flight, the less yaw, and the greater the likelihood that it's going to enter 90 degrees to the target and either fail to tumble partially or completely.

What testing has shown though is that M855 from a 10" barrel, at least at close range, is as good as any other FMJ. It almost always tumbles in gel from that barrel length and range, suggesting the yaw is adequate under those circumstances. So for our uses, it's actually pretty decent. Where things go off the rails is from a 20" barrel at intermediate ranges, which obviously isn't applicable to 99.9% of us.

The steel penetrator also does give it some pretty good capability in terms of penetrating car doors and other light barriers that other .223 bullets can have issues with. Again, that serves our purposes quite well. It's highly unlikely you would ever need actual AP capability, but on the other hand it's highly likely that an intruder might take cover behind your refrigerator, car in your driveway, etc.

Mainly, though, it's very high quality ammunition that's fully sealed at a very affordable price. Hardly anyone can afford to stockpile Mk262 or Gold Dots, but everyone can afford (or could) to stockpile a few thousand rounds of M855.

[Artos]

M855 was hitting $1ea plus at the height of the last fairly recent panic...seems to be settling around $.50 today.

My last purchase was at $.35 & not sure we'll see those prices again.

[markm]

The deficiencies of M855 are way overblown, and its benefits are way underappreciated. Most of it boils down to urban legend started by the guy who wrote Black Hawk Down.

In fairness, the Author of Blackhawk Down did EXTENSIVE research. So the portrayal of anything in the book was as reported to him.

What testing has shown though is that M855 from a 10" barrel, at least at close range, is as good as any other FMJ. It almost always tumbles in gel from that barrel length and range, suggesting the yaw is adequate under those circumstances. So for our uses, it's actually pretty decent.

Yaw is one thing... but frag and energy dump are another. I loaded a 77 OTM to approximately the speed of sound and it yawed, didn't frag, and penetrated deep enough that I lost the bullet. In other words, yaw itself doesn't translate into much more cavity or energy dump.

The steel penetrator also does give it some pretty good capability in terms of penetrating car doors and other light barriers that other .223 bullets can have issues with. Again, that serves our purposes quite well. It's highly unlikely you would ever need actual AP capability, but on the other hand it's highly likely that an intruder might take cover behind your refrigerator, car in your driveway, etc.

I'd be much more comfy with a Bonded Gold Dot. The penetrator apparently works good in some specific circumstances, but I've never realized it. I shot it in auto glass against a bunch of other non-bonded bullets. None of them were worth a crap.

Mainly, though, it's very high quality ammunition that's fully sealed at a very affordable price. Hardly anyone can afford to stockpile Mk262 or Gold Dots, but everyone can afford (or could) to stockpile a few thousand rounds of M855.

M855 is a rugged round. But Iraqgunz used to get the warning notices electronically on Lake City production issues. And he told me you'd be surprised at how many issues there are with our Mil ordnance. (More American Mediocrity in motion)

I look at M855 like a decent back up stash round. Does nothing particularly well, but ANY reliable rifle ammo is valuable and appreciated.