Harden steel or tungsten is used to make AP rounds. It can work 2 ways, either the strong metal like the tungsten is used as a penetrator or a soft metal like copper is used and it encases the tungsten or steel. Not to awful many rifle rounds use it, even in the military, because the "armorer" that it needs to pierce is nothing more than regular metal.

 

I've seen tungsten core IMI 5.56 ammo before. Personally, enjoy shooting tracer 5.56 and see where it goes. What would you really need to shoot that would require AP ammo? I've never seen a coyote or a deer with bullet-proof vest on. :screwy:

 

I've seen tungsten core IMI 5.56 ammo before. Personally, enjoy shooting tracer 5.56 and see where it goes. What would you really need to shoot that would require AP ammo? I've never seen a coyote or a deer with bullet-proof vest on. :screwy:

.223 and 5.56 will generally pass right through most soft body armor anyways

 

Most rifle ammo will overcome most body armor. Ceramic plates are a different story.
Stick with reliable ammo that goes "bang" :righton:

.223 FMJ on 1/4" steel @ 100 yards

 

I hear the term "armor piercing ammunition" quite often on the news or shows like 'best of cop chases and shoot-outs 23'

But I have no idea what it really is. I have a feeling this blanket term is a lot like "assault rifle."

I have a gut feeling that this is often the case.

Like the Bank of America shoot out, for example. Now, while they might've had some actual AP rounds, I highly doubt that their entire ammunition load for all of thier weapons was AP. Just the fact that standard rifle rounds can eat through cars, soft body armor, many forms of barrier materials, etc, will often lead the talking heads of the media to lable all the rounds fired by the BGs as 'armor piercing'. :roll: I've even seen HP pistol ammo sometimes labled as armor piercing by the media and others. :? :screwy: :roll:

The media likes to throw around terms that make great sound bites, but are often incorrect and/or just way the hell off in left field. :roll:

 

I was under the impression that true AP rounds were illegal for civilians to own now.
Can anyone confirm?

if that is the case, any place you see 'AP" rounds for sale - they aren't true AP.

 

I was under the impression that true AP rounds were illegal for civilians to own now.
Can anyone confirm?

if that is the case, any place you see 'AP" rounds for sale - they aren't true AP.

AP pistol or handgun ammo is illegal which includes .223/5.56 and 7.62x39 since there are AK and AR pistols.

I have some black tip .30-06 AP ammo.

And misinformed dealers kill me. Went to a gunshow in Gainesville a few weeks ago and a dealer was saying the 5.56 ammo he had was AP because the tip is painted. Well. It was painted green m855 62gr ball not black M995 ammo.

 

I was under the impression that true AP rounds were illegal for civilians to own now.
Can anyone confirm?

if that is the case, any place you see 'AP" rounds for sale - they aren't true AP.

Depends on the state.

Perfectly legal here in Georgia. Florida... not so.
Although FMJ will penetrate the law refers to steel-core ammunition designed for AP use.

Try some of the "HE" RAFUS rounds too(white tipped). Expensive but are fun to shoot hard targets.

 

Under federal law, I think it's illegal for dealers to sell AP ammo that is made for handguns or fits in handguns, and of course there are "handguns" on the market that chamber both 5.56mm and 7.62 x 39mm.

I didn't think it's illegal for private citizens to keep any armor-piercing ammo (handgun OR rifle ammo) that they already owned, or acquired from a private party sale since then. At least not under Georgia state law or Federal law.

AP handgun ammo doesn't usually have a penetrating core. Instead the entire bullet is either made of an unusually hard material, although sometimes it's just copper. Even pure copper is harder than lead. Sometimes there's a steel jacket over a lead core. Often the bullet shape is key to the round's penetration abilities. Sharply-pointed bullets focus their energy on a small area, and a bullet's pointy tip can spread apart the fibers of soft body armor so it doesn't have to cut and break all of them to get through. Some handgun A.P. bullets have special outside lubrication, too.

There is a federal law that specifically defines what is "armor piercing" handgun ammo. It has to do with what the bullets are made of, not how they perform against soft body armor or metal plates.

The anti-gunners want to replace that definition with a performance standard, to ban any ammo of any caliber that will shove a bullet through a common Kevlar vest, class II or IIA. Naturally that will end up banning a lot of magnum pistol rounds and virtually all centerfire rifle rounds, even if the bullets are traditional soft-points with a lead core and a copper jacket.

 

Most rifle rounds will easily penetrate or cause serious damage to the individual wearing a threat level IIA vest. If you are looking for AP performance in a handgun, consider purchasing an FN 5.7 pistol. Custom load the rounds with ss109 green tip projectiles. They will pass through a vest like an ice pick. 12 Gauge slugs will quickly disable anyone wearing a vest due to blunt force trauma.

Some of the older KTW and arcane rounds did a good job too.

 

As I understand it, 7.62x25 is supposed to be a very potent round against vests as well.

 

As I understand it, 7.62x25 is supposed to be a very potent round against vests as well.

You understand correctly. I'll have to put together a photo thread on this. I took a cz-52, xd-40, 1911, buckmark all out to a range and put them up against dry phone books. '52 won for highest page number

 

I fired a variety of 7.62x25 rounds out of a CZ 52 into body armor several years ago...
all of it didn't penetrate....milsurp penetrated it reliably... commercial rounds did not penetrate every round.

 

Thanks for the information guys. That cured my curiosity.

 

I found this site. While I can't attest to the correctness of the info, it sounds authoratative:

http://nucnews.net/2000/du/98du/981204du.laws.htm

Here's a very interesting and very extensive article about the various types of 7.62 NATO ammo including tip colors and what they mean. Really cool info:

http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infa ... _ammo.html

Back in the day, when I was in the USArmy, we used black-tip AP ammo on the rifle ranges for two reasons. Uncle Sam had a gozillion tons of it left over from WWII and, supposedly, it would do less damage to a person than FMJ should someone accidentally catch a bullet...

Speaking of left over from WWII, I ate outta cans that were packed during the war and it didn't kill me. Actually, some of it was rather tasty.

In preparation for the invasion of the Japanese home islands, and based on anticipated casualties, the War Department ordered sufficient Purple Heart medals. As most people know, we didn't invade.

I know we were handing out medals from that purchase as recently as Desert Storm and may still be doing so! They bought over a million of them in 1944, as that's how many casualties the War Department expected if we invaded Japan.

Think about that number for a while.....

 

Think about that number for a while.....

Especially when officers are ineligible to receive the purple heart.