One other reason for M855 ammo inaccuracy

HoustonBob · April 26, 2017, 03:16 PM

The usual reason that people give for the not very accurate performance of 62 grain armor piercing 5.56 ammo is the difficulty of placing the armor piercing steel pin in the center of the bullet. However I suspect that another major culprit is the fact that the tip of the bullets are dipped in what appear to be green enamel paint. In the cartridges I have examined from both Federal and Winchester that paint job is not very uniform, and that off center weighting probably has something to do with a box of M855 ammo making a 100 yard target look like somebody fired a shot gun at it.

Has anyone tried dipping known accurate ammo bullet tips in paint to see what the paint does to the accuracy?

stangbangr · April 26, 2017, 06:11 PM

Not all M855 is created equal. I've tried Five or Six different brands of it. The IMI is pretty accurate for M855. I can get 1.5" groups at 100 yds with it. The tips on the IMI are unpainted too though ????.

RoughDivider · April 26, 2017, 06:58 PM

For what it's worth it's not actually an AP round.

Mike38 · April 26, 2017, 09:43 PM

The green coloring on the Lake City M855 I have looks more like an ink, or maybe you could call it a stain. Very thin. It also appears to be reasonably evenly coated. I doubt it could throw off the travel of a bullet at all. Also, I believe the small steel insert in the bullet is not really a pin, it's more in the shape of a "coned arrowhead" if that makes any sense. It should be easy to center in the bullet jacket. The reason for inaccuracy? Well I believe 3 MOA is acceptable for the military. LC M855 shots about 2.5-3 MOA in my AK101 (Saiga 223). So if it shoots that well in an AK, it should be even better in an AR.

globemaster3 · April 27, 2017, 08:43 AM

First, it was never intended to be match ammo. I don't recall the actual MOA limit, but I think Mike is close if not on target.

Second, coming from someone who has fired more M855 than most on this forum from M-68 equipped M-4 and M-16A2, I had no problem reliably hitting green Ivans out to 300 meters. All that and I'm no Alvin York....

Bottom line: it does what it's supposed to do.

Chris_B · April 27, 2017, 04:16 PM

Hi.

As mentioned, M855 'green tip' is not armor piercing. It is a "penetrator tip" round which some people interpret as "armor piercing" or "armor penetrating". Some governmental type people and agencies see it that way too. M855 is for penetration at long range, but it's not armor piercing. It's actually ball ammo.

M995 is armor piercing and has a black tip. Black tip is the traditional cue for US AP rounds.

April 26, 2017, 03:16 PM	#1
HoustonBob Member Join Date: March 29, 2017 Posts: 25	One other reason for M855 ammo inaccuracy The usual reason that people give for the not very accurate performance of 62 grain armor piercing 5.56 ammo is the difficulty of placing the armor piercing steel pin in the center of the bullet. However I suspect that another major culprit is the fact that the tip of the bullets are dipped in what appear to be green enamel paint. In the cartridges I have examined from both Federal and Winchester that paint job is not very uniform, and that off center weighting probably has something to do with a box of M855 ammo making a 100 yard target look like somebody fired a shot gun at it. Has anyone tried dipping known accurate ammo bullet tips in paint to see what the paint does to the accuracy?

April 27, 2017, 08:43 AM	#5
globemaster3 Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Posts: 1,482	First, it was never intended to be match ammo. I don't recall the actual MOA limit, but I think Mike is close if not on target. Second, coming from someone who has fired more M855 than most on this forum from M-68 equipped M-4 and M-16A2, I had no problem reliably hitting green Ivans out to 300 meters. All that and I'm no Alvin York.... Bottom line: it does what it's supposed to do. __________________ NRA Life Member "We have enough gun control. What we need is idiot control."

April 26, 2017, 06:11 PM	#2
stangbangr Member Join Date: March 8, 2011 Posts: 92	Not all M855 is created equal. I've tried Five or Six different brands of it. The IMI is pretty accurate for M855. I can get 1.5" groups at 100 yds with it. The tips on the IMI are unpainted too though ????.

April 26, 2017, 06:58 PM	#3
RoughDivider Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2014 Location: Collierville, TN Posts: 152	For what it's worth it's not actually an AP round.

April 26, 2017, 09:43 PM	#4
Mike38 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2009 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 2,710	The green coloring on the Lake City M855 I have looks more like an ink, or maybe you could call it a stain. Very thin. It also appears to be reasonably evenly coated. I doubt it could throw off the travel of a bullet at all. Also, I believe the small steel insert in the bullet is not really a pin, it's more in the shape of a "coned arrowhead" if that makes any sense. It should be easy to center in the bullet jacket. The reason for inaccuracy? Well I believe 3 MOA is acceptable for the military. LC M855 shots about 2.5-3 MOA in my AK101 (Saiga 223). So if it shoots that well in an AK, it should be even better in an AR.

April 27, 2017, 04:16 PM	#6
Chris_B Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2007 Posts: 3,101	Hi. As mentioned, M855 'green tip' is not armor piercing. It is a "penetrator tip" round which some people interpret as "armor piercing" or "armor penetrating". Some governmental type people and agencies see it that way too. M855 is for penetration at long range, but it's not armor piercing. It's actually ball ammo. M995 is armor piercing and has a black tip. Black tip is the traditional cue for US AP rounds.