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Government
Military to transition to Green eco-friendly Bullets
2013-07-26
EPA to outlaw standard, commercial lead bullets in 5, 4, 3, 2........
I dunno, looks like the march of technology to me...
Posted by:Besoeker

#14  Right,

Fight like you train, train like you fight.

So, if they are bad in the field, they are bad on the range.
Posted by: rammer   2013-07-26 23:10  

#13  But that makes no sense, in the practice with what you will use theory, other than just basic mechanics.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2013-07-26 22:48  

#12  Here is a comparison link.

http://dmn.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/M855A1-Enhanced-Performance-Round2.jpg

Most of these rounds will be fired on the range, and keeping lead out of them will avoid a lot of problems. However, in the field, I am not so sure they are a good deal for the solder.
Posted by: rammer   2013-07-26 22:26  

#11  thefirearmblog.com Green ammo strikes again! Makes soldiers sick


The report states that the gas exhausted from the rifles contained high levels of copper and zinc which account for all the symptoms suffered by the riflemen. A few, quite comical, short term solutions have been recommended. These include only shooting outside, slower rate of fire and spacing the shooters out more when at the range!

Hat Tip - thisainthell.us article
Posted by: swksvolFF   2013-07-26 20:29  

#10  Did some quick research.

M855A1 - Enhanced Performance Round. It replaces the M855.

From Guns&Ammo: They juiced the round up so that it will fly at 3,100 fps. This would be a great achievement except for the fact that they did it by increasing the chamber pressure from 55,000 psi to 63,000 psi... I would be remiss if I didnÂ’t mention that the new round cuts barrel life by almost 50 percent.

But no amount of tuning is going to alter the fact that the EPR has a 5.5 MOA accuracy standard. 5.5 MOA? Seriously? The Mk 318 SOST round that the USMC has fielded in Afghanistan is held to a 2 MOA standard, but the latest and greatest round that itÂ’s being replaced by is held to a 5.5 MOA standard?

Additionally, the Mk 318 has better terminal ballistics against soft targets, holds together better through intermediate barriers and costs half what the M855A1 costs. In this era of dramatic cost-cutting, it is absolutely mind-boggling as to why they are insisting on fielding a round so inferior in just about every aspect to one that’s already in theater — and pay twice as much for it! ... fares very poorly against windshield glass and other intermediate barriers. It also does not penetrate SAPI body armor or its equivalent.



You do know the California Assembly passed a resolution to ban lead ammo. J.Brown IIRC only needs to sign it.

Lastly if I read correctly, the slug is copper with a steel core. I hope it is - environmentalists be damned, muhahahaahaha. My grandfather warned me not to use copper nails when building my tree forts. Copper nails kill trees. And yup - a quick www search shows its true.
Posted by: mossomo   2013-07-26 19:18  

#9  A serious point: if replacing lead with [insert material here] means a better and lower-cost bullet (won't weigh less because its mass is an integral part of its stopping power), and along the way it turns out to be eco-friendly, who's to complain? Not me.

That's the way technology works.

But if it's a more expensive bullet that doesn't work as well then it's a problem.
Posted by: Steve White   2013-07-26 16:34  

#8  I recall many discussions about the weight soldiers are carrying, but never a complaint about 'too much ammo'.
Posted by: Procopius2k


Yep, ammo, water, and Class-1 always won out over BATS and HIDES. Strange how that seemed to routinely happen.
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-07-26 15:46  

#7  Use less lead by using lard-filled hollow points.
Posted by: gorb   2013-07-26 14:59  

#6  Depleted Uranium....
Posted by: CrazyFool   2013-07-26 14:35  

#5  Use steel, not lead, the Russians do.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2013-07-26 14:31  

#4  Did I miss the cost per unit part of the post?

I recall many discussions about the weight soldiers are carrying, but never a complaint about 'too much ammo'.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2013-07-26 14:18  

#3  Green yes. Eco-friendly, no.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2013-07-26 13:19  

#2  Can we also transition to green, eco-friendly enemies?
Posted by: Iblis   2013-07-26 12:24  

#1  Hot Damn, a sale on ALL surplus Bullets,(Unless they trash ALL of them)
What a Government waste. (Nevermind, redundant)
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2013-07-26 11:10  

00:00