what is an armor piercing bullet?

[beergood]

is a 7.62 full metal jacket bullet armor piercing? or perhaps a .40 caliber hollow point? or a 30-06? a 30-30? what about the dirty hairy .44 mag round, is that armor piercing?

the media talks a lot about banning armor piercing rounds, but what are they?

[hack89]

1. It is defined in the statute that bans them.

Perhaps you should read it.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

2. According to wiki

Last edited Mon Sep 21, 2015, 08:35 PM - Edit history (1)

An armor-piercing shell must withstand the shock of punching through armor plating. Shells designed for this purpose have a greatly strengthened case with a specially hardened and shaped nose, and a much smaller bursting charge. Some smaller-caliber AP shells have an inert filling, or incendiary charge in place of the HE bursting charge.

ETA: Thanks to oneshooter for pointing out that "shells" are for large caliber arty.

Examples (of rifle rounds) would be the .338 Lapua, .50 BMG and .30-06 Springfield.

A sniper favorite during recent conflicts is the Raufoss Mk 211.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armor-piercing_shot_and_shell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raufoss_Mk_211

Google is always your friend unlike Mr Grenade who is only your friend until the pin is pulled.

[oneshooter]

5. A "shell" is used in large caliber artillery, such as navel rifles.

The standard WW2 AP ammo is .30M2 W/black tip.

WW2 8mm AP (left) and .30 M2 AP (right)


16" Naval rifle ammo.

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/Gun_Data_p2.htm

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

9. This here's a shell

[Travis_0004]

10. That is so cute

If we really want to step it up a notch.

[oneshooter]

3. Google can be usefull.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Do-Armor-Piercing-Bullets-Work-56249.shtml

http://www.itstactical.com/warcom/ammunition/military-ammunition-and-why-green-tip-m855-is-not-armor-piercing/

http://www.pagunblog.com/2007/07/29/armor-piercing-ammo/

All being said I have a half case of 1050's M2 AP in M1Garand clips, and 500rds of black tip AP bullets for reloading.

[Travis_0004]

4. According to the ATF

18 U.S.C., § 921(a)(17)(B)

A projectile or projectile core which may be used in a handgun and which is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; or

A full jacketed projectile larger than .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25 percent of the total weight of the projectile.
The term “armor piercing ammunition” does not include shotgun shot required by Federal or State environmental or game regulations for hunting purposes, a frangible projectile designed for target shooting, a projectile which the Attorney General finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes, or any other projectile or projectile core which the Attorney General finds is intended to be used for industrial purposes, including a charge used in an oil and gas well perforating device.

Of course all armor has a rating. Most bulletproof vest wont stop a rifle round. Light armor designed to stop .223 will not stop a .308. In that sense .308 will go through a lot of armor, but its not armor piercing.

[oneshooter]

7. As will any soft point hunting ammo.

The control folks tried to outlaw the 30-30 Winchester at one time.

Got their hands slapped HARD for it.

[Travis_0004]

8. And M855 green tip

They got the shit slapped out of them when they tried to ban that. The backlash was pretty quick.

[beergood]

14. that's the point i was trying to make

im a fudd gun owner, and all my firearms will pierce armor.

cop killer bullets and all that bs. is just bs. my firearms can pierce a police vest.

im sick of hearing we should ban Armour piercing ammo

[ileus]

6. I don't know about you but body armor isn't really armor.

I consider armor what we put on Tanks and real heavy equipment.

Sure they make ceramic plate body armor but face it...that's not really armor.


The meedia and anti's love to confuse folks in hopes to get a ban of some type to stick.

[sarisataka]

11. It depends on the composition of the bullet

is a 7.62 full metal jacket bullet armor piercing? or perhaps a .40 caliber hollow point? or a 30-06? a 30-30? what about the dirty hairy .44 mag round, is that armor piercing?

all of those are "maybe" except for the hollow point; it is very difficult to design a HP round that is also AP.

To be an armor piercing bullet it needs to have a penetrator at its core made of a hard material such as tungsten, hardened steel or other such material. It is a matter of a design feature that specifically increases the capability of the bullet to penetrate armor.

It is possible to penetrate armor with non-armor piercing bullets. Large caliber rounds can smash through hard substances without being an armor piercing bullet.

[virginia mountainman]

12. More than once...

Gun Control advocates tried to ban any bullet capable of punching through a typical policeman's body armor.... The backlash was overwhelming and immediate...

(the following to help those understand why the tremendous backlash)

Practically any rifle bigger than a .22 is able to cut though typical body armor, in the front, and OUT the back, with ease...It was a not so veiled attempt to practically ban ALL center-fire rifle ammunition as "Armor Piercing"

[pablo_marmol]

13. Correct me if I'm wrong, RKBA-supporting Dems........

........but my somewhat vague recollection is that the 'armor-piercing' talking point came into vogue after the 'cop-killer bullet' jive got smacked down.

Whatever --- they're not statistically relevant w/regard to criminal use, so what's the point?

[jeepnstein]

15. It depends.

About any rifle round can defeat the normal soft armor worn by most police officers in the U.S. My hard armor weighs in at over sixteen pounds and won't flex even a little bit. It's level III and won't stop a rifle round going above 3,000 fps. It's a real bugger to wear. I can't imagine having to get in a foot pursuit wearing my hard vest and a duty belt. Level IV plates are a bit more durable but can be punched through with the right round. It's all about risk versus reward. Since we work in a uniform that must appear neat and professional we can't really go around wearing an external plate carrier on duty. Most patrol officers will wear a level IIIA concealable vest good for most pistol rounds and shotguns. The odds are against facing a rifle threat during regular duty. And the odds are even longer that the suspect armed with a rifle will also have proper AP ammo.

There are some rounds that are specifically designed to defeat hard armor. They generally have a hardened penetrator and travel at a velocity greater than 3,000 fps. Some Elmer Fudd styled hunting rifles can easily blow through a vest without a second thought. Those rifles can also do it at a considerable distance. Bullet design is only part of the equation.

Also, remember that a vest is just that, a vest. You are still vulnerable to a hit to the central nervous system or an extremity. It's always best to avoid getting shot at in the first place if at all possible. I will also admit that I am guilty of working in uniform at times without a vest.

Now if you're talking about shooting AP ammo at a hardened vehicle then that's a whole different level of trouble. Most armored passenger cars can easily take a hit from all but the most exotic AP small arms ammo. The kinds of protection afforded by high level government transport is even more robust. It takes more than a common small arm to take on an armored car.

The media chatter about banning AP ammo is just that, chatter. Most of them don't have a clue about body armor or what happens when a bullet hits it. Banning AP ammo doesn't really make anyone safer. It doesn't mean that officers can just go about their business safe in the knowledge that since AP ammo is illegal it can't possibly wind up in the hands of a criminal.