Has anyone used the new M855A1 ammo during contact with the enemy and verified its effectiveness against soft & lightly armored targets?

CPL Bobby McKellar — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 20:35:04 -0400

I used M855 during Desert Shield/Desert Storm and it worked, I am certain the "A1" works well but am curious about its penetration ability vs the older M855/SS109.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2016 10:46 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 22:46:42 -0400

Have shot a little bit of it in the last couple years, but it's been at paper or green ivans.

This guy has a number of videos demonstrating penetration of M855a1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0gxeSpjdSk

M855A1 vs Level III AR500 Armor - YouTube

In this video we put the EPR round up against Level III steel body armor from AR500.com. I can't wait to try this round out some more!

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2016 11:06 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 23:06:01 -0400

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2014/5/21/testing-the-army-s-m855a1-standard-ball-cartridge/

Testing The Army’s M855A1 Standard Ball Cartridge

Spanning a decade-and-a-half, the process of adopting the lead-free 5.56x45 mm NATO M855A1 ball cartridge was hardly transparent. In the end, however, testing indicates that our troops ended up with a better combat round.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 27 at 2016 9:16 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 09:16:23 -0400

No but somehow we used this ammo for training ? Regular M16 qual.

Response by SFC George Smith made Nov 3 at 2016 9:03 PM

SFC George Smith — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 21:03:05 -0400

Used 7.62 X39 Ap and it worked at short ranges, Lightly armored vehicles and Body armor but the 5.56 was only moderately effective
7.62 Nato and 7.62 X54R AP rounds did a number on the same targets...
Cal .30 US AP from an m-1918 BAR, M1919's LMG, M-1 Garand's or a .30 Cal Johnson, Or Lewis LM Gun AFU's the Target...