Precision Shooter's Magazine

Every year US Armorment LLC participates in an ATK (read Federal) ballistics shoot for police officers. This year we actually cataloged the results. In the image below you will see the first column on the left which is bullets just fired into ballistic gel. The second and third columns are bullets shot through windshield glass and gel at a 45 degree angle, 15 degree cant. The object of the exercise is to see which bullet have the best expansion and weight and jacket retention through vehicle windshields and overall. It was no contest. Even the venerable Federal HydroShok failed to retain jacket and weight compared to the HST rounds. This is not a fluke. Overall performance mimicked last years results with the HST having the most consistent characteristics. Check everything labeled “HST” in the image. JG

This new SOST round from ATK/Federal Cartridge and was engineered for the USMC as a supplemental/replacement round to M855 green tip with more desirable terminal characteristics. Designated as MK318 MOD-0 the round was designed as a barrier defeating round with superior penetration and better ballistic stability when shooting through glass, car doors and other barriers where other rounds simply bounce off. It was engineered after the Marine Corp identified issues with the M855 round. MK318 utilizes a 62 grain open tip boattail match bullet with a lead core and reverse copper jacket creating the open tip. We shot some this past weekend and from our match 16″ barrel we got under 1 MOA off a bench @100 yards. Supplied from the factory in 500 round cases with white boxes Part# T556TNB1.  Be wary of some of the stuff you see on the web.  There is already some reject surplus stuff popping up in ammo cans at cheap prices.  You get what you pay for and ammo is the last place you want to buy junk.  We found it here… http://usarmorment.com/federal-mk318-mod0-556-62-grain-sost-500-round-case-p-1701.html. TM

As the debates goe on about Lake City ammunition, I’ve heard everything from XM193, XM118 are reloads to they’re rejects, basically anything with an X in the number is a bad thing. That’s what the arm chair experts say anyway even though they look the same, weigh the same and have the same LC/Nato head stamps. I decided to settle the debate, at least in my head, by contacting Lake City to get the real info. The person that returned my call turned out to be the production manager for all things 5.56 from the ATK brand including Lake City and Federal. Here is what I was told. In order to distinguish retail brand packaging from military supply they decided that anything that was Federal retail boxed they would add an X to the prefix. That’s it. Federal or Lake City label, it’s made on the same assembly line, using the same components and built to the same military specs. The only ammunition that is questionable would be “PD” labeled which is ammunition that for whatever reason is not up to military spec. This does not mean it is bad, only that it does not meet total quality fitness. This could be as simple as passing the submersion test or appearance defects. These issues, for the most part, would in no way effect a civilian shooter. Of course feel free to debate this in your favorite forum. DJ