M1A test with ab 22 patrone weichkern ammo

[NavyVet1959]

A year or so ago, I picked up a Springfield M1A and the guy tossed in a plastic "battle pack" of ammo with it. It kind of got shoved to the back of the gun safe and I never got around to firing it. Well, today I took it out and fired a couple of shots while I was over at my BIL's ranch with his son.

This is brass cased ammo and the projectile is shiny silver colored. The son had some AR500 plates out at various distances, so I started with the one at 25 yards since I had tried hitting it with a scope on a .22 rifle that I also had and could not hit it even though the aim was dead on with the iron sights.

Imagine my surprise when the AR500 plate was significantly dented and the face was deeply cratered. I believe that the plate was at least 3/8" thick. So, we brought out the chrony and it clocked at 2746 fps. Supposedly, this is a 147 gr bullet. I only shot the one shot at the AR500 plate. I suspect that one more shot in that crater would have gone through.

[osteodoc08]

Don't those have a minimum impact distance for the bigger calibers?

[NavyVet1959]

Don't those have a minimum impact distance for the bigger calibers?

I think the minimum impact distance is to protect the shooter from ricochets. The target is more concerned with the speed that the bullet is striking it, regardless of how far the bullet had to travel.

[frankenfab]

It's not richochets, it's spawl. The jacket turns inside out and squirts back towards the shooter.

[Scharfschuetze]

"Weichkern" in the title of the ammo translates literally to "soft core." I assume that means it is either soft steel cored or lead cored. If that's the case, it's not armor piercing ammo if that is a concern to you.

Your velocity reading is about right, if slightly high for US M80 ball. German ball is usually pretty accurate and pretty close to M80 ballistics given the NATO requirements for ammo within the alliance. All the German ball ammo that I've shot had lead core projectiles. No matter what the core material, I wouldn't shoot a high power rifle round at such short range at steel for the reason in the above post.

[Hickok]

I have some German ammo like that, mine has MEN on case rim, and the NATO stamp. Nice shiny, silver bullet. Looks like it would rip a werewolf to pieces, or the hay wagon he is riding in!:grin:

Mine came in the green 200rd battlepack. Pretty accurate in my rifles.

[NavyVet1959]

"Weichkern" in the title of the ammo translates literally to "soft core." I assume that means it is either soft steel cored or lead cored. If that's the case, it's not armor piercing ammo if that is a concern to you.

Your velocity reading is about right, if slightly high for US M80 ball. German ball is usually pretty accurate and pretty close to M80 ballistics given the NATO requirements for ammo within the alliance. All the German ball ammo that I've shot had lead core projectiles. No matter what the core material, I wouldn't shoot a high power rifle round at such short range at steel for the reason in the above post.

From what I've read, it supposedly fragments pretty well in tissue.

The jacket is supposedly a cupro-nickel alloy, so pretty corrosion resistant.