Thoughts on armor piercing bullets in AR pistols?

[slingshot77]

Thoughts on armor piercing bullets in AR pistols?

18 USC 921(a)(17):
(B) The term “armor piercing ammunition” means—
(i) 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;


I know the M-855 (green tip) are exempt & are OK to use as well as most frangibles are OK to use in an AR pistol but what about some of the new all copper or other all alloy bullets?

This came up today over morning coffee & shooting BS (or BS shooting, I’m never sure which) when I mentioned I was looking at a super deal on pulled all copper .30 cal bullets.

It was then brought up that they might be considered armor piercing so I might not be able to legally use in my 300Blk pistols.

I’m not really worried as all copper look just like FMJ lead core but it would be nice to know the law on this.

Anybody have anything firm on this?

[hunterspirit]

AP is OK in 30/06, but knot .308 / 7.62 x 51. AR10 can be a pistol, as well as a 300 BO, since most are Pistol gas

[10x25mm]

Do yourself a favor and don't load any projectiles which respond to a magnet in any .30 caliber / 7.62mm cartridge with a cartridge case length shorter than 55mm. The bimetal jacket/lead core projectiles are actually legal, but you cannot prove it without sectioning them. The M1158 and M1159 nonmagnetic tungsten core projectiles are so rare that you don't have to worry about acquiring them in a bulk pulled bullet buy.

[slingshot77]

Do yourself a favor and don't load any projectiles which respond to a magnet in any .30 caliber / 7.62mm cartridge with a cartridge case length shorter than 55mm. The bimetal jacket/lead core projectiles are actually legal, but you cannot prove it without sectioning them. The M1158 and M1159 nonmagnetic tungsten core projectiles are so rare that you don't have to worry about acquiring them in a bulk pulled bullet buy.

Good to know, I try to not shoot any magnetic bullets but if I ever do & will section a couple on my band saw & toss them in my kit.

What about the full copper-alloy bullets starting to show up?

[10x25mm]

What about the full copper-alloy bullets starting to show up?

You should be OK with pure copper bullets, but 18 USC 921(a)(17) never defined brass, bronze, or beryllium copper alloys. Some alloys with as much as 97% copper content are colloquially known as brass, bronze, or beryllium copper alloys. This has never been tested in court, but you don't want to be the guy who gets to fund the court test.

[slingshot77]

You should be OK with pure copper bullets, but 18 USC 921(a)(17) never defined brass, bronze, or beryllium copper alloys. Some alloys with as much as 97% copper content are colloquially known as brass, bronze, or beryllium copper alloys. This has never been tested in court, but you don't want to be the guy who gets to fund the court test.

Do you think the standard (available) copper bullets would fall under the definition of-- "a projectile which the Attorney General finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes"?

I know (well read anyhow) that Remington got in jam of some sort a while back with some copper bullet .223 rounds.

[10x25mm]

Do you think the standard (available) copper bullets would fall under the definition of-- "a projectile which the Attorney General finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes"?

I know (well read anyhow) that Remington got in jam of some sort a while back with some copper bullet .223 rounds.

The Attorney General [Secretary of Treasury before 2002] would have to issue a formal opinion stating such, before you use them (not afterwards!).

[slingshot77]

The Attorney General [Secretary of Treasury before 2002] would have to issue a formal opinion stating such, before you use them (not afterwards!).

Thanks, this seems way more complicated than I first thought it would be.


https://www.nraila.org/articles/2012...w-until-dec-31

[Buffman]

If you're not a criminal, AP ammo is legal for you to own or use. There's a PDF on ATF's website that when they were talking about the M855 ban, that "It's perfectly legal for civilians to own AP ammo"

" ATF recognizes that this ammunition is widely available to the public. Because it is legally permissible to possess armor piercing ammunition under current law, withdrawing the exemption will not place individuals in criminal possession of armor piercing ammunition."

https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/docs-0/download

Do yourself a favor and don't load any projectiles which respond to a magnet in any .30 caliber / 7.62mm cartridge with a cartridge case length shorter than 55mm. The bimetal jacket/lead core projectiles are actually legal, but you cannot prove it without sectioning them. The M1158 and M1159 nonmagnetic tungsten core projectiles are so rare that you don't have to worry about acquiring them in a bulk pulled bullet buy.

M1158/59, no one knows anything about. However M993/M995 has been around for awhile, and it's about $20-30 round to purchase.

[pscipio03]

How or why would this ever become an issue? I've ordered tons of military pulled bullets from American Reloading, a lot of which have been 7.62 for my 300 BLK and .308 plinking. In what scenario would this get me in trouble?
Not being a ******** on this, but is the ATF going door-to-door with magnets and checking ammo nowadays? Or is this a SD issue where you're concerned they are going to find out you shot the bad guy with an AP round?