American Eagle 50 BMG XM33C loaded with AP bullets

[.455_Hunter]

Today at my companies research facility we shot 10 rounds of Federal American Eagle XM33C into a berm. .50 BMG has NEVER been fired here before. After shooting, I saw a fresh hardened steel penetrator core laying on top of the disturbed dirt of the berm. What's the story here? A screw up at the Lake City plant? The bullet tips were bare- no black paint. If you are a frequent user of Federal .50 BMG ammo, please comment.

 

[redbullitt]

hmmm I have run pulled .50 bullets through a rotary tumbler with just walnut media. Most were grey tipped API, and pretty quickly the paint would be gone and they would look just like plain old ball.

Other than something like that, I would bet on factory screw up maybe ?