Between these .223/5.56 rounds, which would you use?

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Snowdog

Snowdog

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I really didn't want to be that person to ask others which rounds they would use between a very few, but here it goes....

Using a 16" middy with 1:7 barrel, which of the following three rounds would be the most fitting for someone who wants an effective HD cartridge who is also concerning about excessive penetration through building materials such as drywall and 2x4s:

XM195 55gr FMJBT

Hornady 60gr TAP

SSA 77gr OTM (Sierra Match King with cannelure)

I have a decent supply of each, but haven't yet had a chance to use any as I haven't receive my upper from PSA yet.

Also, what is the consensus on PSA overall? Yes, I did some Googling but found conflicting reviews.

I have purchased (and received all but the upper) the following for the use strictly for home defense:


Complete PSA AR-15 Lower - MOE Edition, free Pmag

and

PSA 16'' Hammer Forged Midlength Upper

Just wanting to know that the consensus is, though I do plan to determine that for myself eventually, once all the parts are in.

This will be for my wife to use whenever I'm away from home.
 
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60 gr Hornady TAP rounds without a doubt.

FMJ's are not ideal SD rounds and were not designed as such, and neither were the match kings.


Guess what the TAP rounds' intended uses are?
 
Stick with the rounds specifically loaded for HD/SD. This rounds are made to explode and unload all energy upon impact. But there is no guarantee that they may not penetrate through and through. After all it is a high velocity round. For inside the house I would use the 55 gr TAP instead of the longer 75gr. I do not think they make a 60gr. Reason for the smaller round preference is that it is traveling approximately 475 fps faster than the 75gr which would generate more hydrostatic shock upon impact, reducing the chance of penetrating through a wall and harming a loved one.
 
The 55 and 60gn TAP use VMax bullets and the 75gn uses their HPBT. At HD distance, any of them will be just fine and will upset quickly. .223/5.56 rounds are less likely to over-penetrate than a handgun bullet and deliver significantly more energy to a target. Those are the reasons that pretty much every LE agency has gone away from the SMG to the M4 style weapon.
 
They are all likely to function well, but since you haven't shot it yet, you need to run at least a few mags of each to make sure your gun doesn't choke on any of the options. Once that is established, I would be happy with either the TAP or the SSA, followed by the XM195.

Between the TAP and SSA, when you specify HD, you probably mean inside. I would lean towards the TAP just based on their advertised flash suppressed propellant. Shoot them both in low-light and compare though.
 
Tap for you purpose.

PSA makes good stuff. They had some QC issues a while back, so I would ask them to do a test fire before shipping. They can be very slow shipping, especially lowers, uppers and rifles. Call or email for lead times. I won't buy major components from them until they get thru their growing pains. YMMV
 
Ever hear of the Mk 262 Mod1 cartridge?
Click to expand...

Yes, and it was designed to perform better than the M855 round, which it does. However, it still has to abide by wartime laws whereas the TAP round does not.

While the Mk 262 might be one of the better military rounds, it is far from ideal for a civilian defensive round when civilians aren't required to use rounds as dictated by the Hague Convention of 1899.
 
Also, what is the consensus on PSA overall? Yes, I did some Googling but found conflicting reviews.
Click to expand...

I own two PSA lowers (one is the Aero Precision version, and one is the LW Schneider version), and the quality of both is execellent.

PSA's lower parts are all nicely finished and of good quality. Their standard AR trigger (which comes in the MOE lower you noted) is as good as any standard AR trigger I've encountered. Not particularly light, but quite smooth and crisp. The word is that most of their small parts come from the same suppliers that provide parts for FN Manufacturing (also in Columbia, SC), who is building the current government conrtact of M16 rifles. Many of PSA's barrels are made by FN, and are marked as such.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I originally planned on using XM193 for home defense as I read it would fragment at velocities of 2700 or greater and I liked the idea of using the same round for home defense and plinking.

Then I read that the XM193 could be expected to have a long "neck" in ballistic media before it would yaw and I certainly didn't want something that might only punch .22 holes in a life and death situation, so I continued shopping.

I may have over-corrected and looked into rapidly expanding/fragmenting rounds, namely Hornady Tap. I opted for the heaviest polymer-tipped Tap offered (60gr) and decided I was good to go. Then I read that the round's rated 10" penetration didn't meet FBI 12" penetration minimum.

In frustration, I researched to see that the "experts" recommended for the 5.56 if barrier penetration wasn't required and found much talk of the 75gr and 77gr OTM. I read that the Mk262 Mod 1 was considered the cat's meow and would both provide the 12" FBI minimum, fragment at velocities as low as 2200 and was lousy at barrier penetration (a good thing for my intended use).
I couldn't find Black Hills 77gr SMK but did located the same round loaded by SSA and made a purchase.

Now with all three rounds on hand, I asked myself "what the hell am I doing?".

I think I will stick with the 60gr Tap, assuming it's reliable from my carbine. It may not meet the FBI minimum for penetration, but the magazine holds 30 rounds, so....

Thanks Fishbed for the info on PSA. I did opt for the hammer forged FN "machine gun steel" barrel. I don't know if that's a gimmick or not, but it's what I got.

Thanks again, all.
 
I may have over-corrected and looked into rapidly expanding/fragmenting rounds, namely Hornady Tap. I opted for the heaviest polymer-tipped Tap offered (60gr) and decided I was good to go. Then I read that the round's rated 10" penetration didn't meet FBI 12" penetration minimum.
Click to expand...

The 12" of penetration is more of a handgun requirement. With rifle velocities, 12" of penetration is not as important as it is with handguns.....All of the "it doesn't meet the FBI's minimum of 12" of penetration" is widely overused when it comes to rifle rounds(IMO)

"TAP" stands for Tactical Action Police. It was designed as a police round, and if 12" of penetration was that important, Hornady would have made the round capable of at least that. The fact is, the high velocity wound trauma is caused by the rapid dump of energy, not the extra 2" of penetration.
 
allaroundhunter said:
You link shows the TAP round outperforming the SMK
Click to expand...
I wasn't arguing with you if that is how you read it. Just posting a good source of information specific to the OP's questions.

But if you are referring to the TAP gel shot by the comment you quoted, that is the 75gr OTM TAP bullet, that meets the same target bullet criteria you were criticizing above.
 
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