xm855 ammo

[trigga]

don't know where to post this but have been seeing walmart stock some american eagle xm855 150 pk for 70. I already picked up a pack but was wondering if I could buy in bulk cheaper like a couple hundred round... could not beat wally's price of .46 per round. also bout some xm193 too (120 rds for 60) but prefer the green tips. are they even good?

 

[trigga]

i mean is this stuff good to have set aside for a rainy day? i know the x designates it was rejected but safe to shoot... i have read mixed reviews.

 

[Sol]

For purposes of stockpiling, it should do. I wouldn't expect match grade accuracy but some ammo is better than no ammo.

 

[trigga]

yeah cause all i have is tula and some remanufactured ammo stocked up. running low and to my understanding, it's better than both.

 

[gunnutery]

I thought the "x" stood for experimental, and once it's adopted they drop the "x". Someone fill me in if I'm way off base.

 

[Gordon]

855 is the one to have in SHTF IMHO. Modern ammo like that , stored properly should last at least 40 years. If SHTF is gonna happen it should happen in less than 40 years IMHO. In a good 1-9 or quicker AR it should do less than 2moa all the way out to the effective range of it or you IMHO. Currently I buy at $400 + ship per 1000. $475 PMC boxed locally.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

The X in XM855 does not necessarily mean that is was rejected by military standards, it could also be contract over-runs. The X just means it was loaded with the intention to be sold to the gov as M855 but for some reason it has been released to the public. From what I understand the military is also starting to get away from standard M855 in favor of M855A1 which has no lead but rather a copper core with steel penetrator. They've also been testing/using Mk262 and Mk318. These may attribute to more XM855 being on the shelves lately. I know around here a few Wal Marts have been getting in regular shipments of XM855 1000round cases and marking them at about $440-450 plus tax.

If I were buying it to store it I'd go with the 855 over the 193. For plinking the 193 is just fine. $0.45-0.50 seems to be the going rate these days. If you find it for cheaper it probably won't be in stock for too long.

 

[RainDodger]

In 4 ARs, 1:7, 1:8 and 2 with 1:9 twist, I found the 855 to group a bit tighter than the 193. That's what I found at least. So that's what I tend to collect the most.

 

[trigga]

i've been trying to save my money for a dillon 650 but finally starting to see ammo come back in good quantity, that is a decent amount still left on the counter. I have noticed a lot of the xm855 like at gander, that was about 80% of the 223/556 they had which was consistent with .60 per round in cases of 20/320/420/1000. walmart just had a better deal at .46 and only goes up the more i want... still debating whether i would pick up another two packs of 150...

 

[HoosierQ]

I bought a bunch of XM855 in bulk. It was all just fine. There were little dents (very little) in some of the cases. Never had a bad round of any sort in the whole bunch. A few of them had the green tip paint rather sloppily applied. The defense department must have pretty high standards (and so they should). My xm855 was great stuff.

 

[Magnuumpwr]

Purchased a case of this last week from WalMart. My only complaint was that the clerk treated it like a stack of towels. Took it out of the case and just dropped it on the floor from about a foot up on to the tile covered concrete. Informed him that the ammo is loose packed and that primers could be detonated by other rounds in the box when treated like that. Some people are just oblivious.

 

[Fishbed77]

My understanding is the "X" just means it was not inspected by the government inspector for issue use.

I've shot thousands of rounds of XM855 and it is quality stuff.


.

 

[NCsmitty]

I had a flyer in my email this morning from Aim surplus for XM855 bulk, 1000rds for $409.95.
I just checked because of this thread, and it's sold out already. You can sign up to be notified when it's back in stock. Ya right.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.a...ail&utm_term=0_6870497a6a-3b50950713-18030245


NCsmitty

 

[trigga]

thanks for the link

 

[Shawn Dodson]

I prefer 55gr M193 as it delivers more consistent terminal performance than M855.

M193 also penetrates automotive windshield glass better than M855.

I keep a supply of factory loaded M193/XM193 on hand in the event of a breakdown in civil order, particularly after a hurricane or other natural disaster.

I handload Hornady 55gr FMJ for training ammo.

I also handload Nolser 60gr Partition SP for hunting and other uses.

Those are the three standard loads I use.

 

[amd6547]

I also prefer M193...but I keep some 855, too.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

I posted this before in another forum and it might be useful:

XM855 (the X means it was never accepted by the military and legal to own) can be one of many things. Be careful, esp. buying in bulk and not in factory packaging.

It could be any combination of:
1. MILSPEC M855/SS109 production overruns.
2. Ammo that meets SAAMI civilian specs but falls short of MILSPEC.
3. Entire lots rejected by the military for having too many defects.
4. The crud that gets rejected by the optical inspection/sorting machines: Inconsistent bullet seating depths, bent cases, crushed case mouths, dented, bent, upside down, or even sideways primers--stuff that can damage you gun and possibly you.

Anything in Federal packaging is going to be 1 or 2 or a mix of 1 and 2 and good ammo.
I suspect the massive military orders of M855a1 are causing the recent flood of XM855 (and it is going to be #1).

Mike

 

[Defc0n]

I would have to agree about the new A1 stuff creating an influx of normal 855 on the shelves.

I've seen large amounts of 855 at the local sportsman's warehouse lately. I'm talking 1000 round bulk packs that cover multiple endcaps and other sections of their ammo shelves. They are also reasonably priced at around $450 (for the 1k pack) if memory serves right. They used to have close to nothing when it came to .223/5.56, now its all over.

Still have some XM855 that I purchased a while back in a 1k round bulk pack and it all looked like normal mil issued rounds that I used to get.

 

[amd6547]

Well...I bought one of the Walmart 150rd packs for $69...but I don't consider that "reasonable".
My great regret, is that I did not buy a bunch of the Guatamalan M193 that was on the market a few years ago. I bought a battle pack to test. When I tried to buy more, it was...gone.

 

[Defc0n]

I guess the phrase somewhat reasonably priced would have been more accurate. It's a lot more reasonable than what I was seeing for a while (~$1 a round at a lot of places). Back when I bought my bulk pack I spent about 400 including shipping, so at least they are getting close to that point again.

Also why I decided to get into reloading, cut my costs a little bit more. Already had the brass (several thousand cases of once fired LC head-stamped stuff).

 

[Arizona_Mike]

The pre-Sandy Hook Walmart price for the Federal 420 round cans (and you get a nice 30 cal can, stripper clips, cardboard sleeves, and a mag loader with that) was $175. This went up to $215 and has recently come down to $199. Accordingly, $0.42/rd would be a "good price" for quality XM855 in my opinion.

Mike

 

[Robbins290]

Trigga, i stocked up on that ammo too. Accuracy was pretty good. Buy it cheap, stack it deep

 

[Warp]

Federal XM855 is fine ammo. And the X version is the only one you will ever find on the market from Federal. Same for Federal 193, it will all be XM193. The law makes it that way.

And it's fine ammo. The 193 tends to be more accurate than the 855, and more consistent lot to lot, but whatever, most people won't really notice a difference between the two.

I mostly buy M193 type since it does seem a little more accurate and consistent, but I have 855 as well, and my preferred 855 is Federal XM855 (my preferred 193 is IMI or Federal).