I'd just started the article when suddently:
The agency said in a statement on Tuesday it would not seek to issue the final guidelines "at this time." The proposal pertained to M855 "green tip" ammunition, used in the AR-15 rifle, which regulators looked at banning because it can pierce police body armor.In addition to M855, every other 5.56 NATO cartridge in existence will go right through normal police body army, which is generally rated Type II or IIIA. Type IIIA armor is only rated for up to .44 magnum which, at its best is over 1000fps slower than 5.56 NATO out of an 8 inch barrel. That extra velocity means that "soft" armor can't stop it. No rifle round is going to be stopped by anything less than a Type III hard plate, which is fully capable of stopping a lot of incoming 5.56 NATO, no matter the composition of the bullet.
In addition, M855 doesn't even meet the current definition under the law to be considered armor piercing, due to its lack of "a jacket comprising 25% or more of the weight of the projectile" and the fact that its core is partly lead (the law requires that the core be comprised wholly of one or more hard metals, such as steel or tungsten)
This little gem near the end showed just how much research the articles author did:
The weapons would still work without the M855s but they would no longer be capable of firing body-armor piercing ammo.M855 is no more or less capable of penetrating body armor than any other 5.56 NATO round. Type IIIA and below is effortlessly penetrated, and Type III and above just laughs at it.
The other thing of note in the article:
The ATF said it would instead wait until Americans have finished commenting on the federal regulations and evaluate their comments and suggestions before "proceeding with any framework."The fight isn't over yet. Keep on emailing those Congresscritters and let them know just what you think.
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