Does anyone know what kind of ammo in 5.56 is particularly adept at penetration through intermediate barriers? I was looking at Federal’s ballistic gel tests and noticed that their bonded ammo was particularly good at mass retention and penetration. Does anyone know of some other ammo from manufacturers that are good penetrators?
I pm’d DocGKR
Perhaps he can provide some insight.
Federal 55 and 62 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. Hornady TAP Barrier. If you handload the Swift Scirroco 75 grain bullet should perform well, the other calibers that this bullet is used in all perfrom well. I’m not aware of anyone that commercially loads these. BH may also load a 60 grain Nosler partition, that would work well also.
Most of the time a barrier means we use a 30 cal round. But in 5.56: 62 gr Federal XM855, 75 gr Hornady TAP Barrier (Red Box LE), or Remington 75 gr Swift Scirroco. That is the short list of what has worked for me.
I have seen firsthand a ballistic gel/simulated car door test of CorBon DPX and can say that the 62 gr. flavor had impressive penetration of the gelatin after punching through the simulated door.
Whip up some handloads with the 60 grain Nosler Partition. That might work well.
Black Hills offers both a new and reman 60gr Nosler Partition. Excellent load.
The best LE .223 loads for intermediate barrier penetration are the 62 gr Federal bonded JSP Tactical (LE223T3) and the similarly performing 55 gr Federal bonded JSP load. The Swift 75 gr Scirocco bonded PT and 60 gr Nosler Partition JSP bullets are also good choices. None of the OTM bullets, even the heavy 75 - 100 gr loads, offer good performance through automobile glass. FWIW, contrary to what many believe, 62 gr M855 FMJ also is not very good against glass. For military use, the M995 AP is the best choice for vehicles and glass.
(Note: We are in the process of testing the .224 Barnes TSX all copper bullets–it looks like they may have good potential; if these preliminary results hold true through the conclusion of testing, then they will also be on the recommended list)