Since there seems to be some conflicting data and opinions being spread about M193 jackets lately, I decided to a quick evaluation.
I took one sample from a lot of Wolf Gold (Taiwan), IMI M193, and Federal Lake City XM193.
The bullets were pulled and weighed. All showed signs of tar sealant at the bullet. This was cleaned off with a solvent to keep the bullet mass consistent with copper and lead only.
XM193: 54.7gr
IMI: 54.9gr
Wolf: 55.4gr
Note: The jacket on the Wolf Gold is "rolled" into the base, making it appear thicker. This is just a jacket design different and has no relationship to jacket thickness.
The bullets were measured for length:
XM193: .738"
IMI: .743"
Wolf: .745"
Next, a jig was set up to melt the lead out of the jacket. The copper was heated until it was glowing using a propane torch. A visual inspection was done to ensure all lead was removed.
The jackets were then weighed for total jacket mass:
XM193: 17.4gr
IMI: 17.7gr
Wolf: 16.8gr
Note - that the Wolf Gold had the lightest jacket mass of the bunch.
The jackets where then cut in a cross section just above the cannelure. Visual inspection shows no discernable difference in jacket thickness:
The jackets where then measured in 4 places to determine avg jacket thickness, which was very consistent:
XM193: .0255"
IMI: .024"
Wolf: .023"
Conclusions:
Out of the three samples tested - Wolf Gold (Taiwan) has the lightest jacket, and the thinnest jacket out of all. Federal XM193 had the thickest jacket at the location measured. All of them were very close.
The real testing comes from ballistic gelatin testing, which should be available from another member soon. However, this should serve as a valid data point with regard to the jacket thickness postulations.