has anyone tried it?

while i like my XM855PD, i don't know what to think about an accuracy intended round (match) being not up to military specs. it says for training use only, but wouldn't it need to be up to military specs and beyond for true training purposes for sniper training.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=233127

Quoted: has anyone tried it? while i like my XM855PD, i don't know what to think about an accuracy intended round (match) being not up to military specs. it says for training use only, but wouldn't it need to be up to military specs and beyond for true training purposes for sniper training. http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=233127

Ok what caliber rifle are you shooing?  You mention xm855 which is a 5.56 round while the XM118LR is a 308 round.  

You're confusing me.

he's interested in reviews of 118lr ala 308.  He is satisfied with the performance of his 855pd.  Therefore, he wants to know about .308... right?

I have used some in my browning A-bolt and have had inch groups.  A couple of misfires, but that could have been light strikes from a hunting rifle on Milspec primers.  Only about 200 rounds however.

sorry, i was just wondering what everybody else thought about it

yes i was refering to the 308. i was wondering if the XM and PD listing of the ammo was like the 556 ammo in that it has dented shells and such or if there was something other than that wrong with it. i have always wanted to try the military m118 in my rifle but the "training use" thing confused me. if you was using m118 for accuracy wouldn't you want it to be %100, same lot number and everything for training. its not like the 556 being used for paper, cans, bottles and other target practice.

i never thought about the primers. thanks for the tip.

Howdy fellow Kentuckian,

M118 in General –
There are actually 2 different “M118” rounds floating around out there. The M118 SB (special ball) is the “original” round that used a 173 grain FMJBT bullet, the M118 LR (long range) is the “new” round that uses a 175 grain Sierra Match King HPBT. The round that you listed is the new M118 LR.

If you want to learn more about the M118 and “Sniping Ammo” you can check:
M118

“Training Only” –  the "XM" and "PD" stamp pretty much says that the ammo is a 2nd or 3rd grade quality reject, but the defects could be cosmetic or there may only be 1 round out of every 20 that has any type of a problem. The "Training Only" stamp is basically an attempt to "down grade" the ammo as a result of quality issues. It seems that most people who have used "XM" and "PD" ammo have had pretty good results with it if they hand sort it and pull out anything that is obviously way out of spec. Of course that does not guarantee that a bad round will not slip through, and you may end up tossing a significant number of rounds.

For more info on the "XM" and "PD" you can check:XM and PD Discussion

Accuracy – Unfortunately my personal experience with M118 is limited to the original M118 SB (I am an “old-timer” when it comes to the military). I have shot it in both bolt guns and autoloaders and the groups typically ran about ½”-1” bigger than my groups that I shot with Federal or Black Hills (yeah we shot non issue ammo, just don’t tell anyone). Since the military days I have strictly shot the Federal and Black Hills Match Ammo.

Should You Buy It? – You might want to pick up a couple of boxes and see how it goes. I am wiling to bet that the new M118 LR is an improvement over the original M118 SB. I think that if you can do a good job of inspecting this ammo and weeding out the "bad stuff" you will be OK, I guess the question is are you confident you can get the bad stuff out and is it really worth the time and effort to do it?

That price is in the ball park for what I normally pay for Federal and Black Hills so I will probably pick up a couple of boxes myself and see what the quality looks like. If I can get some and make it out to the range I will let you know how it went.  

Not sure if I really helped out or not, but good luck, and let us know how it works out.

Thanks,
“Capt Richardson”