I was sitting here bored several nights ago (heck, it may have been a week ago) and I got the idea that I would survey the LEO's here on arf.com in the LEO forum. I also went to a couple of other websites and tracked down past threads that also discussed what loads LEO's carried in their .223 weapons. The results were a bit surprising.

Out of 40 people who responded (either in my thread or in other threads) only 15 used a duty load that would meet FBI standards, and a few of those were probably marginal. Only 1 person used the 70+ grain match bullets. And one person actually admitted to carrying Wolf! Yes, Wolf!

I suppose the trend toward using lighter bullets is fear of overpenetration (although most of us know many .223 loads are less likely to do so than the majority of the handgun rounds these same LE personnel carry daily).

Again, I elected not to mention any names or agencies as that was not my goal. I was just interested in seeing what our nation's LEO's were carrying. Here's the breakdown by numbers and loads:

(1)Federal 55 gr FMJ
(2) Federal 55 gr XM193 FMJ
(2) Hornady 60 gr TAP
(3) Hornady 55 gr TAP
(3) Federal Tactical 55 gr JSP
(2) Winchester Q3131A 55 gr FMJ
(4) Federal 55 gr BTHP
(1) Black Hills 55 gr SP
(2) Federal 69 gr OTM
(4) Winchester 55 gr SP
(4) Federal 55 gr SP
(1) Black Hills 60 gr SP
(1) Winchester 62 gr M855
(1) Federal 40 gr HP
(2) Federal Tactical 62 gr JSP
(1) Winchester 64 gr Powerpoint
(1) Black Hills 77 gr OTM
(1) Winchester 45 gr HP
(1) Remington 55 gr SP
(1) Wolf 55 gr FMJ (this one shocked me...lol)
(1) Federal 55 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip
(1) PMC 55 gr FMJ

Well, there you have it. I wished that I could have gathered more responses but 40 was all I could locate. I was surprised that not one person/agency out of the 40 used the excellent 75 gr OTM from Hornady and Black Hills. Especially considering it's excellent performance. I hope this was interesting (or at least worth the trouble of reading).

-Charging Handle

Maybe they didn't want to use the heavier bullets just for that reason. If they shoot someone their is always some kind of inquiry. I would assume if they ever were sued in court the opposing attorney would bring up the great terminal performance of the heavier bullets. It might not have anything to do with it but it might answer your question.

More often than not, law enforcement agencies have a little input into round selection, but the be all end all determining factor is usually price.  

I purchase my own, and use the Black Hills 68 grain HP.

Charginghandle,

There is much truth to the Admin geeks polluting the process.

The other problem is the environment.

Thanks to ignorance the rifle and carbine are seen as over penetrating and leaving the department and municipality open to liabilitys.

However,notice that FMJ's are still counted upon.
Notice that there have been few instances of secondary targets getting hit.

Here's the problem.
The OTM,FMJ,and plastic tipped stuff is HORRIBLE when it comes to vehicles and barricades.

FMJ,sp's and the heavy OTM stuff will spall on windshield,and doors of cars.

Even the most explosive handgun stuff often penetrates better.

LE and the Military both have different mission roles and restrictions than the Civillian.


Another new round is slowly bleeding into the market.

Hornady 60gr "Tap barrier".

It is specialized,and not for the big city apartment raids.

It will however do what even M855 ball fails to do on vehicles,and the terminal effects are not too bad.

It's a balance thing.

There is no one round that does it all.

Play the odds and pick the load for the most probable mission role.

Keep safe!
S-28

Win 55Gn JSP

100% sucess rate in a few shootings in the couple years since we started using it.

I would prefer something heavier, like the 64Gn PP or 75Gn OTM, but the 55Gn has worked just fine and is unlikely to be replasced soon.