I seam to recall that armor piercing ammo was part of the dangerous weapons control act.
Can somebody confirm this?
Does that mean that M855 (with steel in it) is not legal in Kali?
Somebody please educate me.
Thanks

M855 is perfectly legal.

It's sold openly in many gunshops and ranges.

I don't know why ordinary folks like it, it's not too accurate (spec'd to 4MOA) and 55gr M193 FMJ will actually be much more accurate - and serve most folks' purposes better than the 62gr M855.

Bill Wiese
San Jose

M855 is not AP, like posted above M193 is a better defense round, fragments quicker and as less FPS.

While it is legal, many outdoor ranges will not let you shoot it, since it's "steel core" and poses a fire hazard.

If AP rifle ammo was banned in California stuff like M33 Ball for the 50BMG would not be available for sale, both the IMI and Barrett M33 ball rounds are steel core M33 spec rounds.

does anyone know if the chinese steel core 7.62x39 is legal to buy here?

AP pistol ammo isIIRC, but as noted just about any regular rifle ammo out penetrates it.

Just because it has a steel core does NOT make it AP

M33 is NOT ap it is a ball round.

M8 is the 50bmg AP round

I'm well aware of the fact that M33 is a ball round and that the mild steel core does not make it armor piercing.

However, the most prevalent ban on AP ammo is on projectiles with a specific percentage of their core made out of hardened material which is capable of being used in a handgun.   This typically applies to handgun ammo but rifle ammo gets caught up in the AP handgun ammo bans when there are readily available handguns chambered for rifle rounds, such as 223Rem, 7.62x39mm AR15 handguns, and various hunting handguns like those in 308Winchester.


The only "AP" ammo ban I am aware of that effects Ca. residents is the Federal ban on AP handgun ammo.   Any Ca. attempts to ban "AP" ammo would likely follow closely to the handgun ban where they try to ban steel core projectiles, the fact that M33 is perfectly acceptable is some indication that they haven't made any attempts to ban steel core ammo.

I own a 50BMG and have bought and loaded M33 spec ammo as well as handloading my own M2 projectiles.   The bullet construction is virtually identical with the exception being overall projectile weight and the hardness of the steel core.

You can bet that if Ca. tried to ban AP ammo they'd draw zero distinction between the M33 ball round and the M2 AP round, steel core would be the qualifier in any legislation they drafted.

weight and hardness of the core is all that is needed, as long as it was designed with that function in mind.

CA does have its own ban and it follows federal law, CA law says handgun ammo that is designed primarliy to penetrate armor or metal.

Nothing against rifle ammo except that it includes handgun ammo that can be used in a rifle.

PC 12320 12321 12323

And congrats on owning and reloading a .50 that adds alot of substance to your argument, but you could have just looked up the law instead of going off on a rant.

was kinda pressed for time, response post was made just before leaving for work and this post is made following my return.


Thx for looking up the PC code, the rant could have been avoided perhaps if I had been a bit more clear in my original post regarding "armor piercing" ammo with regards to handgun ammo or rifle ammo.  It was made in reference to some of the thinking/logic(if you can call it that) as it applies to the AP handgun ammo ban.

Then neither of our response posts would have been neccesary.


The whole armor piercing thing drives me nuts, we here know what "armor piercing" is especially as it relates to rifle rounds.   But the actual laws that govern "armor piercing" are dealing with another issue entirely as it relates to handguns and soft body armor.

And god  forbid some asshat like Kennedy ever manages to get backing with something like S397 and trying to classify anything that can pierce soft body armor as "armor piercing."

we all have our moments, I was just trying to state that a steel core does not make it armor piercing.

the whole m33 vs m8 was just convinent since you brought it up. I too have loaded many m33 rounds for my little guy ;)

I have most of the penal code books so it was a simple matter in looking it up, remains of a former life.

well the good thing is that these asshats cant live forever, right?