Roberts G: “The Wounding Effects of 5.56mm/.223 Law Enforcement General Purpose Shoulder Fired Carbines Compared With 12 ga. Shotguns and Pistol Caliber Weapons using 10% Ordnance Gelatin as a Tissue Simulant”. Wound Ballistics Review. 3 (4):16-28, 1998
“The majority of the 5.56mm/.223 bullets which were fired through the interior wall exhibited minimal changes in terminal performance compared with bare gelatin (see .223 JHP/JSP wound profiles). However, three 5.56mm/.223 loads exhibited significant differences in terminal performance between shots fired into bare gelatin versus shots first penetrating an interior wall (see interior wall wound profiles). The Winchester 55 gr M193 style FMJ (X223R1) exhibited minimal fragmentation and deformation after first passing through an interior wall. Strangely, the Winchester 62 gr M855 FMJ (RA556M855) “green tip” had exactly the opposite performance when first hitting an interior wall; it exhibited significant early fragmentation, with only the steel core tip penetrating beyond 19 cm/7.5”. The Winchester 69 gr JHP (S223M) had very early breakup after striking an interior wall, with only a few small fragments penetrating beyond 19 cm. Since all of the 5.56mm/.223 bullets fired through the interior wall had significantly less penetration than 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and 12 ga. shotgun projectiles which were fired through an interior wall, stray 5.56mm/.223 bullets seem to offer a reduced risk of injuring innocent bystanders and an inherent reduced risk of civil litigation in situations where bullets miss their intended target and enter or exit structures. 5.56mm/.223 caliber weapons may be safer to use in CQB situations and in crowded urban environments than 9mm, .40 S&W, or 12 ga. weapons.”
All shots below fired through AR15 16" 1/7 at 10 feet.
Load, Lot#, Vel f/s, Pen”, Max TC (cm), RD”, RL”, RW gr, % Frag
Into Bare Gel:
Fed 55 gr JSP Tactical LE223T , 290115V090, 2854, 16.8, 8.5, 0.46, 0.31, 53.7, 2.4%
Win 55 gr FMJ X223R1, 24EEC, 2886, 14.3, 11.5, 0.21, 0.77, 45.7, 17.0%
Win 62 gr FMJ RA556M855, 12FF22, 2927, 14.7, 11.5, 0.33, 0.62, 42.6, 31.3%
Black Hills/Horn 75 gr OTM, 120103121, 2580, 13.3, 14.0, 0.47, 0.28, 41.9, 44.1%
Hornady 75 gr TAP OTM 80265, 12258978801, 2564, 13.3, 12.0, 0.46, 0.42, 39.0, 48.0%
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Shots through wall replicas of standard construction interior walls, fabricated using two pieces of 1/2” thick dry wall cut in 12” x 24” segments, mounted four inches apart using 2 x 4” fir studs and 1.5” dry wall screws, placed 10 cm/4” in front of the edge of the gelatin blocks:
Fed 55 gr JSP Tactical LE223T, 290115V090, 2905, 14.4, 8.5, 0.41, 0.36, 48.5, 11.8%,
Win 55 gr FMJ X223R1, 24EEC, 2898, 16.1, 11.5, 0.22, 0.50, 46.5, 15.5%
Win 62 gr FMJ RA556M855, 12FF22, 2962, 11.5, 10.0, 0.20, 0.36, 13.4, 78.4%
Black Hills/Horn 75 gr OTM, 120103121, 2595, 13.0, 14.0, 0.44, 0.37, 46.2, 38.4%
Hornady 75 gr TAP BT 80265, 12258978801, 2564, 12.2, 12.0, 0.42, 0.40, 39.6, 47.2%