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Posted: 12/20/2011 10:09:15 PM EDT
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I have no clue what ammunition this came from so it is possible another company loaded these, but its also possible that LC is trying out different crimping styles.
Ignore the two casings on the right because this photo serves two purposes because I'm lazy. 
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Quoted:
It looks like it would be less labor intensive than the current crimping method that they've been using for decades. I haven't run into any LC crimped like that yet, but that sure is Lake City! Wasn't old HPX ammo crimped in a similar manner? I think so, it reminds me of the ATI crimp and is similar to the crimp that a lot of European companies use, but I thought the current LC crimp was the latest and greatest way. 
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| It is a four prong stake and replaces the old circle crimp. This was originally done during M855A1 production due to the higher pressures and dropped primers. The staking fixed the problem. It seems lake city has moved this technology across all 5.56mm cartridges. My guess is so they can use the same process for all 5.56mm rounds rather than tracking multiple parts through the factory. |
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Quoted:
It is a four prong stake and replaces the old circle crimp. This was originally done during M855A1 production due to the higher pressures and dropped primers. The staking fixed the problem. It seems lake city has moved this technology across all 5.56mm cartridges. My guess is so they can use the same process for all 5.56mm rounds rather than tracking multiple parts through the factory. Seems like you are correct 
"TheBomber" Posted this in the M855A1 thread... 
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| I'd think that the difference here is simply use of a different crimp punch on the priming line. Since this is a completely mechanized step, with one stroke of the punch to do either the full or staked crimp, I don't see it as being "less labor intensive" at all. But would a 4-prong punch be less expensive to make and maintain than a simpler circular punch? |
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