I picked up a 1000 rounds of SS109/M855 ammo and on the box it came in it says that it is training ammo only. What is up with that? Is it below military standards or some thing? I called the guy that I got it from and he said it is fine and I should have no problems with it. But I was just wondering is this crap ammo? It looks new and never handled. I wish I noticed this before bought it.

PDm855 ??   It's low on reliability in any case if it says that, so don't trust it with your life.

Thanks for the reply. I should have read the FAQ above about it before posting. I am just using this for the range. I will deffanetly look it over better though. It looks pretty clean from what I can see, but I am gonna look at every round to make sure. Thanks

I haven't had a problem with my XM855PD, but that doesn't mean I would trust my life to it.  Best for range and plinking use.  

Honestly, I wouldnt worry. Here's the deal. When I was in the miltary it worked like this: If ammo was ever sent overseas, leaving the storage area, it was not to be returned. If it was, it was labled "training use only". They did this so in the rare event it was not stored properly.

It's good to go.

Sounds like XM855PD... This ammo isn't perfect, you may find quite a few dented rounds [don't shoot the badly dented ones], you may even find a few more serious issues. Just check each round as you load it in the mag and you'll be good to go paper hunting, here's my process:

#1 Hold the round at arms-length, make sure everything is 'square', eg: make sure the bullet isn't 'bent' [improperly seated] in any direction. Also look for any serious dents in the case.

#2 Look at the case-neck up close, where the bullet meets the brass, make sure the bullet isn't seated too deep, or not deep enough. If you can't see the bullets cannelure, it's seated too deep, don't shoot it if that's the case. If you can see any of the 'smooth' part of the bullet behind the cannelure, then the bullet is under-seated, and don't shoot it in that case, either. [note: If you can barely see the cannelure, that is acceptable.]

#3 Turn the bullet over, and check the case head, check the rim and make sure it isn't bent, check the primer and make sure there's nothing screwy about it, make sure the case head itself isn't deformed in any way.

Once you've done those three steps, if the round passes all of them, load it in the magazine. Toss any rounds that don't pass in a 'reject' pile, then post pictures of those rounds here so you can annoy all the anal-retentives.



Personally, I wouldn't use XM855PD for anything but putting holes in paper... It does that fine, but I wouldn't trust my life on it. It's plinking ammo and always will be,


ANY 'M855' type ammo that comes lose-packed is going to be XM855PD. Normal XM855 will come packed like regular ammo, real M855 will usually come on stripper clips in sealed containers of one type or another. ANY M855 TYPE AMMO THAT IS LOSE PACKED IS XM855PD.

I don't mean to yell, but lots of people get ripped off that way.