Steel Core Ammo?

[Chameleon Loco]

What is it exactly and is it really "armor piercing"? I just got a few boxes of green norinco 93 that has a head stamp of 71 93 and was wondering if it was steel core and if norinco ammo will ever command a premium? Also does any know if this ammo is has similar performance to the M43 round? Does any one know if the ammo is corrosive it is marked non - corrosive but it is from china?

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Study the 1986 Federal LEO Protection Act to get the info about the politics of AP. CA copied that lame NRA sponsored law, which will severely restrict ammo once lead core is banned. Steel core ball ammo is not AP, except by law. AP uses a hardened steel or something like Tungsten Carbide core that has a sharp point. The sharp point tends to dig into steel armor, rather than get deflected. There was some handgun ammo like THV (IIRC) that used a bronze or brass projectile that was specially shaped to defeat Kevlar soft body armor. It had a sharp narrow point on top of a wider cone, to push the strands around it. All steel core ammo will work like AP on Kevlar, as soft body armor is only designed to stop "normal" lead core handgun rounds. Some hot lead core rounds like 7.62x25mm can easily defeat soft body armor if loaded hot enough. Soft body armor relies on the projective to get deformed to defeat it. Steel or other hard cores will keep the projectile intact enough to penetrate.

No M43 AP ammo was ever legally imported into the US for citizen use. AP in intermediate rounds is pretty much a joke. They don't have enough mass or energy to work well. The Chinese steel core ball used a flat point mild steel core, so it was legal to import until 1993/4. Clinton had the ATF change the game by claiming that steel core ball M43 was now handgun ammo, because Olympic Arms in WA made an unreleased OA-93 prototype pistol in 7.62x39mm. They had an ad in Shotgun News, but never made any pistols. The ad was enough for ATF to ban the ammo. Not all Norinco M43 ammo is steel core, but AFAIK all of it is steel jacketed. The copper washed SKS ammo on strippers in tins was steel core & corrosive. They did sell some steel core with green painted cases in commercial boxes. I can't remember if it was corrosive or not. I always assume all non modern US made ammo is corrosive.

It's worth a bit more as a collectors item, but it's a crime to own it in CA since the ATF ruling. It performs a bit better then lead core, but nothing spectacular. If you want steel core M43 ball that is unknown, find some East German stuff in the 10 round blister packs. If you want real AP, you need at least .308 which ATF also calls a handgun round. The .30-06, 8mm or .50 BMG AP stuff is serious power. 8mm AP is very hard to find, mostly FN stuff. Of course .50 BMG is illegal in CA unregistered. The 163 grain Tungsten core .30-06 AP does very well & is easy to find. You can also build a bag gun to use 20mm, 25mm or 30mm AP rounds. Your rate of fire will be low unless you build a "coffee mill" replica.

[Chameleon Loco]

Cool thanks for the information yeah i think i will pull a bullet to check if it is steel core because it was made in 1993 right on the eve of the ban.

[cannon]

Cool thanks for the information yeah i think i will pull a bullet to check if it is steel core because it was made in 1993 right on the eve of the ban.

It will have a soft steel core with blunt nose. In reality it is not AP but when sold on gunbroker it is the most awesome dangerous pre-ban AP ever conceived by man and will piere an Abrams tank.

[ClarenceBoddicker]

I heard this song on the radio once in the late 1980's but didn't get the name of the band or title. I remembered enough of the lyrics to find out who did it when I got online 12+ years ago. The vid is not official, so has some wrong stuff in it. The lyrics are very educational.

If you want to know why the 1986 LEO protection act was passed, watch a few lame anti-gun propaganda movies from the time like Leathal Weapon. The political scare word at the time was "cop killer" bullets. To this date, not one LEO has ever been killed by a steel core or other non lead core "AP" handgun round (not 7.62x39, .223 or .308 "handgun" rounds) that defeated their soft body armor.

Once the US Police State really expands, all guns that have the capability to defeat soft body armor will be heavily restricted or banned for "officer safety". A small price for us lowly un-sworn "citizens" to pay. Will the Fraternal Order of Police pay for "citizens" guns to be bought back? Guns & hypocrisy what a great combination.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

It's worth a bit more as a collectors item, but it's a crime to own it in CA since the ATF ruling.

It is not a crime to own steel core or even AP 7.62x39 ammo in California. The feds define "handgun ammo" differently than California does.