AlDente67 563 Posted June 14, 2015 Was browsing around looking for a case lot of 5.56 and noticed a few vendors describing some rounds as magnetic or non. Never noticed this before. What is the significance? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T Bill 649 Posted June 14, 2015 Heads use ferrous metals for core. They attract magnets. Increase risk for sparks on the range and possibly starting a fire. Also, density makes them tough on the backstop at the range. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
njJoniGuy 2,131 Posted June 14, 2015 Steel penetrator SS109-tipped rounds (M855 type) are tough on AR500 plates. Ask me how I know ... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oakridgefirearms 224 Posted June 15, 2015 A lot of people describe ammo as being magnetic or non magnetic, but as Bill said, what they are trying to say is the the ammo either attracts a magnet or it doesn't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlDente67 563 Posted June 15, 2015 Damn. I was hoping I could improve my aim against robots. A near miss would be attracted to the bot and swerve to hit it. Oh well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
weekend_junkie 129 Posted June 17, 2015 Heads use ferrous metals for core. They attract magnets. Increase risk for sparks on the range and possibly starting a fire. Also, density makes them tough on the backstop at the range.Is it really the density or that steel has significantly higher tensile strength and thus are more like to penetrate? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
302w 83 Posted June 20, 2015 Is it really the density or that steel has significantly higher tensile strength and thus are more like to penetrate? The steel is actually less dense. Very few things are more dense than lead, and the only one I know of off the top of my head is tungsten. Anyway, I would suspect that it is the hardness of the steel penetrator that beats up backstops. Lead is obviously very soft, and I've read that M855 uses a very hard steel alloy. Steel commie stuff uses a very mild alloy. Also, most Eastern Bloc ammo uses bimetal jackets that attract a magnet. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darrenf 422 Posted June 21, 2015 Depleted Uranium is 68% denser than lead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ADK1113 1 Posted June 22, 2015 Depleted Uranium is 68% denser than lead.So's my ex.girlfriend Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mipafox 438 Posted June 24, 2015 Anyway, I would suspect that it is the hardness of the steel penetrator that beats up backstops. Lead is obviously very soft, and I've read that M855 uses a very hard steel alloy. Steel commie stuff uses a very mild alloy. You have indeed heard that and possibly also even read it stated authoritatively in published descriptions of M855. But it is BS. The steel insert in M855 is mild steel (with a flat tip) and always has been. M193 (all lead bullet except jacket/misc.) penetrates common objects more than M855 out to at least 200 yards, including penetrating more steel. I actual did little fun test a couple months ago and the difference in penetration of steel was like night and day. It's not a small one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites