Hamburg Police having issues with their new AR15s and ammunition
In November last year we reported that the Police in Hamburg (Germany) were getting Haenel CR223s (AR15) in 5,56 NATO as a response to the increased threat levels.
You can find the background in this TFB article.
The first rifles from the manufacturer Haenel (Suhl, Germany) were delivered as loaners in 2016, in order to train the Police and show them at the press conference.
In June, during training, the Police encountered more and more problems. The issues are the feeding and ejection of the ammunition, and the problems have intensified. The firearms have now been taken out of service.
Below: The semi-automatic CR223. (Photo by C.G. Haenel)
According to the manufacturer Haenel, the ammunition used by the Police does not correspond with what was specified in the tender.
My understanding is that the ammunition specified was a FMJ bullet, and the Police are now using a hollow point instead.
I think the reason why the Police want to use a hollow point is to avoid collateral damage, if a 5,56 NATO takes a detour where it shouldn’t.
Haenel have sent experts to Hamburg to investigate the problems and possibly modify the firearms.
The target is to get the firearms “back in business” as soon as possible.
Unfortunately there is no mentioning of the brands and types of ammunition used, which could have given some more clues.
For Defense and Police I have seen some strange hollow points, which possibly could cause some problems. Please share your experience below.
For more information on the Haenel CR223 check here: http://www.cg-haenel.de/defence-en/products/semi-automatic/cr-223/
The Police in Saxony (Germany) have chosen the same rifle, it would be interesting to see if they have the same issues? See previous article TFB here.
Source to the original article (German): https://sek-einsatz.de/polizei-themen/polizei-intern/sturmgewehre-ladehemmungen-wegen-falscher-munition/20119
Ex-Arctic Ranger. Competitive practical shooter and hunter with a European focus. Always ready to increase my collection of modern semi-automatics, optics, thermals and suppressors. TCCC Certified. Occasionaly seen in a 6x6 Bug Out Vehicle, always with a big smile.
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A properly made AR15 will feed any crap ammo you care to feed it. However, it may not eject said crap ammo's spent cases properly. But any military grade fmj (XM193 or M855) or commercially made match or hunting ammo ought to function just fine in an AR. I've fired all kinds of different bullet shapes and weights through my ARs with nary a hiccup. The one thing I avoid is lacquered steel case ammo, as I've seen too many stuck cases in other folks ARs running that stuff. Without more details, it is hard to figure out what actually happened here - a badly assembled AR, or crappy ammo. But bullet shape shouldn't affect it at all.
Germans made them..not the fault of US Manufacturers.