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