New DS Arms 5.56 M193 Spec Ammunition

DS Arms, best known for their FAL platform firearms, is bringing new M193 spec 5.56 ammunition to market.  Manufactured in India by their Military Ordnance Factories, the new ammunition has quite a bit of international flavor to its components. Per DS Arms:

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Featured Deals of the Week – 2/28/20

Hey, folks welcome back to another Featured Deals of the Week. One of these days Grammarly is going to stop assuming that “another Featured Deals” should be “another Featured Deal” or “other Featured deals”, but it is not this day. Without any further ado, let’s make our wallets cry.

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Featured Deals of the Week – 4/26/19

Hey all, welcome to another Featured Deals of the Week. As always, please let me know in the comments if you want to see more or less of any type of product in the deals.

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Shot Stop Stops Shots: Duritium lvl III+ composite body armor plate test

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BIG Freakin' Cartridge Test 012: RUAG SS109 (M855 Equivalent) 5.56mm NATO, 16 and 20 Barrels

Next up for  the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is RUAG Ammotec’s version of the NATO-standard SS109 round (equivalent to US M855). I believe the ammunition I tested may have been made in RUAG’s facility in Thun, Switzerland, although I have not confirmed that.

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BIG Freakin' Cartridge Test 011: RUAG SS109 (M855 Equivalent) 5.56mm NATO, 14.5 Barrel, and Accuracy

Next up for  the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is RUAG Ammotec’s version of the NATO-standard SS109 round (equivalent to US M855). I believe the ammunition I tested may have been made in RUAG’s facility in Thun, Switzerland, although I have not confirmed that. The test procedure was as follows:

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BIG Freakin' Cartridge Test 008: PMC M855 5.56x45mm 62gr LAP, 16 and 20 Barrels

Next up for  the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is Korean manufacturer PMC’s clone of M855, called X-TAC M855 LAP. This ammunition features very uniform-looking external dimensions, attractively finished brass cases and projectile jackets, and a reasonable price. I formerly used M855 as a stockpiling round, although I have since switched to other rounds like Federal’s T556TNB1.

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BIG Freakin' Cartridge Test 007: PMC M855 5.56x45mm 62gr LAP, 14.5 Barrel, and Accuracy

Next up for  the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is Korean manufacturer PMC’s clone of M855, called X-TAC M855 LAP. This ammunition features very uniform-looking external dimensions, attractively finished brass cases and projectile jackets, and a reasonable price. I formerly used M855 as a stockpiling round, although I have since switched to other rounds like Federal’s T556TNB1. The test procedure was as follows:

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BIG Freakin' Cartridge Test 006: PMC XP193 5.56x45mm 55gr FMJ, 16 and 20 Barrels

Next up for  the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is Korean manufacturer PMC’s clone of M193 Ball, called XP193. This ammunition features very uniform-looking external dimensions, attractively finished brass cases and projectile jackets, and a reasonable price. Interestingly, XP193 appears to use a lower drag 55gr bullet, possibly based on the Sierra 55gr, instead of the somewhat draggier Remington-style projectiles used by Federal, IMI, and others for their M193 clones. I like to use XP193 when I need full-power ammunition without spending too much.  Continuing on from the last installment, we are now looking at the velocity test results for the 20″ barrel (more on the 16″ later).

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BIG Freakin' Cartridge Test 005: PMC XP193 5.56x45mm 55gr FMJ, 14.5 Barrel, and Accuracy

Next up for  the Big Freakin’ Cartridge Test is Korean manufacturer PMC’s clone of M193 Ball, called XP193. This ammunition features very uniform-looking external dimensions, attractively finished brass cases and projectile jackets, and a reasonable price. Interestingly, XP193 appears to use a lower drag 55gr bullet, possibly based on the Sierra 55gr, instead of the somewhat draggier Remington-style projectiles used by Federal, IMI, and others for their M193 clones. I like to use XP193 when I need full-power ammunition without spending too much. The test procedure was as follows:

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Lake City Steel Cased M193 – Economy Ammo for the US Army in 1967

During the height of the Vietnam War, the famed US Lake City Army Ammunition Plant made steel-cased 5.56mm M193 ammunition for the US Army, as part of an effort to conserve valuable copper. This ammunition did not make it past the testing phase, as the project was abandoned in 1970, but it remains an interesting might-have-been today.

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AR-15 Lover Converted to the Kult of Kalashnikov!? The Wound Channel Teaches You the Right Way to Shoot an AK

Is it possible to convert someone into an AK fanatic, or do you have to be born one? Can the comfort zone of aircraft-grade aluminum and nitro-injected ergonomics be overcome by the simple elegance and robustness of the Kalashnikov? This question is one I’ve found myself asking a number of times after I published my love letter to the AK back in early 2015.

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Modern Personal Defense Weapon Calibers 011: The 6x35mm KAC/TSWG, Revisited

When I started the Modern Intermediate Calibers series, I did not expect it to grow as large as it has. The initial plan was for 7 major calibers, which grew into well over 20, and the spinoff Modern Personal Defense Weapon Calibers, which itself will have at least 20 entries.

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The Wound Channel's Amazing High Speed Armor Penetration Videos

There’s a lot that can be learned by shooting different rounds at various targets, barriers, armors, etc, but the knowledge that can be gleaned from these sorts of tests is limited without the aid of very high speed recordings, which allow us to actually see what is happening when a projectile strikes a target. In recognition of this fact, YouTuber William of The Wound Channel has partnered with Aimed Research, a company specializing in very high speed footage for ballistic research. This gives TWC access to extremely capable Phantom high speed cameras, allowing him to capture high velocity 5.56mm bullets hitting armor plates in slow motion, like in the videos embedded below:

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Trijicon ACOGs now with (X)M-193 BDC Reticles

Trijicon has (finally!) released ACOG sights specifically calibrated for M-193 55 grain rounds out of common 16” barrels. The new scopes are based on the “chevron” reticle to be zeroed at 100 yards and with BDC markings for 300-800 meters. Horizontal hashes are calibrated for 19” (average width of human torso) at the various yardages for easy range estimation.

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