Posted on 03/12/2015 11:39:08 AM PDT by Red Steel
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Thursday raised new concerns about surplus military ammo used in popular AR-15 rifles and pistols just days after pulling back on a proposal to ban the ammo because it could threaten police safety.
In a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, ATF Director B. Todd Jones said all types of the 5.56 military-style ammo used by shooters pose a threat to police as more people buy the AR-15-style pistols.
"Any 5.56 round" is "a challenge for officer safety," he said. Jones asked lawmakers to help in a review of a 1986 bill written to protect police from so-called "cop killer" rounds that largely exempted rifle ammo like the 5.56 because it has been used by target shooters, not criminals.
His agency's move to ban the 5.56 M855 version was condemned by the National Rifle Association and majorities in the House and Senate and as a result was pulled back though not abandoned. At the hearing Jones said that nearly 90,000 comments on the proposal were received, many negative.
As a result, he said that the ATF will suspend rewriting the "framework" used to exempt armor piercing ammo from sale or use. "It probably isn't going to happen any time soon," he said. Jones also said, "We are not going to move forward."
The 5.56 M855 round, he said, is military surplus, typically has a green tip and was used in the M-16. There are several versions of the 5.56. The M855carries a bullet that can penetrate police body armor, though shooters often debate that.
The ATF singled it out for a ban because more AR-15 style pistols that can shoot the ammo are being produced and presumably could be used by criminals in police shootouts. The AR-15 can also shoot the less lethal .223 round, which was not targeted by ATF in the ban proposal.
Police groups, however, said the pistols are not being used against cops.
The NRA and some 52 senators said they also feared that the ATF move was an Obama administration bid for gun control targeted at the AR-15.
I shouldn’t have said most of them are that short. That is typically the low end. I believe 10 to 11 inch barrels are probably the most popular. A shorter barrel is going to be mostly a “range toy” IMHO.
News report:
-snip-
"...The shots were believed to come from a handgun across the street from the police department,.."
"...He was shot in the right cheek, just below the eye, and the bullet lodged behind his ear...."
http://news.yahoo.com/st-louis-post-dispatch-2-officers-shot-ferguson-055552082.html
Same...
Please don’t suggest that! They’ll do it.
That didn’t take long.
The officer shot in the shoulder was through and through.
Hey dumbass Toady Jones, even a blade can puncture body armor you fascist jackboot cur. Jones is a good little kneepadder who would throw his granny under the bus from his masters, as was claimed by those that worked with this fool. Perfect puppet for Valerie Jarrett and co. since Zero is a puppet too. ATF time to be disbanded by Congress of it will be done by We the People one head at a time.
They should have the recovered bullets so it should be fairly straight forward.
I was just trying to make a joke. Didn’t know that. I have an L1A1 with the adjustable gas port. So far all I have fired is mil-spec. If I shoot some hunting ammo I ‘ll adjust it accordingly. Thanks.
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