12 Gauge Darts

[KurtM]

The article lied or was made up.

 

[Foxfire5]

For those of you thinking these would be "bad"...... You would be right! THEY SUCK! I have shot both the military and civilian copies of this round. They won't even penetrate a 2X4 and very few fly straight. If I were behind a sheet of drywall I would be plenty armored if you shot from 5 yards away. You are far better served with Buckshot.

Only meant to wound at 10-15 yards then finish the job with sidearm and 230 grain Hardball.

 

[SoonerP226]

Ian at Forgotten Weapons has done a few videos on flechette guns made for a US military experimental program back in the '60s, but I don't recall him talking about their effectiveness. The program didn't go anywhere, so I'm guessing their effectiveness is still an unknown.

I think Taofledermaus has tested 12ga flechette rounds.

 

[RickN]

They are good at short range IF loaded correctly. I remember hearing something about a buffer but have no idea what it was. The rounds I have fired did well in penetrating brush at short range.

 

[ratski]

I bought a 20lb box about 20 years ago. I wanted to load some up, but never got around to it.

Only place I found them available by the pound was Ebay, and they were $60/lb. I'm sitting on a gold mine and didn't even know it.

I am in need of some Unique powder. I think this is about to end up in a WTT classified.

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Flip that quarter over. What is the mint mark? That quarter with a "W" on the other side could be worth big buckolas.

 

[HFS]

Flip that quarter over. What is the mint mark? That quarter with a "W" on the other side could be worth big buckolas.

Not for the value but for -- sentimental reasons -- I'm keeping an eye out for a 2020 Bat Quarter with the "W" proof mark.

 

[scott024]

Flip that quarter over. What is the mint mark? That quarter with a "W" on the other side could be worth big buckolas.

Mint mark "D"

 

[scott024]

They are good at short range IF loaded correctly. I remember hearing something about a buffer but have no idea what it was. The rounds I have fired did well in penetrating brush at short range.

I read on a forum before I bought these 20 years ago that a buffer was necessary to get good performance. I don't think these were ever meant to be fatal, just wound inflicting.

 

[KurtM]

"The rounds I have fired did well in penetrating brush at short range."
What did they penetrate after the brush Rick? Just curious, BTW rock salt penetrated brush fairly well as does 00 and #4 Buck and it will penetrate other stuff as well. The designation for the Flechette round was XM 258 and I have fired several of them, as well as some of the commercial junk. The XM 258 did fly a bit straighter, but it's terminal effects are almost non existent. Certainly NOT the hype you read on line. Here is from Wikipedia

Flechettes​

Plastic cases loaded with small steel darts called flechettes were issued on a limited trial basis during the Vietnam war. Cartridges manufactured by Western Cartridge Company contained twenty flechettes 18.5 millimeters (0.73 in) long and weighing 7.3 grains (0.47 g) each. The flechettes were packed in a plastic cup with granulated white polyethylene to maintain alignment with the bore axis, and supported by a metal disk to prevent penetration of the over-powder wad during acceleration down the bore. Cartridges manufactured by Federal Cartridge Company contained 25 flechettes. Tips of the flechettes are exposed in the Federal cartridges, but concealed by a conventional star crimp in Western cartridges. Flechettes had flatter trajectory over longer ranges than spherical buckshot, but combat effectiveness did not justify continued production. Note the weight of the dart!

Here is an excerpt from a D.O.D. publication on small arms munitions effectiveness from 1975. I assume U.S. Navy tests were U.D.T/ SEALS, but that is a guess on my part.

The U.S. Navy first tested XM 258 flechette rounds during the Vietnam War, but found that XM 162 and XM 257 buckshot had far more immediate stopping power. (XM162 is 00 buck and XM 257 is #4 buck, now designated as M 162 and M257)

 

[Snattlerake]

In 1976 while attending a Fort Riley Battalion Live Fire Demonstration, they set up 300 man sized M-16 rifle targets 100 yards in front of a battery of 3 105 howitzers. They called them OPFOR. They then proceeded to shoot 105 flechette rounds into the targets. One round per gun. There wasn't one target without 200 holes in it. Then they really let loose with air and ground forces. I was glad I was not on the receiving end of that.