Legality of the M855 round in OK

[mewrei]

Alright, this is a stupid question, but I'd like a little clarification on this since I can't seem to find the law itself. Is the M855 5.56mm round legal in Oklahoma? I know we have a deal about armor piercing rounds, but are AP rounds specifically defined only as steel core rounds? I know the M855 is lead-core, but is it exempt from Oklahoma's laws on AP rounds? I know the ATF specifically exempts it.

Thanks for the info, sorry if this question's been answered before but I couldn't seem to find it.

 

[AKguy1985]

M855 is totally legal.

 

[SMS]

Ditto. 855 is not AP and doesn't meet the conditions of prohibited ammo under Title 21 1289.19.

 

[CAR-AR-M16]

Ditto. 855 is not AP and doesn't meet the conditions of prohibited ammo under Title 21 1289.19.

Exactly. 1289.19 defines a restricted bullet as follows:

"Restricted bullet" means a round or elongated missile with a core of less than sixty percent (60%) lead and having a fluorocarbon coating, which is designed to travel at a high velocity and is capable of penetrating body armor. M855 does not meet this definition.

The new M855A1 round (which is not yet available on the civilian market) does not have any lead. It is a copper core and a steel tip (see comparison chart below), but it does not have a "fluorocarbon coating", so should still be legal under OK law.

[Broken External Image]

 

[HiredHand]

I was under the impression that AP rifle rounds were legal but AP pistol bullets were not.

 

[CAR-AR-M16]

I was under the impression that AP rifle rounds were legal but AP pistol bullets were not.

But what defines a round as a "Rifle" or "Pistol" round? You would think that 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm would be classified as rifle rounds since they were initially developed for rifles, but nowadays there are tons of 5.56 AR pistols and 7.62x39 AK Draco pistols as well.

 

[HiredHand]

But what defines a round as a "Rifle" or "Pistol" round? You would think that 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm would be classified as rifle rounds since they were initially developed for rifles, but nowadays there are tons of 5.56 AR pistols and 7.62x39 AK Draco pistols as well.

Original intent. This is an old article but seems to explain the subject clearly. http://nucnews.net/2000/du/98du/981204du.laws.htm

 

[CAR-AR-M16]

Original intent. This is an old article but seems to explain the subject clearly. http://nucnews.net/2000/du/98du/981204du.laws.htm

The original intent of the round (rifle or handgun) is irrelevant. The problem is that somone has commercially made handuns in 7.62x39 and .308 as well, so they fall under the "handgun" AP ammo defiinition as well even though they were originally intended for rifles. That is why the steel core 7.62x39 ammo is no longer imported and you cannot buy 5.56 M995 ammo which is a true AP round. Here is an excert from the article you linked:

3) USE - The bullet must be able to be used in a handgun. Rather than construing this to mean regular handgun calibers, ATF construes this to mean any caliber for which a handgun has been made, including handguns in rifle calibers, like .308 Winchester, and 7.62x39, for purposes of bullets covered by (B)(i). Thus bullets suitable for these calibers, as well as other rifle calibers for which handguns have been made (at least commercially made) which are constructed as described below would or should be AP ammo.

 

[SMS]

...and Oklahoma law doesn't use the term "Armor Piercing" or differentiate between pistol or rifle bullets.

 

[Koshinn]

The ATF has specifically stated that M855 is NOT armor piercing ammo. I have no citation for this, I can't find it on the ATF's new-ish site.

Also, due to hilarity in the 90s, most states with AP ammo bans require that the ammo have teflon coats before it's banned. It was believed (and reinforced by movies like Ronin) that teflon allowed bullets to penetrate vests better. That was wrong; the teflon coating was used to reduce wear on the barrel. Modern AP ammo generally has a sheathe of copper (at least near the base where the bullet grips the rifling) instead of teflon to protect the weapon.

Regarding original intent, that doesn't really matter. What matters is if the round can be used in a pistol, and 5.56x45 is used in AR pistols and that Keltec PLR-16 pistol. This is why in Hawaii, for example, it's not quite clear if 30 rd STANAG mags are banned or not, because Hawaii bans 11+ rd pistol mags, but allows large rifle mags. The unclear part is that "assault pistols" are banned in Hawaii too (basically AR pistols, the PLR-16, and pretty much anything else you can think of that's big and heavy and pretends to be a pistol), so a STANAG mag technically cannot be legally used in a pistol. This is why everyone in Hawaii actually uses 30 rd AR mags, but no one online will sell a 30 rd mag to a Hawaii resident. But then there's another loop hole where you technically CAN have an AR pistol and PLR-16 if you use a bullet button (kalifornia style), but I don't know a single person who has tested that theory... and if it works, it would again ban 30 rd AR mags. I hate sloppy statutes.