The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action is reporting that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) is planning to use its bureaucratic discretion to enact a major ammunition ban as soon as next month. The BATFE announced late last week that it plans to reclassify some of the most commonly available ammunition for the popular AR-15 rifle as “armor piercing” and ban its sale, distribution, and manufacture. The cartridge in question is the 5.56 mm 62-grain M855 military round, commonly known as the “green tip” or “penetrator.” If you are unfamiliar with this ammunition, a bit of explanation is in order. The modern civilian AR-15 is derived from the Vietnam-era M-16 rifle. (Unlike the M-16, the AR-15 is not a machine gun). The original 5.56 mm cartridge for the M-16 utilized a lead-core 55-grain bullet, and was derived from the civilian .222 Remington, popular in the 1950s as a small-game...(Read Full Post)