Folk around here have been askin', so I'll try to explain. I don't really have a dog in this fight, but here's the best I can do.

The B. A. T. F. E. is makin' noises about bannin' M855 ammo because it's "armor piercing handgun ammunition". A history lesson is in order-back in the first third of the 20th century, there was a combination of widespread economic depression and a social engineering experiment called prohibition. These factors, along with the then-recent ubiquity of automobiles led to some pretty serious crime. Basically, prohibition made organized crime very profitable, and the depression made bank robbery attractive. Federal authorities stepped in to try to restore order, and some agents wore the overlapping-scale body armor of the time. The most notoriously violent criminals of the period changed weapons to defeat the armor (in the ages-old battle between armor and warhead, warhead always wins), and laws were drafted to ban "armor piercing handgun ammunition", just in case. Physics demands that for a handgun projectile to have any armor defeating ability, the projectile must be shaped like a needle (the available energy can't be increased without damaging the weapon or shooter), and those projectiles don't cycle or fly very well. Unfortunately, the old law is still on the books, and occasionally gets misapplied (remember Teflon coated bullets? not armor piercing), as now.

While I'm not advocating that true armor piercing handgun ammo should be available (our brave peace officers should be allowed that protection), there are NO handguns (designed to be operated with one hand) that chamber the M855 load. There are some bastardized mare's leg things that fall into an arbitrary category called "handgun" due to some legal fiction, but they are no real threat. "No real threat?" you roar, incredulously. "How can a compact weapon launching rifle founds be 'no real threat'?" Physics, again. To get all the energy available in a rifle cartridge, all the powder must be burnt. For all the powder to be burnt, the barrel must be of some minimum length, otherwise the powder burns in the atmosphere after the bullet is gone, and that energy is wasted. "Handguns" that fire rifle cartridges are too big to readily carry or conceal, but can't deliver the potential energy of the cartridge; thus, no threat.

So, why is this old statute being dusted off now, after the M855 was specifically exempt for so long? I don't know, but consider this. Historians don't really have anything to do. History happened, was recorded, and is. Historians must, from time to time, "reinterpret" the historical record in order to justify their jobs. If the agency tasked with collecting the excise tax on firearms and ammunition, keeping records of the manufacturers and buyers of same, and collecting the excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco and keeping records of the producers of same, and providing investigative support in events involving explosives has nothing better to do than justify it's budget, something must be done.

Perhaps that agency should become more involved in educating citizens in the safe use of explosives, providing a public service by reducing injuries. Or even helping the national budget by getting off their collective duff and approving applications for sound suppressors, and collecting the tax on same (for only a $200 fee, you can reassure your neighbors that you are not a criminal, and protect your [and everyone's] hearing, but it takes a year to pay for the privilege of being a good citizen).

What can we do? Maybe go here. Please take minute and read Tam's advice first. Contact your elected representatives and point out that this agency is not only trying to misapply statutes to justify it's budget, while actively avoiding doing it's revenue-generating job, but is trying to reduce revenue in the process. If they don't want to work, maybe we need to stop payin' 'em.

In the interests of full disclosure, I prefer the older M193 load anyway, but I stand with my friends who like the M855, and you should too.