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ATF to reclassify armor piercing ammo

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Husker_Fan:
My understanding is that the law says any handgun ammo that has a steel core is AP for purposes of the act. I think the ATF reading is quite possibly correct as far as the definition goes.

However, under the act, the AG can exempt ammo that would otherwise be banned if the AG finds it is "primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes." M855 was originally classified as AP and made exempt by the AG in 1986 after the act passed.

Now, BATFE has decided that M855 is not "primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes." When the AG makes that determination, the ammo is then illegal to manufacture, sell, or import. They say that AR pistols are more prevalent now, so 5.56 ammo is more useable in pistols. That really should have no bearing on what the ammo is primarily intended for.

It is a ridiculous way for the AG to stick it to gun owners by only reducing the supply of cheap(ish) surplus ammo. It will have no impact on crime or officer safety. It's Holder's parting gift to gun owners. Oh, and while he may be on board with this, POTUS can't do anything about it. The statute gives the authority to the AG.

The AG has the statutory authority to do this. The only ways to stop it are 1) a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of either the AP ban or the AG's decision, or 2) an act of congress which, even if it could pass, would never be signed.

The bottom line is that M855 manufacture, commercial sales, and imports will very likely be stopped until we get a new POTUS with an AG that will re-institute the exemption.

AWick:
Is authority is to only exempt not to add to the list so the thing that needs to happen is a suit that scientifically breaks down the arguments as illegitimate as to why it was listed as AP to begin with. Then it is out of the hands of the AG.

AAllen:
Husker fan. My understanding is the same, along with several other metals like depleted uranium a solid steel core would fit the definition of an AP round, but from what I have been reading M855 has a steel tip and lead core.  Even if it was steal and lead combo for the core it would not fit the explicit discription of solid steel core.

Husker_Fan:
You are right that M855 has a steel tip. We are getting into what is the definition of "core." ATF seems to say it is any component inside the jacket. We'd say the core is everything inside the jacket.

We could use one of the companies with a pending exemption request to be denied and then sue to sort it out. That could still take us out to January 2017.

AWick:
The language explicitly states entirely of or a combination of just those components. So just the fact that there is lead in the core should exclude it from the list.

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