05-24-2011, 04:42 PM
Quote:FWIW, once upon a time I shot at a 3.5mm thick steel plate (of unknown hardness) at a distance of ~400 yards, using 7.62 M80 and 5.56 M193. The 7.62 punched through the plate; 5.56 merely dented it. Anyway, the point is that whomever might conduct such a test will need significantly longer than a 400-yd range to do it.
The M855 seems to outperform the M80 on steel plate penetration, but I'm not sure what distance they reach equilibrium. As far as range goes, the only limitations I have in both areas where I would propose to conduct these types of tests is the rifle/ammunition/optics. I shoot in the high desert in Utah, as well as on artillery test ranges near the Arctic Circle in Northern Europe, so finding the right settings, to include extremes on both ends of the weather conditions in both locations, is not an issue. Utah provides a hot/dry, cold wet environment, while the northern hinterland location provides an extreme cold/wet, extreme hot/wet environment. Both have plenty of wind effects too.
LRRPF52