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Brown Tip 5.56mm for Short Barrels
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May 16, 2008:  U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) has used its own, bureaucracy free, budget to design and manufacture special ammunition for the short barrel (10-15 inch) weapons (like the M-4 and SCAR Light). The new ammo, referred to as "5.56 Optimized", or "brown tip" (because the tips of the bullets are brown for easy identification) uses a bullet that is solid copper and 70 grains in weight (compared to 62 grains for the NATO standard 5.56 bullet). The solid copper design is believed to be based on a commercial design (the Barnes Triple-Shock X) that was introduced five years ago. The new round was designed to achieve better accuracy and hitting power at the ranges (under 300 meters) the short barrel weapons are most effective at. The brown tip ammo costs more, because of its unique design and small production runs, but SOCOM doesn't worry about that when it's for something that will make its operators more effective, and help keep them alive.

 

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Bigbro    maybe maybe not   5/16/2008 12:14:42 PM
this is from the Barnes web site
"Based on a design Barnes developed for military applications, the Varmint Grenade is a flat-base, hollow-cavity bullet with a copper-tin composite core. Surrounded by a substantial guilding-metal jacket, the highly frangible core greatly reduces the chance of ricochets. The bullet remains intact at ultra-high velocities, yet fragments explosively on impact with spectacular results. The lead-free bullet virtually"

The Barnes X bullets I have used on deer, 100gr. .257, require a minimum of about 2000fps to upset and give good terminal performance.
The report that it the bullet is a 70gr. solid copper bullet raises the question of bullet stability even out of a 1" in 7" twist barrel.  Barnes web site states that this will work with the 1" in 7" however with the lower velocity from a 14" barrel I do not know.  This would give some where around 2400fps to 2500fps not the 2800 fps out of a 20" barrel.  These type of bullets do not fragment period.  They expand well at designed velocity and produce very good terminal results.  

My bet is on a blended metal fmj profile bullet of about 60 grains without the hollow point of the X-bullet design. Bb
                                                                                                                                                                         
http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/coming-in-2008/new-varmint-grenade/
 
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Horsesoldier       5/16/2008 10:52:47 PM
Haven't seen them yet -- probably won't for a while, as green tip works just fine in the school house (+/- issues shooting steel) for most applications, and the new round does not replace 77 grain Mk 262 for sniping work/training.
 
I don't know if stability will be an issue.  70 grain non-lead would be longer than a more conventional format, but 1-7 twist will stabilize M856 tracer, which is a fairly long projectile as well.
 
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justbill       5/19/2008 12:54:24 PM
Horsey,
 
Keep us posted as you can.
 
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RockyMTNClimber    A point they mention.........   5/19/2008 3:25:38 PM

Haven't seen them yet -- probably won't for a while, as green tip works just fine in the school house (+/- issues shooting steel) for most applications, and the new round does not replace 77 grain Mk 262 for sniping work/training.

 

I don't know if stability will be an issue.  70 grain non-lead would be longer than a more conventional format, but 1-7 twist will stabilize M856 tracer, which is a fairly long projectile as well.

 
Most "short barrel" specialized ammunition contains different gun powder designed to achieve peak pressure faster than the more conventional formulas (optimized for standard barrel lengths). That is at least 50% of the equation if Iunderstand these things correctly. Or am I wrong about that?
 
Check Six
 
Rocky

 
 
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