Re: factory hornady TAP ammo ?'s
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: eleaf</div><div class="ubbcode-body">People want to believe that there are differences between the Red box and other Hornday rounds, but the truth is that there isn't. I was denied at 2 gun shops yesterday, though one told me that it was because of "tax reasons" saying that they pay a cheaper price specifically to be sold to first responders (as if somehow fireman - or cops for that matter - deserve to get "special" ammo for cheaper). He knew that there wasn't a difference, but refused to sell it to me anyways (which REALLY pissed me off being that he has sold it to me a number of times before).
That cops or fireman or military personnel or friggin' ambulance drivers are allowed to get ammo that I cannot (the red box TAP loads include some that are not available in any other form - the 165 TAP Barrier for instance) for doing the exact same things I will be doing with them, shooting them at paper on a range, baffles me. In some ways I see it as government workers who would likely be called in an emergency (a rising populace for instance) are being more and more militarized and armed in ways that are prohibited to civilians, which is BS.
My fireman buddy from another state told me last night that fireman/emts are not allowed to have a gun in the station (or indeed in their car while at the station, though that rule is routinely broken), meaning that they will NEVER use a gun in the line of duty, even during an emergency situation. Why they would be able to access ammunition I cannot eludes me. Only the conspiracy theorist in me has any answers that make sense.
Your policeman buddy needs some real training if he thinks that a polymer tip is armor piercing. If it was the 155 or 165 grain bullet, it is an A-Max match grade bullet. If a 110 grain bullet, it was the V-Max designed to fragment very shortly after impact to avoid over penetration. In fact, from everything I have read, including Hornady's own materials, the 110 TAP round is the best LE Sharpshooter round they offer which has similar external ballistics to a heavy .223, but with much more severe terminal ballistics that leave a nasty wound channel, and very little to no chance of penetrating through to injure someone else. It is the flattest shooting of the .308 TAP rounds out to 300 yards, and is effective on varmint at 500+ yards. I've recently ordered a whole bunch of these bullets to try out in some loads, and bought a couple of boxes of both 110 Red Box (a 3rd gun shop had 2 left and has no problems with selling Red box TAP to me as it isn't illegal) and 110 Black box TAP FPD to try out at the range.
For barriers (glass, thin walls, car doors, etc) the 165 TAP Barrier bullet is used which has a 165 grain Interbond bullet.
There is also a 168 grain HPBT, but I didn't like it that much. </div></div>
We use the Hornady 168 gr.a AMAX TAP ammo too, & I recently bought a box of 110 grain VMAX bullets to try in my .308....Here is my load & result when testing at the range one day....
Not too shabby....
