MEN 56 Grain M193 Accuracy
Yes, you read that title correctly. The M193 ammunition manufactured by MEN (Metallwerk Elisenhütte GmbH) has a 56 grain bullet.
“But Molon,” you say. “How can this be M193 if it doesn’t have a 55 grain bullet?”
Well, if you look at the mil-spec drawing for the M193 projectile, you’ll see that the weight specification for the copper jacket of the bullet is 17.5 grains, with a tolerance of minus 1.0 grains. Also, the lead slug for the projectile has a weight specification of 38.5 grains, with a tolerance of minus 1.0 grains. Take the 17.5 grains for the jacket, add it to the 38.5 grains for the lead slug and we have a total weight for the projectile of 56 grains (with a total tolerance of minus 2.0 grains). So, as long as the bullet doesn’t weigh more than 56 grains, it technically meets the weight specification for M193.
The 56 grain MEN M193 bullet is approximately 0.030” longer than a typical American manufactured M193 bullet.
This ammunition is loaded in brass cases with the annealing iris still visible. The case mouth has asphalt sealant and is crimped into the cannelure of the bullet. This ammunition is charged with “ball” powder.
Each red square in the grid below is 1/10th of an inch.
The case-head stamp of the lot of this ammunition that I tested reads:
5,56x45
MEN16
The primer pocket has a healthy dose of sealant. Strangely enough, the primer pockets are not crimped, which technically means this ammunition does not meet the US mil-spec for M193.
Accuracy
The US accuracy specification for M193 cited in MIL-C-9963F is as follows:
The average of the mean radii of all targets of the sample cartridges, fired at 200 yards, shall not exceed 2.0 inches.
These averages are from 10-shot groups fired from machine rested, bolt-actioned, heavy test barrels. All things being equal this specification equates to a mean radius of 1 inch at 100 yards (the distance at which I tested this ammunition).
I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the MEN 56 grain M193 ammunition following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any Group Reduction Techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).
The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Also, a control group was fired from the test-rifle used in the evaluation using match-grade, hand-loaded ammunition; in order to demonstrate the capability of the barrel. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.
All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The barrel used in the evaluation was free-floated. The free-float handguards of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was used. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.
The Wind Probe . . .
The test vehicle for this evaluation was one of my semi-automatic precision AR-15s with a 20” stainless-steel Lothar Walther barrel. The barrel has a 223 Wylde chamber with a 1:8” twist.
Prior to firing the MEN 56 grain M193, I fired a 10-shot control group using match-grade hand-loads topped with the Sierra 52 grain MatchKing. That group had an extreme spread of 0.59”.
Three 10-shot groups of the MEN 56 grain M193 were fired in a row with the resulting extreme spreads:
1.39”
1.35"
1.34”
for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.36”. The three 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.47”.
The smallest 10-shot group (by mean radius) . . .
The 30-shot composite group . . .
…
Chronograph data to follow
…
Yes, you read that title correctly. The M193 ammunition manufactured by MEN (Metallwerk Elisenhütte GmbH) has a 56 grain bullet.
“But Molon,” you say. “How can this be M193 if it doesn’t have a 55 grain bullet?”
Well, if you look at the mil-spec drawing for the M193 projectile, you’ll see that the weight specification for the copper jacket of the bullet is 17.5 grains, with a tolerance of minus 1.0 grains. Also, the lead slug for the projectile has a weight specification of 38.5 grains, with a tolerance of minus 1.0 grains. Take the 17.5 grains for the jacket, add it to the 38.5 grains for the lead slug and we have a total weight for the projectile of 56 grains (with a total tolerance of minus 2.0 grains). So, as long as the bullet doesn’t weigh more than 56 grains, it technically meets the weight specification for M193.
The 56 grain MEN M193 bullet is approximately 0.030” longer than a typical American manufactured M193 bullet.
This ammunition is loaded in brass cases with the annealing iris still visible. The case mouth has asphalt sealant and is crimped into the cannelure of the bullet. This ammunition is charged with “ball” powder.
Each red square in the grid below is 1/10th of an inch.
The case-head stamp of the lot of this ammunition that I tested reads:
5,56x45
MEN16
The primer pocket has a healthy dose of sealant. Strangely enough, the primer pockets are not crimped, which technically means this ammunition does not meet the US mil-spec for M193.
Accuracy
The US accuracy specification for M193 cited in MIL-C-9963F is as follows:
The average of the mean radii of all targets of the sample cartridges, fired at 200 yards, shall not exceed 2.0 inches.
These averages are from 10-shot groups fired from machine rested, bolt-actioned, heavy test barrels. All things being equal this specification equates to a mean radius of 1 inch at 100 yards (the distance at which I tested this ammunition).
I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the MEN 56 grain M193 ammunition following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any Group Reduction Techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots).
The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Also, a control group was fired from the test-rifle used in the evaluation using match-grade, hand-loaded ammunition; in order to demonstrate the capability of the barrel. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation.
All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The barrel used in the evaluation was free-floated. The free-float handguards of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was used. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.
The Wind Probe . . .
The test vehicle for this evaluation was one of my semi-automatic precision AR-15s with a 20” stainless-steel Lothar Walther barrel. The barrel has a 223 Wylde chamber with a 1:8” twist.
Prior to firing the MEN 56 grain M193, I fired a 10-shot control group using match-grade hand-loads topped with the Sierra 52 grain MatchKing. That group had an extreme spread of 0.59”.
Three 10-shot groups of the MEN 56 grain M193 were fired in a row with the resulting extreme spreads:
1.39”
1.35"
1.34”
for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.36”. The three 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.47”.
The smallest 10-shot group (by mean radius) . . .
The 30-shot composite group . . .
…
Chronograph data to follow
…
