mk318 SOST bonded?

[Unobtanium]

Does it exist? One suspects it easily could...

[Alpha Sierra]

I suspect I could easily make an analog with commercially available components, such as Nosler's .224 64 grain Bonded Performance bullets.

[NH Shooter]

I suspect I could easily make an analog with commercially available components, such as Nosler's .224 64 grain Bonded Performance bullets.

This. I am thinking about taking some unfired XM193, pulling the bullets, replacing the powder charge with Varget or CFE 223 and using the Nosler pill. Reload specs here (for 223);

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

http://www.nosler.com/223-remington/

[KevinB]

Since SOST was adopted Federal dropped the Trophy Bearclaw round - and the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

SOST is not a bonded bullet - though I understand one was looked at.

Closest I think you can get to a bonded 'SOST' is the Federal F223FS1 62gr loading. Using the Fusion bullet.

[Unobtanium]

Since SOST was adopted Federal dropped the Trophy Bearclaw round - and the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

SOST is not a bonded bullet - though I understand one was looked at.

Closest I think you can get to a bonded 'SOST' is the Federal F223FS1 62gr loading. Using the Fusion bullet.

I thought Federal had an FBI contract to supply XM556FBIT3?

I simply don't understand why a bonded SOST was tested, performed better, and now it's off the radar. I understand if JAG prevented it from being fielded like SOST, but somewhere, someone surely liked a bonded 62gr bullet with a .3+ G1 BC, considering how poor the BC is on the Nosler 64gr (in the .1X region) and the TBBC (low .2's) is.

[Alpha Sierra]

Since SOST was adopted Federal dropped the Trophy Bearclaw round - and the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

SOST is not a bonded bullet - though I understand one was looked at.

Closest I think you can get to a bonded 'SOST' is the Federal F223FS1 62gr loading. Using the Fusion bullet.

Off the shelf, yes.

Reloaders have more options to equal, or at least closely approximate, MK318.

[Alpha Sierra]

I thought Federal had an FBI contract to supply XM556FBIT3?

I simply don't understand why a bonded SOST was tested, performed better, and now it's off the radar. I understand if JAG prevented it from being fielded like SOST, but somewhere, someone surely liked a bonded 62gr bullet with a .3+ G1 BC, considering how poor the BC is on the Nosler 64gr (in the .1X region) and the TBBC (low .2's) is.

There are several all-copper heavily penetrating hunting bullets from Hornady and Barnes that would be very viable in the same application as SOST. Their terminal behavior should be very very close through the same barriers.

[Chuck Haggard]

Pretty sure that Federal still has the Bonded in their LE line;

http://le.atk.com/ammunition/federal/rifle/default.aspx

[DocGKR]

62 gr TBBC LE223T3 and XM556FBIT3 are still available and widely used--both significantly outperform Mk318.

The original Federal 77 gr TOTM developed for the USMC in 2006 was essentially a bonded SOST. It is an OUTSTANDING performing load as shown on pg. 12 of this briefing: http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf. It was not adopted by the military for very stupid reasons that had nothing to do with JAG or the Hague--more like bureaucratic ineptitude and ignorant requirements documents--you can't make this unbelievably incompetent shit up...

After the USMC dropped the ball on TOTM, Crane took the design and ran with it, issuing the non-bonded Mk318 and Mk319. If military end-users could enlighten their requirements folks, there is NO reason a bonded SOST version could not still be adopted.

[j.d.allen]

62 gr TBBC LE223T3 and XM556FBIT3 are still available and widely used--both significantly outperform Mk318.

I just wish I could find that stuff for less than almost $2 a round...