What does it mean when the end of a bullet is green?

Whether you recently purchased your first AR platform rifle or have been shooting for some time now, chances have you been have in all probability heard the phrase “green tip ammo.” This popular 5.56 cartridge can be sometimes called a “penetrator round” due to its 62-grain projectile, partially steel core, and enhanced power to punch through hard targets.

The state U.S. military designation for green-tipped 5.56 rounds is M855. With ammo, the “M” usually represents munitions, because the military likes to keep it simple. Simplicity and creativity are two different things. As with virtually every weapon or cartridge, the military names is referred to by the letter “M” followed with a few numbers, but that's another conversation entirely.

Most of the information you will come across regarding green-tipped ammo is fairly accurate. However, some popular misconceptions are still floating around. To produce things easier, we cut through most of the hype and get directly to the facts about the M855 cartridge.
Origins Of Green Tip Ammo

Green-tipped ammo was originally named SS109 when it had been introduced in the 1970s. The Belgian made SS109 round was entered into NATO's standardization trials and won them. The trials were held because NATO did not have the official standardized 5.56 round at the time. NATO wanted the cartridge to offer optimal penetrating ability at extended distances, which explains why the trials involved firing the rounds at steel helmets.

The United States Military adopted the SS109 to displace their M193 5.56 ammo in early 1980s. It had been renamed the M855 and the tips were painted green. This is done to help troops tell the difference between the new cartridge and the old M193 rounds. Even though the U.S. military gradually phased out the M193 rounds once they made the switch to the M855, the tradition of painting the tips of the M855 green remains.

Firearms manufacturers capitalized on this new round and quickly introduced the M855 to the commercial firearms market in the U.S. These types of companies sell and market the green tip ammo under an alternative name. Even although the cartridge is virtually identical to one that the military uses. Some companies, like Federal, just added the letter “X” onto leading of the name to point that the green-tipped cartridge was for civilian sale.

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