The 5.56 round is as conventional as they come. Derived from .223 Remington specs, the 5.56x45mm NATO round fulfills the need for a cartridge with sufficient recoil control in a handheld automatic weapon. While it was designed for military use, the cartridge has expanded from the battlefield to a commonly purchased alternative for the AR 15 rifle.

Before the US Army recently replaced it with a new favorite, the 5.56 round had been the ammunition of choice for the US military for years. Due to its longevity in the US and popularity with military groups around the world, the 5.56 round has hundreds of variants. It has been adapted for a number of performance requirements, even beyond the typical grain weight and jacketing we often see in ammunition. The variants are too broad and varied to dive into succinctly, but they have led to a popular civilian use round: the 5.56 Green Tip.

What is 5.56 Green Tip Ammo?

“Green tip” or “green tipped” ammunition gets its name from the simple fact that the tip of the bullet is green. While the name doesn’t provide much detail about the round itself, the important thing to note is that the 5.56 Green Tip is, essentially, a cartridge with a heavier bullet. This is due to its steel tip designed for penetration. The goal of this round: addressing armored opposition.

The 5.56 Green Tip is performance-oriented for various combat scenarios. The military designated it around the M855—specifically with personal armor penetration in mind. Thus, its performance is based on longer-barrel rifles with better impact scenarios.

Once the round was picked up in the commercial market, manufacturers quickly began to build cartridges that were very similar—if not exact replications. Some even use the “Green Tip” naming convention, or some variation, for marketing purposes.

Regardless, the 5.56 variant quickly grew in popularity for the rifle platforms gun owners across the US enjoy using, including the AR-15. The fact that the 5.56 design is sometimes considered armor-piercing, has led to much debate surrounding the commercial sale of this round.

Is it legal to buy Green Tip Ammo?

Gun owners can purchase green tip ammo, however, the cartridge’s status as being legal for purchase isn’t always cut-and-dry. Technically, armor-piercing ammunition is not legal for standard commercial purchase. This means you wouldn’t be able to walk into your typical gun store, or Sportsman's Warehouse and buy it off the shelf.

However, 5.56 M855 green tip ammo isn’t designed to be armor-piercing in the traditional sense, since it is not purpose-built for armored vehicles or armored soldiers. While it was designed to penetrate a helmet, part of its performance improvement includes stopping power.

Two items specifically typify an AP (armor-piercing) round designation: weight and core. Since the 5.56 M855 Green Tip round is primarily lead, and the weight of the bullet is not affected by the steel tip in the way AP rounds often are, it has skirted legislation that prohibits such ammo.

The reason people are often confused about 5.56 lawfulness is that many ranges—specifically those for indoor shooting—do not allow the rounds. This policy is a preference of the range master and the owner of the facility and has little to do with the legality of the product.

Final thoughts on the 5.56 M855 Green Tip Ammo

The improvements made to the ballistics and overall performance of the 5.56 make it an ideal choice for home defense. There are even a few scenarios in which you might want to use the cartridge for hunting. The purpose of this round is to ensure that you, the shooter, have a range of ammo variants for your AR-15 platform that you can access for whatever application you may need to deploy this round.

For a round with a record like the 5.56, the M855 Green Tip was a considerable improvement for longer-barreled rifles that needed greater levels of performance. If you haven’t shot it, make sure your rifle fits the specifications, stock up on this round today, and test its capabilities for yourself!