30-06 M2 AP Armor Piercing Penetration Tests
Find out what exactly is the 30-06 M2 AP "Black Tip"? Is it armor piercing, how does it shoot in 30-06 rifles, and can you reload it into .308 rounds?
We review products independently. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission to help support our testing. Learn more.
While the ATF tried to re-categorize the 5.56 M855 ammo as armor piercing (update: it didn't work), the heavier hitting military surplus 30-06 M2 AP round is still currently legal at the federal level.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, so check all your federal, state, & local laws. Some states/cities have different criteria on AP ammo.
Trending: Best AR-15s, Best Shooting Hearing Protection, & Ammo in Stock
What is 30-06 M2 AP ammo?
M2 AP ammo is military surplus ammo from WWII chambered for the 30-06. It's also known as "black tip" because of the black paint on its tip. The ammo used to be in plentiful supply but now that it's 60-70 years after final production, it is getting much harder to find.
Below shows the size of the penetrator relative to the overall round.
The Best Gun Deals, Coupons and Finds
Subscribe to Pew Pew Tactical's sales and deals email.
M2 AP in Action
The 30-06 is already a proven battle rifle round, how does it do with armor piercing capabilities? Spoiler alert, it goes through a lot of wood and steel and even some AR500.
M2 AP in 308?
If you're a reloader, you might be realizing that you can take the bullets from the 30-06 M2 AP and reload them into 308 cartridges.
This again is another disclaimer area since some states/cities do not allow any AP ammo and it could be construed as manufacturing AP ammo which is a definite no-no.
So of course, here's some M2 AP in 308 footage:
Our Most Popular Posts
Although the 308 is less powerful than the 30-06, it still did well by going almost all the way through 1 inch steel.
Where Do I Buy M2 AP Ammo?
We've searched far and wide and you can pretty much only find it on Gun Broker for around $4+ each.
Want to see what it does against body armor? We test out some Level 3+ and Level 4 in our Best Body Armor article.
