One of my fondest dream scenarios is moseying along in the back country and accidentally stumbling across a whistling sasquatch or three. Okay, that far-fetched occurrence will probably never happen but here's something just about as unlikely: Seeing an offering in Canada of the extremely rare Federal Lake City mil-spec 5.56 ammo duo of XM855 (62gr steel-cored green tip) and XM193 (55gr FMJ).
So who's sneaking that stuff in under the cover of darkness? None other than those fine purveyors of sporting goods, guns and ammo -- Gagnon Sports!
http://www.gagnonsports.com/index.ph...ED-XM855LC1AC1 + http://www.gagnonsports.com/index.ph...t=FED-XM193FCS .
Now before I begin raving about that ammo let me point out the obvious: Norinco 5.56 is way, way cheaper. Being a skinflint of the first magnitude, I hate opening my wallet and spending money that I don't have to. But wave some of that impossible-to-find-in-Canada Lake City ammo in front of my face and my willpower and penny-pinching ways dissolve in an instant. The other thing, of course, is that green tip is a specialty item made to store for tough times. Ditto for the XM193 because unlike Norinco both Lake City items are NEW production. I asked Randy at Gagnon to dig into one of those boxes of XM193 to check the headstamp for me and, lo and behold, it's 2012 production -- not that 20-year-old, 93/94/95 "smells-moldy" Norinco surplus. Absolutely nothing wrong with Norinco for plinking and practice but if you're looking for U.S.-made, hot-off-the-production-line Lake City ammo for long-term storage, this is your moment in history to do so. Once Obama and Feinstein are done, even Americans will probably be banned from holding these potent goodies.
For a rundown on XM193 and XM855, look no further than the Ammo Oracle: http://www.ar15.com/ammo/ .
XM193 in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPzxBJSIaGA + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZPGSiDs5_k + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_3Yyo0Nt0 (tnoutdoors9 -- the go-to guy for ballistics gel testing on YouTube actually confesses in the last video that he prefers Lake City XM193 over the XM855 for home defense ammo).
XM855 in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dGxRw8Jq70 + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqTZAzUj1PQ + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0gIvaw_dPY + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBDYXW2gUlo .
The XM193 is offered as a 500rd case of 25 boxes of 20rds (standard packaging) while the XM855 comes as 420rds on stripper clips in an ammo can.
While shrieking at the price per round -- and, yes, I did the math and it was unsettling -- focus on this thought and smile: Any 5.56 rifle owner in the U.S. is paying TWICE that for the same thing south of the border right now and gladly so -- and that's if they can even find the stuff. So cheer up, get the wallet out, and buy some before it's all gone.
In a very short time, the thought of seeing that ammo again will be as wispy and dreamy as my wished-for glimpse of Bigfoot. Randy tells me that this is the first time they've ever sold the stuff and something tells me that it may not be flowing north for long.
UPDATE: XM855 & XM193 BOTH SOLD OUT