What Is The U.S. Military's Top Tier 5.56 Round? (M193 vs M855 vs MK262)

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Hey, Jason.

[00:00:00]>> Yo, >> I got this rifle here and I'm trying to get the maximum performance out of it.

[00:00:04]What round should I use?

[00:00:05]>> All right. Well, hold on. You got a 20 inch. That looked kind of retro. I got you. Hold up.

[00:00:10]>> Little 193. Man, it was really meant for that one during this time. 60s, you know, really flying fast.

[00:00:15]>> Okay. Okay. What about this guy?

[00:00:16]>> Okay. Nice little 145 >> Trigicon on it.

[00:00:19]>> Trigicon. Kind of retro G-Watt vibes.

[00:00:22]Okay. Hold on. Pause. I got some M855.

[00:00:24]Uh, regular A5, but also A1.

[00:00:27]>> That looks like a good job done. This guy.

[00:00:29]>> All right. Now you're speaking my language, brother. Little Mark 12 action. Little, you know, 18 in. Reach out and touch someone. I got you. I got you. Little Mark 262 OTM 77 grain. This thing's flying true sail and great.

[00:00:42]>> Oh, that looks mean.

[00:00:44]>> Feel like we should talk about it.

[00:00:45]Difference between M8193, M855, and some Mark 262. Let's get into it.

[00:00:55]>> Welcome back to Class Firearms, guys.

[00:00:56]Jason here to talk to you about which round of 5.56 is right for you. M193, M855 or Mark 262. Of course, some of these designations are have to do with military designation when it comes to ammunition type, whether it be ball ammunition meant for just training. It's more of a penetrate around with like the MA55 and then obviously 77 grain OTM or open tip match meaning that Mark 262 for more sailing out and reaching out and touching some things. But of course, let me start off with the first one, the M193.

[00:01:26]So, developed in the 60s go along aside with, you know, the development of the actual AR-15 in the '60s. So, this one being old school M16 style rifle really meant for like 1 and 12 twist to really stabilize this 55 grain projectile diving into it. I mean, it's moving at like 32 90 feet per second. And of course, this was the pinnacle peak of like existence when it came to Eugene Stoner and what he blessed us with. But of course, what was the round designed for? I mean, it's a fastmoving round meant to just get through quick intermediate stuff really quick. And of course, it just being a normal training ball round. Back in those days though, it was mainly stick ammunition. That's why, you know, GIS were having problems with their rifles running properly during that moment in time. But, of course, we moved on from there. Moving on from that stick powder meaning a true powder charge in here to pump it out and give it every bit of FPS that you can gain from it. Moving forward as we get into more of I don't know the 80 style, you get into the M855 stuff. So what is M855? Essentially green tip is what we know it as. Um having that you know copper projectile but that steel u insert on the inside for a steel penetrator. So this is really cool. This thing's awesome. And I do have some of the actual official M855A1.

[00:02:41]This was definitely tactically acquired, but of course you can see that right there at that top steel penetrator.

[00:02:47]Still 62 grade grain projectile that's pumping out at crazy like 2920 FPS.

[00:02:53]Still pumping out awesome stuff right there. So of course these are meant for um 16inch barrels or even 145s. As you can see this nice little Colt retro build that we got here. really meant to for it to push out those in like combat areas and combat zones to really punch through intermediate barriers and go through it. And then you have the Mark 262. Now Mark 262 is really awesome.

[00:03:12]Again, 77 grain open tip match. It's coming in right there at like 2750 ft per second. This is a real true flyer.

[00:03:20]And of course, it being a heavier projectile means it's a little slower on the FPS. As you notice, this one was like threes. This one's 29. This one's definitely 270. Stepping it down in FPS as the weights grow. And if you guys don't know about grain weights, grains are actually just another form of measurement used to actually measure the projectile. You know, it gets down to Newton meters and Newton stuff when it comes down to that real minute stuff, but it's just used to actually figure out this has nothing to do with like the stick charge on the inside or the actual powder charge on the inside. So, just FYI. So, which one is right for you?

[00:03:52]Really comes down to your purpose, your mission, what you plan to do. If I'm using this for home defense, can I just use, you know, any of these rounds? You can absolutely. But I have to bear that in mind. you are accountable for each round that you fire out of this thing.

[00:04:04]So remember, most of these are going to carry out through whether either be just FMJ altogether. I would normally use like I don't know some type of uh hollow point or something that's going to be frangible inside of anything that's I don't know within 60, 50, 100 yards. But FYI, all of these are great to shoot.

[00:04:20]All of these are great to use. But just bear that in mind. Of course, full metal jackets are sailing going to have a hard time stopping that until they reach an intermediate barrier that is just going to stop. whether it be steel, wood, any type of rock or dirt, whatever you may have you. But when it comes down to really what you want to use, again, it comes down to what your plan is to. If I plan on shooting a vast amount of distance and I need a lot of speed and I need a lot of cheapness when it comes down to actually training with the round, 193 is going to be great for you.

[00:04:48]It's a 55 grain projectile. It's kind of cost effective when it comes down to it, but still going to give you great performance and great speed to carry out. If I'm looking for something to protect, to really punch through something to really, I don't know, put a little bit of a dent or really dump that energy into something, M855 is definitely going to do that. Whether you do traditional, you know, 62 green green tip or if you're lucky enough to find some MA55 A1, again, as you can see these, they are really, really close, but you can see they're still so far away when it comes down to it. this being one commercial round that you can get and this one being um out of um an armory near you. Little wink there.

[00:05:25]Shout out to my guys in supply. Um of course going forward Mark 262 it being a true Flyermanmen again open tip match meaning you know you can't call them hollow points due to the Geneva convention and traditional war or we call Geneva suggestion but I get it. open tip match definitely going to give you the true sailing out when it comes to flattest trajectory of a round when it comes to pushing. Now, I know there's many uh new casings and many new charges that have come out. Now, you have the NAS3. Shout out to my guys over at Black Arc Munitions. They've got some really, really hot stuff. That is still a 77 grain OTM match round that's flying, but the casing allows the pressure to be so high to really get that new stuff going on, and it's really sending out some astronomical numbers when it comes to FPS. So, you're almost like matching up with like M193 speed out of a 77 grain, which is, as you can see, the difference. You know, this one's 3250, this one's 2920, and this one is definitely 2750. So, you're talking about a huge vast difference when it comes to speeds. And if you can match that with the casing, that's all right with me. All right, we're at the range now. Again, with the Mark 262, 193, and M855. First of all, going to use the Mark12 as our baseline.

[00:06:41]Definitely a solid weapon for anything precision wise. Um, from there we're going to establish the zero, see what's going on, and then shoot it. Not only for like the accuracy p portion, but also get some accurate numbers when it comes to speed and velocity. So, tap in.

[00:06:58]Okay.

[00:07:09]All right, let's go down range and check it.

[00:07:18]But as it goes right now, velocity is running at 33 uh 01. So see what we're doing. All right, guys. Just got it ready, established our zero. Started here, moved up there, and now we're getting all of them in this 100 yard impact. Again, using the T-Rex Arms um zero target. You place it at 25 yards.

[00:07:37]This is your point of aim. This is your point of impact. Provided you're there, you're have a nice good rub here. And again, getting this glass where it needs to go. And I think we're solid. All right, we're going to start off with the M193, which is that 55 grain ball. Send it 10 round string and see what we get.

[00:07:50]And then we'll have a nice little grouping to show you.

[00:07:59]Got 3343 3286 3358 3329 9 3349 3318 3345 3293 3321 and 3,300 even. All right, let's go grab that target and see the results. All right, guys. Here comes the M193 55 grain. Again, the grouping was I had that one flyer just happened out of there, but all of them kind of stayed here right here in the box. Again, I'm really liking this 31 that I got going on. Really, really close and tight together. Again, it's only 55 grains, so I'm not expecting any type of really good accuracy. This is decent for sure.

[00:09:32]I'd say well within, what would you say, John? At least 2 MOA, >> I'd say. So, >> 2 MOA at 100 yards. So, again, moving on to the next one, the M855. Let's see how that one rolls. All right, guys. Moving on to that 62 grain M855.

[00:10:21]3057 3066 30 59 Fine.

[00:10:49]3103.

[00:10:51]Getting a little bit of heat barrage.

[00:10:59]3103.

[00:11:08]3063 3065 3068 3085 All right, let's go check out that target and see what happened. It's actually clustered maybe a little bit better, but I again had some flyers one way up top, one way at the bottom. But again, the barrel is starting to heat up. But as you can see, that one actually hit exactly where I was trying to hit. So that's great. That's definitely the gun, not me. But I've got one, two, three, four right here again out of this 10 round string. Had a couple of these clustered over there.

[00:11:53]Could have been just me. Again, it's pretty warm out today. It's about 90° 60% humidity for atmospherics, but uh of course velocities are at an average of 3073.

[00:12:08]So again, still moving fast, still above uh 3,000 ft per second. Again, moving on to the now heavier stuff, that 262 OTM.

[00:12:18]All right, now moving on to the Mark 262. Again, the one that's really meant for precision and long range. Yes, it is a 77 grain projectile. So, it means it's going to be a little bit heavier, moving a little slower through the air, but you do get a trueer uh BC and flight. So, just bear that in mind. Everything kind of varies. You have your bonus added features for using MA19 or M193, MA55, and M262. This one should shine and really knock it out of the box. No pun intended. Let's get into it.

[00:12:55]All right.

[00:12:57]Long glass.

[00:13:01]First one.

[00:13:11]2808.

[00:13:19]2767.

[00:13:20]Way slower.

[00:13:28]2795 27.86 2772 2791 2799 2780 2787 2795. Again, way slower than 3,000 ft per second. Just a heavier grain projectile. It's really doing its work.

[00:14:37]And I can see from here that they are clustered up really well. So, let's go check the target. And no surprise there.

[00:14:42]Mark 262 just does the job. I mean, look at everything. This is I'd say one and a half MOA. One and a quarter.

[00:14:50]What would you say, John?

[00:14:52]>> One and a half. One and a quarter. Yeah.

[00:14:53]>> One and a half. One and a quarter. Uh comment section, y'all. Y'all chime in.

[00:14:56]They'll be like, "Well, that's actually" And then you take the outside. I I'm not a precision dude. But of course, guys, you can see the difference. But I feel like we should stop rapping about it.

[00:15:04]Let's go back to the video room and actually really go in depth with it. All right, guys. Back in the video room again with our findings. Some pretty cool stuff here. Of course, uh super subjective. I'm not the greatest long range shooter. Uh, you know, environmentals play a factor, but here we go. Starting off with the M193.

[00:15:20]Again, that cluster of what we got going on. Um, definitely a good grouping.

[00:15:24]Again, standard 55 grain ball. Nothing that's really going to write home about, but is it still effective in the case of an emergency, in case of a fight?

[00:15:31]Absolutely. It's still there. And again, you're getting about two one and a half to two and a half MOA. Of course, I had this flyer out here, this outlier. But again, solid grouping, solid stuff. And again, from a solid platform, again, using the Mark12 as our bench uh mark for it. Again, I can't complain. I mean, it's still within, you know, the target.

[00:15:50]So, there you go. Averages on the speed though, of course, are 33 24. So, it's screaming out of that barrel. Again, really great, really cool, really fast ammo, but it still grouped pretty well.

[00:16:01]Moving on to MA55 62 grain. Um, more of like great heavy projectile, heavier obviously than 55, but this one actually kind of had some variances. I saw a vertical pattern string that kind of looked kind of weird. Again, I'm trying to do center aim, center hold when it cames to this outlier. Again, using the T-Rex arms targets, they just work. I mean, it's simple math from that point, right? So, of course, you can see this one kind of spread out a little bit more than the um at least to on my opinion.

[00:16:26]Comment section chime in for all that one, but this one being an outlier way up top and then this one being at the bottom just kind of just reminds me of like at least a good 3 MOA um for sure.

[00:16:35]2 and a half to 3 MOA on that one. When it came down to the speed, again, slower, heavier projectile, 62 grain, got that, you know, penetrator uh core inside. It's rocking at 3,70 ft per second. Again, still moving fast. So, you're still doing a lot of damage out of that Mark12, but then still a little bit squirly when it came down to the um actual um coverage of the MOA. So, moving on to the bell of the ball, the star of the group, the Mark 262 77 grain OTM. So, of course, this is actually from Black Hills. Black Hills also gives you like a check when it comes to the lot and of what's everything going on.

[00:17:11]So you actually have consistency standards through that. So woo 77 grain of course is super expensive, not all that common, but still a great round.

[00:17:19]And you can see this one gave us the best grouping out of the whole bunch. I mean I'd say this is still maybe one and a quarter, maybe one one a buck 50. Um, we'll let you guys decide on that one. Again, I'm not a great shooter when it comes to distance. There are way better people than me. But again, for what I can consider this, I mean, anything I could consider combat effectiveness to be anything within 3 in of a circle. So, uh, that's definitely within a one and a half inch circle on that one. But, of course, you can see the grouping, everything pretty stacked up right then.

[00:17:54]Again, the hotter the gun got, the hotter the suppressor got, we're going to have a little bit of variances in there. Of course, uh, atmospherics play a factor in that as well. But of course it being 77 grains, it's a heavier projectile. So it's flying as true as it possibly can not to get deferred by wind. Corololis. I I get it. Not really have Corololis at 100 yards, but still um you get the uh the jazz. But this one's flying at 27.88 as an average. So um I'll take this all day long. A matter of fact, if I had to choose, all right, because it's just my two cents. Which one are you going with? Are you going with the MA55, 262, or the 193? Well, obviously 262 was always going to get it, so that's definitely But between these two, I'm actually going to go with the 55 grain. I know I'll probably get chastised for that, but it is what it is. The 55 grain, it just looked a little bit more predictable to me um on that. I that's just my sense. It if I had to break it down, this was the only flyer that I had out really out there.

[00:18:48]So, could have been, you know, cold boore shot. It is what it is. We cooled it down in between shooting strings, so it is what it is. But this one kind of had that up and down for me. That's a little much up and down vertical. Uh that's that's the distance between uh the rough distance between missing uh very like small percentage target and not obviously obviously with the side to side movement you got that as well but again this one the variances was a little strange for me. So folks which one down below are you rocking with? Are you rocking with 262 M855 or 193? Do you have a bunch of stuff stockpiled? Like what do you train with? And then you know that's a good question. Should if I buy 77 grains should I zero 77 grains or no? should zero with probably whatever you shoot primarily. So if you got M855, go ahead and zero that what you got and rock it out, man. Of course, you your gun is only as accurate as you. So there it is. Aim small, miss small, however you want to call it. But of course, guys, sound off in the comments section.

[00:19:39]Let us know what you think. Which ammo are you rocking with? Are you just balling out on a budget with like, you know, 100 rounds of 262 here and there?

[00:19:46]Let us know, guys. Of course, we appreciate your business. God blessed and we'll see you guys later. Solid accuracy.