This comes up over and over again, so here are the facts.  And, no, no one here knows what "PD" really stands for, if anything.



The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is the only remaining small-arms ammo factory owned by the government, and is the source of most ammo used by the US military. [Due to the drastic increase in ammo usage with the WoT, Winchester/Olin, the only other company with the loading machines to make mil-spec ammo, has been given a contract for a few million rounds of ammo.]

Lake City, while owned by the government, has always been run by civilian contractors. From 1986-1999, it was operated by Olin (Winchester). The Winchester "white box" "Q-load" ammo (such as Q3131) was Lake City-manufactured ammo stamped with Winchester (WCC) headstamps.

Starting in 2000, the contract to operate Lake City was given to Alliant Techsystems (ATK), who had just bought all the gun-related companies that were formerly owned by Blount. This "shooting sports group" included: Federal, Speer, CCI, RCBS, Weaver, Outers, Ramline, and perhaps one or two others. ATK chose Federal to run Lake City, and thus, the "Federal XMxxx" loads were born.

The US military has extremely tough and strict requirements for ammo, and many layers of Quality Control (QC) checks to ensure that contract ammo is up to spec. Obviously, as with any mass-produced item, some of the product is going to fail QC.

LC-produced ammo that passes all the QC checks is packaged up and sent out to fulfill military contracts. I call this "Grade 1" ammo, which means "the best."  Note that ammo that is delivered to the military can no longer be surplussed as whole ammo, due to an Executive Order by Klinton in 1997, so as a rule, this ammo will never be available on the commercial market.

Ammo that fails QC in a minor way, such as not being completely moisture-sealed, but is otherwise good ammo is "Grade 2". That's what "XM193" is that Federal sells in 20-round boxes: Grade 2 ammo.  The same with XM855.

Ammo that has more serious problems, such as severe dents, bent rounds, split necks, and so on, is "Grade 3" (or worse).  Federal is selling this as XM193PD and XM855PD, and packs it loose in 500 round boxes. (For those who haven't been around long, loose-packed ammo is almost always Grade 3 or lower quality, no matter who you buy it from. If it was higher quality, it would have been boxed up and sold at full price!)

It is important to understand that batches of Grade 2 ammo may be made up of a mix of Grade 1 and Grade 2, and that Grade 3 ammo may have both Grade 1 and Grade 2 ammo mixed in. The grade is given based on the worst ammo in the lot.

XM193PD (Grade 3) is sold at a discount compared to the boxed XM193 (Grade 2), and real M193 is not available to the public (unless it was surplussed before 1997). Discounted prices on ammo generally mean the ammo is lower quality, especially when the same ammo is sold for two or more different prices, so this really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Also note that the PD loads are clearly marked "For Practice Use Only", another indication that this is DEFINITELY NOT Grade 1 (or even Grade 2) ammo.

Hopefully that clears up any confusion you might have. For those who have purchased "PD" ammo, make sure you hand-sort it first, and cull out any bad rounds. Also, be prepared for a squib load or any other unusual behavior, and make sure you know what to do when and if something occurs.

Finally, do NOT use the PD ammo for anything "important", and especially not for duty or defensive use.  This is bargain ammo that will give performance and reliability in proportion to its selling price.  TANSTAAFL!

-Troy

Quoted: Troy, If you are still there, I have purchased several loose lots of 1000 XM193 that appeared very clean overall.  They were remanufactured by Federal and have minimal physical flaws.  Should these be considered grade 3?

Federal does not remanufacture ammo; only Talon does that.  Remanufactured ammo is automatically Grade 3 simply because it's usually less reliable, even without the visible flaws.  It should only be used for practice/range/plinking.

-Troy

Quoted: Troy, every pack in PD I have seen is 1000rds not 500.

I don't know where you're looking, but it may be that they are selling 2 500-round packs together, or actually do have different packaging.  Most places are selling it in 500-round bulk boxes, loose-packed.

www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=163183

www.ammoman.com/webstore_223.htm

-Troy

Quoted: Here's the big question ... Carbine training/classes cost a lot ... would you use XM193PD in a class, or would worries over malfunctions make it not worth the savings in ammo costs?

There's what, a $40 difference per 1000, max, between XM193 and XM193PD.  How much is your training costing you?  Can you afford to screw up that training to save $40?

-Troy

Quoted: I understand "PD" stands for "Pull Down".

Not true; that's just one of many things people have suggested as a possiblity.  Federal isn't saying.

Regardless, the PD is a lower grade of ammo.

-Troy

Quoted: Quoted: Note that ammo that is delivered to the military can no longer be surplussed as whole ammo, due to an Executive Order by Klinton in 1997, so as a rule, this ammo will never be available on the commercial market. -Troy Anyone know the EO # on this?

I looked it up a couple years ago, but I didn't write it down.  It's basically an EO that clarifies the implementation of the UN International Small Arms Trafficing treaty that Klinton signed on our behalf.

-Troy

I'd choose (hand-sorted) XM193PD over Wolf every day of the week and twice on SHTF-day.  Wolf is PLINKING/PRACTICE/RANGE ammo, NOTHING ELSE, EVER...  (unless you literally have nothing better, and then you blew it).

-Troy

Quoted: Quoted: So does that mean the goverment is still using 55gr.  I thought they only used 62 gr 855.  So why is LC still producing xm193? There are still plenty of older rifles in service that need the 55 grain ammo.  Especially with the callup of so many National Guard units which tend to have the oldest equipment.  Over time this should change as newer 62 grain compatible (read the Ammo Oracle to see the real deal about this issue) weapons are brought in and the older weapons are retired.  Eventually 55 grain production will reduce to very low levels and the surplus will be mostly XM855.  I don't have any idea of a timeline for that however. Futuristic

someone please kill this rumor.  please show me a unit that is carrying these.  Most NG units have m4s now.

Quoted: Thanks for the info Troy. . . With this info in mind, it has got me wondering what Cabelas is thinking writing this as a description on the M855 they are selling:   <snip> Cabelas makes this ammo sound like it is grade 1 ammunition M4-CQBR

Simple: they're lying in order to make their inventory sound more appealing.  Sadly, this is almost standard practice in retail sales, and has been for a long time.  Hence the term "Caveat Emptor", or "Buyer Beware."  Also, TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) and YGWYPF (You Get What You Pay For).

If this was Grade 1 ammo, they'd be charging Grade 1 prices for it.

-Troy