Under fire from public and lawmakers, feds nix plan to ban popular rifle ammo

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is abandoning plans to ban a popular type of rifle ammunition after an onslaught of criticism from both the public and lawmakers.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says the agency received more than 80,000 public comments on the proposal to outlaw some types of 5.56 mm rounds, or .223 caliber.

"Although ATF endeavored to create a proposal that reflected a good faith interpretation of the law and balanced the interests of law enforcement, industry, and sportsmen, the vast majority of the comments received to date are critical of the framework, and include issues that deserve further study," the agency said in a statement.

Hundreds of lawmakers, including 52 U.S. senators, also objected.

The ATF had proposed banning some types of ammunition used in the popular AR-15-style rifles that could penetrate a police officer's protective vest if fired from a handgun.

Armor-piercing handgun ammunition has been banned since 1986 as a way to protect police officers under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act.

Once gun-rights advocates got word of the proposed ban, they rushed to buy cases of the bullets, according to CBS affiliate KOLN in Lincoln, Nebraska.

"It doesn't really matter what it is right now, if it's 5.56 mm, it's selling quickly," Liberty Arms Manager Colton May told the station last week.

The New York Times reported that the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups accused President Obama of trying to enact backdoor gun control laws after failed attempts to get such legislation passed in Congress following the December 2012 Newtown, Conn. shooting rampage.