.223/5.56 ammo advice

[yukonjasper]

I'm going to make an investment in. 223/5.56 ammo and was wondering which of the "value" brands I should look at and which I should avoid.

I'm seeing $.24/Rd as the lowest cost. Should I consider spending a little more to get a better round without getting out of hand on pricing. This would be used for range ammo for semi serious range work.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[LumberZach]

My thoughts have always been this: buy a lot of the cheapest stuff you can find(I've stopped buying steel) and save the brass for when you want it to do something the cheap factory ammo won't I.e. reloading for precision or hunting if you want specific bullet selection. Steel isn't bad, but then you can't reload as I'm sure you're aware. At my level of shooting though, having as much ammo as possible is the goal. I buy the cheap stuff, and while it isn't accurate, it goes bang. No problems that aren't user error to mention.



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[crbutler]

I am probably not the best person to answer this... I tend to buy the higher end stuff, and reload it or just start with LC brass and make what I want.

It depends on what you want to do with it.

First, .223 and 5.56 are not really synonymous. While supposedly you can use .223 in both, and 5.56 is higher pressure, to be honest, I have never had an issue with using milsurp in a .223 chamber.

For plinking with no real intent to reload, the absolute dirt cheapest stuff is fine. Steel case, bimetallic jacket- it does not matter.

If its plinking with the intent of possibly reloading it, get whatever cheap brass cased, noncorrosive, boxer primed stuff you can find. Basically, avoid wolf's non brass case and any non US milsurp. (some EU milsurp is OK, but sometimes its hard to find out if its berdan primed or boxer primed until you shoot some of it and look.)

If you want to use it for varmint shooting but don't reload, look at some of the remanufactured stuff with good varmint bullets (Black hills makes some with 50 gr ballistic tips)

Civil Insurrection? I would get FMJ ammo. Not the best performance, but lots of cheap ammo.

Trade bait? Milsurp.

Full auto gun? Milsurp.

Self defense? This is tougher, but buying whatever LE stuff turns your crank is best. .223 soft point ammo will not penetrate body armor well, but the wounds will stop anyone short of that.

Accuracy shooting? Federal Gold Medal Match or the premium black hills stuff if you don't reload.

If you reload, just get some prepped lake city brass and make what you want.

[UnaStamus]

If you want bulk, you can can find large lots of Federal/American Eagle XM193 or similar variants by ATK.
The other option is to buy a pallet from Freedom Munitions.

If you want ammo in the future for trade or sale in times when there is a run on ammo (next election perhaps), buy the cheap steel case FMJ like Wolf or Tula.

Just my $0.02

[Sigfan220]

If you want bulk, you can can find large lots of Federal/American Eagle XM193 or similar variants by ATK.
The other option is to buy a pallet from Freedom Munitions.

If you want ammo in the future for trade or sale in times when there is a run on ammo (next election perhaps), buy the cheap steel case FMJ like Wolf or Tula.

Just my $0.02

+1 for Federal

If I am buying 5.56 it is almost always Federal bulk packs. I have also ran a bit of PMC Bronze. I'd buy either again. This year I am trying out some Aguilla, haven't shot any yet. If you really want cheap ammo you should get a Dillon 550 and reload. The ROI on a compete Dillon setup is pretty short. I calculated it on a 1050 for 9mm and the ROI was less than a year. Even with an autodrive the ROI is pretty short, plus the machines retain value like mad. You could load for 10 years and probably get most of your money back on a Dillen. Demand keeps going up and they get more expensive every few years. It just depends on how much you shoot and how much time you have. You can load high quality FMJ and JSP for around $0.17 each if you buy in bulk. This is where the bulk of my 223 comes from. Components are readily available again. It was pretty bad for a while.

The real cheap stuff is probably not going to shoot as well. It will likely have Bi-metal jackets instead of copper. Just keep in mind there is a reason it is cheap. Not saying it won't work but that it may be worth spending a bit more.

[yukonjasper]

So what "list" do I get on when I buy a pallet of 50k rounds? I imagine that someone in the government will be keeping an eye on you.
Thanks for the advice. I think I'll get some blaster ammo and also some higher end stuff with a chance of being accurate. Met up with Shooter115 last fall and learned a lesson in ammo accuracy.

[yuppiejr]

Wolf Gold is also worth a look, it's brass cased/boxer primed and loaded to M193 spec (55 grain FMJ) imported from Taiwan... otherwise the Federal XM193 is a favorite. Prvi, Aguila, Wolf Gold and PMC also make good "hoard worthy" ammo at that 30-40 cents per round mark. I don't like the 62 grain/steel tip stuff as it dings up my targets and doesn't seem as accurate, though if the recent run on the stuff is any indication it has some greater potential as a money maker. If you need to shoot through something you might want to consider kicking up the velocity with a combination longer 1:9 twist barrel and lighter projectile, the 45 grain Winchester varmint loads are cooking along at almost 3600 FPS from a 20" barrel, though it drops closer to 3200 out of a 16" carbine. I've done far more damage to my own 3/8 AR500 targets with lighter varmint bullets than I have the XM855 with "penetrator" tips which just tends to leave a lot of annoying pockmarks.

The Russian imported steel case stuff also uses bimetal bullet jackets that will wear your barrels faster (something about the propellants used tended to increase throat erosion as well), may or may not be an issue but factor in to the total "savings" for buying and shooting a lot of the stuff. Some of it also comes loaded on the light side so you may need to mess with springs/gas pressures when switching between the steel case and full power brass cased stuff from Federal, PMC, Prvi, Wolf Gold, etc..

Reloading is great if you shoot a high enough volume, but there is the issue of having to track down 4 components (brass, primers, powder, projectiles) vs. one with loaded ammunition in times where the market is tight... plus the time/space factors to reload vs. simply storing and shooting factory ammo. People expect to pick up reloading and start cranking out ammo, but particularly for autoloading rifles there is a significant learning curve at the beginning to producing safe, reliable ammunition and you will not just be cranking out 500 rounds an hour as soon as you get that Dillon set-up on the bench. Also figure in a certain amount of time developing + testing loads and maintaining/setting your equipment. Hand loaded ammo is also less desirable as trade bait and can't be re-sold (legally) without an FFL, however for high volume shooters or folk who want to tune loads to a specific firearm and purpose it's a great option.

[Bearcatrp]

Do some google fu and search bulk 5.56. Cheaper to buy in bulk. I started at ammunition depot to get my LC brass to reload later. But if already reload, just buy the brass and the rest and go. I would stock up on the green tips if you can. The bastards will be coming after that stuff again in the near future or buy the bullets while you can.

[Ghost]

Do some google fu and search bulk 5.56. Cheaper to buy in bulk. I started at ammunition depot to get my LC brass to reload later. But if already reload, just buy the brass and the rest and go. I would stock up on the green tips if you can. The bastards will be coming after that stuff again in the near future or buy the bullets while you can.

http://ammoseek.com/ammo/5.56x45mm-nato

[igofast]

I'll 'ditto' YuppieJr's recommendation on Wolf Gold, if you search around you should be able to get it at/under .30/round shipped at 1k quantities.

I am not adverse to using bimetal(steel case) - and have found the 62 gr variety shoots very accurately. However, most ranges and competitions ban anything that attracts a magnet regardless of whether or not it is steel core(SS109/XM855). Lucky Gunner did a great article on brass/steel case here: http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-v ... ased-ammo/

For shooting - I am not a fan of the XM855. It just doesn't group as well as M193 for me. However, like I said, I've had good luck with the non-penetrator 62 gr. As others have stated, it will probably go up in value at some point. But again - not allowed at most ranges/competitions.

As far as an accurate bullet, dollar for dollar I find Fiocchi 40 and 50gr V-Max in .223 to be an exceptional value when I can find it at ~.40/round. Actually anytime the Hornady V-max bullet shows up at under .50/round regardless of manufacturer I will generally pick it up. They say that the 40gr won't work in a 1:9 or 1:7 twist, but I've had good luck - of course every gun is different.

If you are going to hoard NATO stuff with the intent of using it double and triple check it will work in your gun - like running several hundred thru it and verifying that your not blowing primers, hard extraction, or anything else. Just because the barrel is marked 5.56 doesn't mean that the tooling wasn't worn by the time your barrel came thru.

Stock up on _good_ magazines too.

[yuppiejr]

For shooting - I am not a fan of the XM855. It just doesn't group as well as M193 for me. However, like I said, I've had good luck with the non-penetrator 62 gr. As others have stated, it will probably go up in value at some point. But again - not allowed at most ranges/competitions.

As far as an accurate bullet, dollar for dollar I find Fiocchi 40 and 50gr V-Max in .223 to be an exceptional value when I can find it at ~.40/round. Actually anytime the Hornady V-max bullet shows up at under .50/round regardless of manufacturer I will generally pick it up. They say that the 40gr won't work in a 1:9 or 1:7 twist, but I've had good luck - of course every gun is different.
.

+1 on both points... X/M855 is great for stocking up to sell to suckers at the next panic, for "stash" ammo I'd stack the 55 grain M193 spec stuff deep and supplement with a smaller quantity of Hornady 75 grain TAP : http://ammoseek.com/ammo/5.56x45mm-nato ... -75grains- for special occasions.

I've also had good luck with the 45 grain Winchester SP and the 50 grain Fiocchi V-max stuff, Federal makes a 50 grain varmint load (gray tip) that's also worth looking at for thinner skinned creatures.

[Jackpine Savage]

I just ran across this comparison of some of the 55gr bulk ammo. FWIW

https://www.ocabj.net/55gr-5-56-nato-and-223-remington-ammunition-comparison/

[gman1868]

http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/rifle/223/

For AR-15 style rifles, do not use steel cased ammo.

[Seismic Sam]

So what "list" do I get on when I buy a pallet of 50k rounds? I imagine that someone in the government will be keeping an eye on you.
Thanks for the advice. I think I'll get some blaster ammo and also some higher end stuff with a chance of being accurate. Met up with Shooter115 last fall and learned a lesson in ammo accuracy.

50,000 rounds, with a target price of an quarter a round?? Dude, do you know how much room 50,000 .223 cases take up?? And you know how many .223 rifles you will completely burn out before those 50,000 cases are ready for the scrap heap?

So we're talking about an expenditure of $12,500 dollars JUST for the ammo, and then you want to reload it anyway?? You can buy a Dillion 650 with all the goodies plus LC cases, primers, powder, bullets for 3 grand easy, and you're up 10 grand!!!

[shooter115]

I'm going to make an investment in. 223/5.56 ammo and was wondering which of the "value" brands I should look at and which I should avoid.

I'm seeing $.24/Rd as the lowest cost. Should I consider spending a little more to get a better round without getting out of hand on pricing. This would be used for range ammo for semi serious range work.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Sorry, but I don't have much value to add here. I have not bought a factory loaded .223 round in like 20 years. If I were looking, I would check out Freedom Munitions and Capital Armament.