The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Gear and Accessories

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old January 10, 2009, 02:40 PM   #1
Rourke
Member
 
Join Date: January 3, 2009
Location: SC, USA
Posts: 21
AR-15 Ammunition Recommendations

I have recently purchased a Stag AR-15 and would like to hear people's opinions on recommended ammo. I am budget-minded and looking to stock up over the next couple of months.

Thx - Rourke
__________________
Prepare for the Worst.....Hope for the Best. www.WorldInfoCD.com
Rourke is offline  
Old January 10, 2009, 02:43 PM   #2
FALPhil
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 10, 2007
Location: Racoon City
Posts: 934
Georgia Arms Canned Heat.

Get your Canned Heat here.
FALPhil is offline  
Old January 12, 2009, 10:07 AM   #3
1911 Shooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 1, 2006
Posts: 124
What's the bbls twist & what are you planning to do with it?
1911 Shooter is offline  
Old January 12, 2009, 12:35 PM   #4
GLP Standard
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 27, 2005
Posts: 286
I recently discovered this website, and found this smoking deal on there...

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalo...oducts_id/2131

That's what I'm going with within a few weeks or so. I'm not getting that much, probably just picking up a couple hundred rounds, but they sell it in bulk at 500 rounds and 1000 rounds if youre interested. $38.00 for 100 rounds of .223 is a hell of a deal... that's $0.38 a round. Compare that to what itll cost you for Remington, which goes for anywhere from $0.60 a round to $0.90 a round. I know you get what you pay for, but Wolf (which will never touch my gun) goes for around $0.30 a round, and the stuff I posted from the reviews ive read is much better than Wolf. Ill pay the extra $0.08 for the stuff from ammunitiontogo
GLP Standard is offline  
Old January 12, 2009, 07:28 PM   #5
Rourke
Member
 
Join Date: January 3, 2009
Location: SC, USA
Posts: 21
My Stag AR is a carbine with a 1/9 barrel.

Thanks - Rourke
__________________
Prepare for the Worst.....Hope for the Best. www.WorldInfoCD.com
Rourke is offline  
Old January 15, 2009, 04:18 AM   #6
skeeter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 29, 1999
Posts: 883
I would go with what it is designed for - 5.56 not 223.
skeeter is offline  
Old January 15, 2009, 07:37 AM   #7
DigMe
Member
 
Join Date: September 7, 2004
Posts: 22
GLPStandard,

Looks like you won't be going with that in a couple of weeks because your deal seems to be GONE! Oops!

brad
DigMe is offline  
Old January 15, 2009, 07:41 AM   #8
DigMe
Member
 
Join Date: September 7, 2004
Posts: 22
To the OP: 1/9 barrels generally work better with smaller bullets like 55-69gr. Bigger bullets lose stability out of a 1/9.
DigMe is offline  
Old January 15, 2009, 08:21 AM   #9
mearly
Junior Member
 
Join Date: January 5, 2009
Location: Chester, VA
Posts: 11
my sig liked pmc 55 gr

I have run about 600 rounds through my sig 556 and it really seemed to like the 55 gr PCM ammo that I would usually find for about 250-280 per thousand .... try it and I think you will like it also
mearly is offline  
Old January 15, 2009, 10:06 AM   #10
sam1chlt
Member
 
Join Date: January 11, 2009
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 38
Ammo

Here is a good place to look!

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...equestid=31456
sam1chlt is offline  
Old January 15, 2009, 11:21 AM   #11
darkgael
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 9, 2006
Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania.
Posts: 5,473
ammo

Quote:
I am budget-minded and looking to stock up over the next couple of months.
Time to start reloading. If I had to pay $0.38 per round, I couldn't afford to shoot. Assuming that you have brass, you can reload for about $0.20-$.22 per round or less( about 10 cents per bullet 55grain FMJ, three cents for the primer and seven cents for the powder - 25 grains from a $20 a pound can.) Buy in bulk or find better prices and you can be at half of the $0.38 figure. For the kind of money that you are talking about spending, you could buy everything that you need to start, including components.
Pete
__________________
“Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ...
NRA Life Member
darkgael is offline  
Old January 16, 2009, 02:11 AM   #12
GLP Standard
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 27, 2005
Posts: 286
Quote:
Originally Posted by DigMe
GLPStandard,

Looks like you won't be going with that in a couple of weeks because your deal seems to be GONE! Oops!

brad
Yeah I just saw that. Im pretty happy let me tell you
GLP Standard is offline  
Old January 16, 2009, 02:29 AM   #13
rjrivero
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 17, 2008
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 1,399
Anyone else but me worried about shooting a bunch of STEEL cases in their AR's?
rjrivero is offline  
Old January 16, 2009, 02:52 AM   #14
HiBC
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 13, 2006
Posts: 8,274
I am not trying to be disrespectful,just talking straight.
If a guy wants to have fun blasting on a budget, a 10 rd SKS is hard to beat.
Feed it steel,brass,norinco,baurnal,wolf...it won't care and it is cheap ammo.

You have a nice AR. Instead of burning the barrel up,aim and squeeze each shot for accuracy,like it is a bolt gun that strokes itself.Make hits,not dust and noise.Think precision.Think of your ammo as part of that precision,not bangfodder.

Graf's might still have some Lake city primed brass semi-reasonable.There are folks who sell processed once fired brass.That is probably cheapest.

I would size it again as You don't know how worn their dies are.

Did you say you have 1-9 twist?.There are 62 gr boat tail fmj's Hornady makes a good one.I use 69 grain Sierra MatchKings or Nosler Comps.
There are other powders,but Varget works for me.

Our government thinking "Budget Minded" about ammo had a lot to do with the AR/M-16 troubles.

Learning to make good ammo is the best way to make your AR work.
HiBC is offline  
Old January 16, 2009, 03:17 AM   #15
roach4047
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 26, 2008
Posts: 189
CLearning to make good ammo is the best way to make your AR work.

I've heard that from several extremely reputable sources now a couple of which have numerous national titles under their belt from Camp Perry.

From just about every authority in the AR-15 arena you will here that although they are superior rifles in their own arena they can be finicky about what particular ammunition you feed them.

That's not saying your particular AR won't shoot well on inexpensive ammo. It might and it might not. You'll simply have to see what works well in your application and what doesn't. For instance my cousin has a BushMaster that does pretty well with Winchester White box FMJ 55 gr while my Wilson Combat UT-15 doesn't like that ammo so well for reasons that only somebody with far more expertise than myself could only tell you and The wilson cost twice what the bushmaster does. Will the Bushmaster out shoot the Wilson? Maybe if you're feeding them both Winchester whitebox but feed them each their preferred ammo and the Wilson will most likely out shoot the Bushmaster. At least I would hope it would...lol

The point is that just like any other weapon they'll function better with certain ammo on board. The trick is finding what the weapon performs best with. Like mentioned before. with a 1:9 twist you'll want to stay away from the heavier bullets. 52g-55g would be a good place to start. Don't go any higher than 68g according to the authorities higher grain bullets require 1:8 or greater.

Roach
roach4047 is offline  
Old January 17, 2009, 12:18 AM   #16
Ratmachine
Junior Member
 
Join Date: November 13, 2008
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 11
I know I will killed here but, I shoot the Wolf 55 gr in my Rem R15. Prob 1500+ rounds and have never had a problem. I think if you keep your gun clean and don't leave any rounds in the chamber for an extended time, you should be fine.
__________________
Giggity, Giggity, Giggity!
Ratmachine is offline  
Old January 18, 2009, 01:45 AM   #17
FireForged
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 4, 1999
Location: Rebel South USA
Posts: 2,074
Do not buy reloads/remanufactured ammo and I would suggest that you do not use WOlf ammo in your AR.

Cheap ammo that I have been happy with:
Sellier & Bellot

Other ammo I like
Federal AE
Winchester 3131
IMI

Ammo I had problems with in my AR
Wolf
PMC
__________________
Life is a web woven by necessity and chance...
FireForged is offline  
Old January 21, 2009, 09:41 AM   #18
protectedbyglock
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 27, 2006
Location: PA
Posts: 470
Those federal 223s in the value pack at walmart seem pretty decent.
I just picked up 200rnds over the last couple days.
They are $39/100, but reloadable.
May want to check into them.
__________________
"Reach out your hand if your cup be empty. If your cup be full, let it be again.
Let it be known, there is a fountain, that was not made by the hands of men"
protectedbyglock is offline  
Old January 21, 2009, 10:26 AM   #19
2amencw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 3, 2008
Posts: 143
ar ammo

buy whatever you can get for practice. remember hitting the target repeatedly is easy. the real training comes in if you do have to clear a malf and then get your wits back together and hit the target.as for me i trust wolf.... all the other nice stuff is great if you can get it, but in todays world if you can get it and it shoots reliably then use it. i dont know of anyone who wants to get shot with any bullet, even a 223 made by wolf or brown bear. there seems to always be alot of bias toward steel case or steel jacketed stuff. i shot a deer with 203gr bimetal sp in 7.62x54r out of an m44 carbine. the bullet(steel jacketed) literally detonated inside the deer and left a clean through and through hole that was 3x3in. an arm would go throught the hole.so much for non expanding steel jacketed sp ammo. look the long and short is that some guns do fine with it and some dont. get some of each and try it. dont get pushed around by the "experienced poster". been there done that, learn by doing. learn something with each trigger pull good or bad. wolf is not going to ruin your gun. i have read more bad stories about brass ammo blowing up ars than wolf. keep your ar clean and you wont have problems. "Bring the Rain" Molon Labe!

Last edited by 2amencw; January 21, 2009 at 10:29 AM. Reason: spelling
2amencw is offline  
Old January 21, 2009, 10:57 AM   #20
cajuncutter
Member
 
Join Date: July 30, 2007
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 61
Ratmachine said

"I know I will killed here but, I shoot the Wolf 55 gr in my Rem R15. Prob 1500+ rounds and have never had a problem. I think if you keep your gun clean and don't leave any rounds in the chamber for an extended time, you should be fine."

Nothing wrong with wolf. Over time it will take a toll on your extractor. Reason so many people do not like it is when you shoot steel cases they will not expand like brass. Becasue of this you get blow by which builds up, why people say it is "dirty" ammo. When you get this build up and run a brass round in it the brass will expand and get stuck. That is when people panic and think something bad wrong happened. Like many say and you will hear this time and time again...keep the gun clean. Simple as that. I have Wolf stocked up for a rainy day and do not shoot it on a regular basis. I have a 1/7 twist rate on a Colt match barrel. My gun likes longer bullet for stability. If I want to shoot up the country side I install by M-261 and run 500 rounds of bulk 22 through it for fun. When finished I run a couple of FMJ's down the tude to "clean" it out.
cajuncutter is offline  
Old January 24, 2009, 02:12 PM   #21
Rourke
Member
 
Join Date: January 3, 2009
Location: SC, USA
Posts: 21
.223 vs. 5.56 ??

Anyone experience any issue running .223 in a chamber marked for 5.56?

From what I have read - .223 in a 5.56 is not a problem - going the other direction could be.

Thanks - Rourke
__________________
Prepare for the Worst.....Hope for the Best. www.WorldInfoCD.com
Rourke is offline  
Old January 27, 2009, 07:16 AM   #22
dallas77
Junior Member
 
Join Date: September 24, 2008
Posts: 5
ar-15 ammo

I have been using pmc 55 gr from sportsman guide it's about 89.00 for 200 rounds or the Armory has it a little cheaper right now. hope I was A little helpful.
dallas77 is offline  
Old January 27, 2009, 10:06 AM   #23
kraigwy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 16, 2008
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 11,061
Quote:
Anyone experience any issue running .223 in a chamber marked for 5.56?

From what I have read - .223 in a 5.56 is not a problem - going the other direction could be.
Been doing it for over 30 years with no problems. Both ways.

In fact I carried a Model 700 V in 223 as a LE counter sniper. I used M195 55 grn ball in it. That was in 1978, I still have that rilfe it still shoots great with either the 223 or 5.56. Shot a lot of com. 223 in M16s chamberd for the 5.56 in compitition, again with no problems.

I hear a lot about the so called problems but no one has ever showed me a case where a problem occured. And I've been looking a long time.

If you check with Brownells you'll find the match chamber reamers for either are the same side.

So dont worry about it.
__________________
Kraig Stuart
CPT USAR Ret
USAMU Sniper School
Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071
kraigwy is offline  
Old January 27, 2009, 11:58 PM   #24
2amencw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 3, 2008
Posts: 143
wolf and extractors

look carefully at the rim edge on wolf or any other steel cased ammo. You will notice that the outer edge is beveled while brass cases generally are not. There was one german brand that I had that was but the brass was so soft that the extractor always ripped the rims right off. The brass also seemed to swell an awful lot. Look I know we all have our pet ammo, but I have had nothing but good performance out of wolf ammo. In the end it comes down to trust. I would prefer to rely on win q3131 55fmj w/ cannelure because the terminal performance is well known but anything striking a target in the operational range of the 556 is going to have a bad day. If you doubt that a center mass shot will do the job then learn to hit something more vital. Striking the pelvis or clavicle will stop just about any thing. The only rifle that gives any issue with wolf is my fn fs2000. but even withthat i just adjust the gas to low powered ammo and keep on trucking. also the steel in the bullet is mild steel. I dont know the exact brinell hardness but some references put it very similar to brass and bullet copper.just my bit. cw
2amencw is offline  
Old January 29, 2009, 03:45 PM   #25
roach4047
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 26, 2008
Posts: 189
Why not Wolf?

The complaints that I hear about the wolf ammo is that it's not good for the barrel of the gun over the long haul. If you don't mind replacing your barrel sooner than later then go ahead and use it. It will shorten the life of the barrel. Again... that is just what I'm told. I can not provide you with personal testimony since I've chosen not to shoot any of the wolf ammo in my rather expensive AR-15.

Roach
roach4047 is offline  
Reply

Tags
ammunition , ar-15

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:29 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.07621 seconds with 8 queries