Requesting input on 5.56 practice ammo

[Wake27]

Another vote for it not needing to be a big consideration. I usually get the cheapest brass cased 55gr .223 as true practice ammo, sometimes that’s AE or PMC, right now it’s Igman. I have some quality (MEN) 56gr 5.56 as the bulk defensive round. It’s not so expensive that I will feel terrible using it as basic practice ammo but since it’s slightly higher pressure, it’ll cycle the gun more reliably and reach out a little further than the .223. It also groups pretty consistently. I used this stuff in an LPVO class and was reliably hitting out to 450m. At about 550-600m, it was going subsonic and becoming unpredictable from what I remember (this was also out of a 12.5 FWIW).

For defensive use, I have a mix of 75gr Gold Dot and 77gr IMI OTM. Pre-Covid, I did have a stash of 75gr AE ball that had nearly identical POI as the GD out to at least 50, maybe even 100. It also grouped very well so I shot it at distance a few times, but it was kind of slow IIRC. That stuff has been hard to find since though.

[jeep45238]

Anything non-reman made in a Nato country, or any steel case, has been more than sufficient for me out to 500yds or so. Wolf has consistently been around 2moa ammo, and in a standard DI AR, the cost savings on ammo can pay for a new barrel easily (the jacket is typically copper mixed with zinc, which erodes barrels faster) and still be out ahead. Not so much for a boutique rifle or proprietary design that isn't supported with off-the shelf parts.

My current cans are filled with Wolf, IMI, Winchester, and whatever else I was able to get on sale for a good price/per round, after shipping/taxes are involved.

If it doesn't run on steel, it doesn't deserve brass :-P

[ST911]

I see a lot of 55gr stuff, but I'm not sure if that is the best way to go. Maybe something in the 62-64gr range would be better for all around use? Or does bullet weight only matter for longer distance shooting? My shooting will be at 100 yards or less.

Point of reference from some LPVO shooting today. At 100yds, all training (FMJ, lead free, frang) ammo stayed on an 8x11 sheet of paper at 100 yards against the duty load zero. Some stayed inside the black of a B8 bull. Farther out it mattered more, but if you're not going beyond ~200-300 depending it doesn't matter for most purposes.

[TGS]

Rifle is zeroed for 62gr 223. Going to 75 gr 223 seems to still be good enough for getting hits out to 300 on a steel torso plate. Haven't compared with 55gr just because I have so much 62gr and 75gr built up.

Unless you're going for precision shooting, I agree with everyone else.

[GyroF-16]

For defensive use, I have a mix of 75gr Gold Dot and 77gr IMI OTM. Pre-Covid, I did have a stash of 75gr AE ball that had nearly identical POI as the GD out to at least 50, maybe even 100. It also grouped very well so I shot it at distance a few times, but it was kind of slow IIRC. That stuff has been hard to find since though.

*** Thread Drift ***

May I ask what drives your selection of 75 and 77 gr for defensive use?
I’ve always thought of the longer, heavier projectiles as optimum for longer-range precision, and lighter 55/62/64 gr SPs for closer (i.e most defensive) work.
What am I missing?
And is this with the 12.5” barrel you mentioned?

[Wake27]

*** Thread Drift ***

May I ask what drives your selection of 75 and 77 gr for defensive use?
I’ve always thought of the longer, heavier projectiles as optimum for longer-range precision, and lighter 55/62/64 gr SPs for closer (i.e most defensive) work.
What am I missing?
And is this with the 12.5” barrel you mentioned?

I settled on this stuff a while ago, so things may have changed and/or my memory may be off. I also don't obsess over ammo, I picked these as rifle rounds and 124gr +P GD as the pistol round and after deciding there, I have nearly zero desire to try something else out. Just like with the caliber wars, I don't subscribe to a magic one bullet solution and expect that any round fired at a human will be best served with several follow ups which is part of why I like 9 and 5.56 vs .45 and .308.

All that said, my recollection is that the heavier rounds perform fairly consistently out of shorter barrels. They may be slower than some of their lighter counter parts but the 75gr GD was specifically designed around SBRs I think, and 262 is just an easy gold standard that has performed well across a ton of real world testing. I have 10.3 all the way up to 14.5 pinned and hopefully will get an 18 sooner rather than later and these just felt like easy button options that will perform pretty well across a wide range of situations.

[Robert Mitchum]

Hornady Training Full Metal Jacket 223 Remington Ammo 50 Round Box - Brass Casing

Just picked up 2,500 rounds

$23.49 Box: 50


Caliber: 223 Remington

Grain Weight: 55gr

Bullet Type: FMJ

Case: Brass

[jeep45238]

For what it's worth, I was sending approx 2 MOA groups off a sling at 400y over the past couple days with basic Winchester 55 grain.

We all want laser beam ammo, but frequently we aren't in environments that support the laser beam. As long as the ammo isn't the limiting factor in our shooting, then I don't see an issue with using pretty much anything that rolls my way.

[BobM]

Hornady Training Full Metal Jacket 223 Remington Ammo 50 Round Box - Brass Casing

Just picked up 2,500 rounds

$23.49 Box: 50


Caliber: 223 Remington

Grain Weight: 55gr

Bullet Type: FMJ

Case: Brass

I bought a lot of that at my department when it was steel cased, it worked well and was surprisingly accurate.

[Molon]

I bought a lot of that at my department when it was steel cased, it worked well and was surprisingly accurate.

That's because the Hornady 55 grain FMJ projectile is the most consistently accurate/precise domestically manufactured bullet in that category. It's also available as a reloading component.



Hornady 55 Grain FMJ Training





This load is topped with Hornady's 55 grain FMJ-BT bullet; the same bullet that is available as a reloading component. This ammunition is loaded in steel cases. When chronographed from the 20" Colt Barrel, this ammunition had a muzzle velocity of 3008 FPS with a standard deviation of 24 FPS.


A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.25".







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