.223 bullets with a good accuracy/value balance?

I am looking to stock up on rifle bullets to reload for my AR. I've been using bulk Remington 55 gr FMJs just to get my press dialed and my process down, and these have given me inconsistant 5 shot groups of 1-5" at 100 yards. I'd like to take a step up in quality, but true match quality like Sierra Match Kings will break the bank pretty quick. Buying 100 bullet packs at Cabelas adds up too. My goal is to load moderate quantities (200-300 a month) of good quality, consistent practice ammo. I want a good load and stick with it. What brands of bullets available in 1000 packs would be a good place to start.

By the way, rifle is a 2004-ish vintage Bushmaster 20" HBAR 1:9 twist, and the press is a Lee Classic turret. I need to do my shooting on the cheap or not at all.

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The bullets themselves wouldn't be my first concern. But a quick test would be buy a small set of Sierra MKs and see how they group.

My FIRST move (and maybe you've already done this) would be to work up a load using different increments of powder and try to find a combo that provides consistent SD and performance out of your barrel with the current bullets.

I'd be surprised if bullets alone were causing large, inconsistent groups at 100 yards. No keyholing right?

Nope, no keyholing. I haven't done much experimenting. My first thought was my powder measure, but I weighed 20 straight throws and it was within .1 or .2 at most. It may make sense to try match grade components just to remove as many variables as possible to get a baseline.

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If you're looking for a quality 55 grain FMJ (M193 clone bullet), the Hornady is very good. I've found the Winchester awful. You might try Rocky Mountain Reloading and X-treme also and see if one of those works for you. Once you find a decent bullet, then buy in bulk and save money over the 100 quantity box that's killing you money wise.

Best bet for blaster 55gr ammo is the Hornady FMJ or SP. I've had really good accuracy from the soft points. NEreloading has good prices on these.

Nosler sells 223 Varmint and Target bullet "blems" and "overruns" at competitive prices through the Shooters Pro Shops. I try to buy those when on sale and specifically in bulk - I recently got a deal on their 77 grain Custom Competition. With 1x9 you may want to get their 50-55 grain varmint bullets - my 1-9 AR hates 77s.

At one time I could get 55 FMJs to stay under an inch but the manufacturing processes must have really cheapened up over the years as that is no longer the case, 2" now seems to be acceptable. Wind can really affect a 55 FMJ, even at 100 yards as the G1 ballistic coefficient is pretty terrible, around .240. A bullet with a higher BC can help shrink groups as they are less affected by wind.

shootersproshop.com sells Nosler overruns and blems. For a 1:9 twist you would probably want a 69 grain bullet and I have seen the 69 grain Custom Competition on sale for $130 per thousand. The 70 RDF is also a good bullet with a .416 G1 BC but they typically like to be seated in the lands which is tough to do in an AR. They shoot really well in my 1:9 twist bolt gun but are jammed, .010 into the lands.

The 62 grain Hornady BTHP that Mid South carries is a good shooting bullet for the money and the G1 BC is .270 which is an improvement over the 55 FMJ.