Current 5.56 recommendations or cautions?

General Firearms Reloading & Ammunition
1

I did a search on ammo threads and didn’t find what I was looking for except some old threads, so forgive me if I missed something. I thought there would be more discussions about this and can’t believe there aren’t.

After trying my new BCM M4 with PMC bronze .223 and Armscor 5.56 I noticed a difference in accuracy (not surprising) and that got me thinking. I bought some Winchester white box 5.56 at Wal-Mart but haven’t tried it yet.

What everyday use or serious ammo are your favorites right now?

How about warnings of ammo to avoid?

2

Hornady TAP. I can’t wait to try some out on some deer, I’ve heard good things.

Plus the nickel casings just look cool through PMag windows.

3

The cheapest “decent” ammo for most people is Federal .223 Value Packs (100 rounds) at Walmart - $39.95 (unless AIM Surplus or Wideners has some milsurp special going on).

I personally like the Wolf GOLD 75gr BTHP ammunition. Unlike most other Wolf ammo, it’s actually manufactured by Prvi Partizan and simply badged as a Wolf. It’s brass cased and non-corrosive and can yield sub-MOA accuracy (at least in my experience with it). It typically sells for $6.99 - $7.99 for a 20 round box. It’s a low-cost, almost match-grade ammo at ~$.40 per round.

4

PMC and Fiocchi 55 gr. here…both have been great. The Fiocchi price fluctuates at times up to 40.00 per 1000 though…

5

I shoot mostly reloads,but when I shoot “Factory” stuff,I shoot alot of Wolf,and other Steel Cased ammo that I can find local and is fair priced !!! I have been shooting alot of the Federal/American Eagle 5.56 stuff,100 rds boxs for around $30 bucks,for the AE,and around $80 bucks for the Federal XM193 200 rd box. One of my Local Sporting Goods places has PMC on sale at times,good stuff also !! Around $7 bucks a box of 20.

6

A lot depends on what capabilities you’re looking for in the ammo…“serious” as barrier penetrating? “serious” as in unprotected flesh / hunting? “blasting” or “target shooting”?

I’m very curious as to what specific info you are looking for that hasn’t been discussed. If you have some specific questions that haven’t been addressed somewhere on this forum you’d be doing the website a real favor by elaborating on what information you’re looking for so the experts can provide it.

The Reloading & Ammo and the Terminal Ballistics Info sections are a wealth of info on ammo choices.

You could also try Molon’s excellent posts on ar15.com. There’s tons of info on those, too. It’s called “Collected posts by Molon ammo” I think.

BCM reportedly handles most things quite well, even the Wolf. Unfortunately you gotta try all the GTG choices and see which your rifle “likes”. Lots of folks like the various Black Hills choices.

7

Not knowing your specific question, I’ll just post generally what I think you may be looking for…

-5.56 is inherently less accurate and higher pressure than its .223 counterpart; it sounded like you’re aware of this from your post, but it is worth mentioning…

The Speer Gold Dot Power soft point ammo is my pick for the best all-around carry/defensive round, due to its ability to penetrate barriers well, expand rapidly/consistently and be used in both .223 & 5.56 chambers. It is accurate stuff, and expands VERY well.

I have my primary mag loaded with the Speer gold dot; and secondary mags loaded wiht the same, and alos some MK318 Mod 0 SOST 62 Grain OTM (Replaced the M855/SS109 penetrator round) ; I like both, very accurate and best of both worlds for consistent expansion/defeating intermediate barriers. (Both of these rounds are available from G&R tactical by the way ;))

I love PPU’s match grade 75 grain (Also the 65 & 62 grainers) boat tail (.223); it is accurate as hell and at a great price point for comparative ammo. This is the ammo I use the most of, I train with it (As well as the speer and MK318), and use the cheap stuff (Wold & Silver bear) just to go blow off steam or have some fun messin around puttin holes in shit.

I also like Black Hills moly coated 75 grain match boat tail, but it is over twice as expensive as the PPU stuff, and I see no benefit in accuracy or any other department for that matter. SO I tend to stick to the PPU, it is good stuff for a good price.

As far as the cheap stuff is concerned, I use wolf & silver bear. Never had any problems, one dud round from Wolf, but no malfs or stoppages from either other than a dud round.

I would avoid TULA ammo, I’ve heard lots of negatives about htat stuff; I got a (500) round case; shot it all in one day, and the accuracy was all over the place, I didn’t have any problems with malfs or stoppages like others I new had from the TULA, but I wasn’t keen on the accuracy being so varied from round to round; it was really all over the place.

8

By serious ammo I just meant what you would trust your life to, or use in your line of work if you carry the weapon professionally.

I know Hornady TAP rates high on a lot of people’s lists.

9

Answer:
Speer Gold Dot soft point 64 Grain GDSP.

[http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=24448&reference=/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3Dspeer gold dot%26searchstart%3D0%26template%3DPDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html](http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=24448&reference=/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3Dspeer gold dot%26searchstart%3D0%26template%3DPDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html)

and/or:
Federal MK318 Mod 0 SOST 62 Grain OTM

[http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=T556TNB1&reference=/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3DMK 318%26searchstart%3D0%26template%3DPDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html](http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=T556TNB1&reference=/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3DMK 318%26searchstart%3D0%26template%3DPDGCommTemplates/FullNav/SearchResult.html)

Federals trophy bonded bear claw (TBBC) rounds are good as well. Hornady TAP is good as well, but I have had very limited use with it. I like the speer GDSP better.

DocGKR’s take:
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19881

10

I’m a self confessed steel case lover and it makes up 90% of what I shoot, but when I’m not shooting that, I agree the Hornady TAP is very good. Also like XM193 if I find a good deal on it.

Not a fan of PMC bronze at all (in any caliber); I find accuracy can be questionable with that - I’d sooner shoot Brown Bear, it does the same job for two thirds of the price. I have also tried some of the Turkish MKE/American Tactical 62gr stuff that is about - wasn’t overly impressed with the accuracy of that either.

Have not tried the Wallyworld 100 round boxes of Federal, but at $40 a box, it seems expensive to me.

11

Serious SD rounds I reload! I use either 60 Vmax or 75gr Horn HPBT which are loaded to match the High priced TAP rounds! General SHTF and plinking Fed XM193!:smiley:

12

It is all dependent on what type of environment you plan to shoot around e.g: vehicles, auto glass, unobstructed open shots, etc, etc, etc.

There are too many variables to pick one magic bullet. I think a study of DocGKR’s postings on .223/5.56 ammo are some of the best resources available. Hint check the Stickies in the ammo forums: https://www.m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?f=91

I carry the 64gr Gold Dots in my duty rifle as the are a good compromise for the environment I work in and am likely to need to make engagements in and around. They are also reasonably priced.

It is my experience from attending ballistic workshops and intel from other actual OIS incidents that the heavier 75gr Hornady TAP rounds perform good generally in unobstructed shots, but perform sub-optimally when intermediate barriers like auto glass are present. The lighter 55gr and 60gr TAP rounds wouldn’t be my first choice if picking a round to shoot bad guys with. Maybe bad squirrels, but not humans.

13

I benched this ammo and 55 hornady red box factory ammo.

I found slightly better accuracy from the Fed ammo (which is not WWB), albeit a lower group on the target when using the same sight settings, indicating a slower speed.

Good enough to set a baseline for yourself/your gun.

14

I just ordered several cases of IMI M193. I’ve had a stash of it for quite some time now but never used any of it. I’ve always heard it’s good ammo. Well, for M193.
I’m gearing up to load 1k with Barnes 55 gr. TSX and 1k with Nosler 60 gr. Partition for true SHTF ammo.