Alright guys, I’ve been shooting AR’s for about a year now & I am nothing but a hobby shooter. I own an AR because I like to shoot and i like to piss off liberals.
I usually shoot .223 remington & WWB 55 gr. ammo from Wally World because it’s cheap & convenient. I want to shoot more 5.56 ammo and would like to know what is your go-to ammo of choice. BH is great for paper punching, but it’s expensive & hard to find, so we’re talking about Lake City M855, XM193, Adcom, Guatemalan, Radway, Hunting Shack, etc. What do you prefer, 55 gr. FMJ or 62 gr. SS 109? What ammo have you had good luck with from a reliability standpoint? What offers reasonable accuracy and affordability? I’ve heard good and bad about Adcom and have heard to stay away from XM193 PD. I’d love to find an affordable fairly accurate 75 gr. option. So… how 'bout it?
I have Hornaday TAP 75gr in 20rd magazines in each of my AR’s for HD. On the range I use whatever I can pick up cheap. Right now I’m working my way through a case of Wolf 55gr. It’s working fine in my Bushies. I have a bit of a stockpile of XM193 I’m just keeping around. I paid $14.95 for a box of 20 TAP’s at the gun shows when they come through town. I usually get at least one box when I go. They build up fast, as the show comes to town every 3 months.
Been shooting AE 55 fmj since it was in the white “Eagle” box (GotM4, no old timer jokes!). Personally shot over 15,000 rounds. Seen probably over 100,000 rounds fired in variety of AR’s and M16’s. NEVER seen a bad round. Also, very accurate. YMMV.
Black Hills ammo, various loadings for duty (55/60 JSP, 68 OTM) and practice (reman same, +ball). Occasional use of the economy lines from major CONUS manufacturers.
No budget imports + no “good as” purchasing = No Ammo Problems
Home Defense is Black Hills Blue Box 68gr HP I keep one 30rd mag charged (28rds) and everything else in my 2 ammo cans, if I have to go. Mag-Safe 85gr .40 cal in one mag and Cor-Bon 150gr HP in another for my nightstand pistol which sits next to a Z2 w/120 lumen lamp.
I’ll have to fight my way to my AR, but at that point it wont matter much will it?
It’s interesting to me to see the variety in the answers so far. I’ve been shooting alot of Federal AE and .223 Win. I placed an order for a couple of boxes of Mk 262 this week end and picked up some Win Q3131 to try out.
I’m curious, how does the Q3131 compare to Federal Lake City XM193?
Any good sources for Black Hills 75 or 77gr. rounds? I can’t seem to find anyone who has them in stock & have been looking for a couple of months online.
I’d like to get my hands on some 5.56 Hornady, but us lowly civies are out of luck. (unless you’d like to send me yours!) I bought a local sporting goods store out of all 11 boxes of Q3131 they had in stock for $4.99 / box. MK 262 is on the way too. Too pricey for regular consumption, so I’ll stash it.
I had high hopes for the HSM tactical rounds, but accuracy is not on par with TAP or MK 262.
I saw some Federal Xm193 on SG and had a question for those that may have ordered from them.
I hope everyone here at least tries enough of their “go to” rounds in their “go to” tools before relying on them. I know a lot of people who won’t shoot the expensive HPs or self defense rounds on the range because of the cost, but then depend on them to work in their rifles when the time comes. If you’re willing to spend an extra $100 getting ammo with reliable performance, you should be willing to spend at least $100 making sure it’s reliable in your rifle.
I paid $14.95 for a box of 20 TAP’s at the gun shows when they come through town. I usually get at least one box when I go. They build up fast, as the show comes to town every 3 months.
I bought a local sporting goods store out of all 11 boxes of Q3131 they had in stock for $4.99 / box. MK 262 is on the way too. Too pricey for regular consumption, so I’ll stash it.