What kind of accuracy do you get with M80 ball ammo?

[smle-man]

I believe it is year dated on the base of the rounds.

[smle-man]

M80 type ball can vary in accuracy from year to year. I shot bunches of Radway Green surplus from the 70s that was near match quality. I also shot RG from the mid 90s that grouped 3x the size of the 70s vintage. Same experience with Portuguese ball: BF79 has indifferent accuracy and FNM 82 is superb.

[ScottsBad]

Yeah, I have a bunch of 70's Radway Green too. It's got a lot of punch, but it's just average accuracy out of my SCARs.

I have thousands of round of different types of M80, and I shot quite a few different 7.62 NATO brands and types. Federal M80 is 2+ MOA. The PMC sucks dog balls, its very inaccurate ammo. My rifles like heaver rounds especially 168gr anyway.

You can't expect too much from M80, it was like $300 for 500 rounds BB (Before Biden). I also have a bunch of ZQI M80, this is good M80.

I was buying FGMM 168gr ($1 a round) for what M80 goes for now. The other good one was American Eagle 168gr OTM, that is very good ammo too. These are MOA or sub-MOA.

I stacked high and deep.

[seal20]

I get MOM.... Minute of man... It's combat effective.

[-aK-]

I believe its a 4 moa standard... I'm happy at 2 but expect 2-4.

[sigstroker]

That old milsurp is easy to find on gunbroker. Portuguese, Malaysian, Radway Green, and South African. My buddy that just moved from Seattle sold a bunch of his off to make the move easier. I think he said he sold 10 cases (1260 rounds each) of the South African. Or maybe it was 20 cases. For a lot less than the market price since his primary goal was to lighten the load, not make money.

I even have a bit of Argentine left, but that's for my Argentine FAL.

[paddyraid]

Saltech

I get 1/2 MOA out of my SCAR all day long with Saltech M80 ball. I just wish I would've bought everything ASW had before they sold out. 500 rounds for about $275. Kicking myself!

[therealnickb]

Went to the range yesterday and shot 4 different surplus rounds. I used Fed GGM as qualifier for conditions and the weak link. (Me) I know GGM shoots under 1 MOA. But I didn't bring my A game for sure. Anyway...

I used my MWS with NF SHV. 100 yards. A little gusty. The target was flopping forward and back a bit. But I'm pretty sure a decent shooter could tighten all these groups up a lot.

IMG_0473.jpg

IMG_0475.jpg

[sigstroker]

IK 03 168gr M118

What's IK 03 mean?

Also, M118 is 173 gr, right? Because it's solid tip, not hollow point.

[FeuerFrei]

I got hosed too many times buying surplus M80 NATO ball ammo. So I quit buying it years ago.
4"@100yds is NOT acceptable IMO.

Tried German DAG and UK Radway Green and that was that. I'm balls deep in that stuff. Really great shooting ammo from lot to lot. 2" - 2.5" with my most of my semi-autos.

I use Wolf for plinking/blasting ammo. Good enough for slamming steel thangs.

[therealnickb]

What's IK 03 mean?

Also, M118 is 173 gr, right? Because it's solid tip, not hollow point.

198CF210-2185-43B4-AEFF-FA2DD4241687.jpg

[PoofNoEyebrows]

Not the best that's for sure. I only shoot it when sighting on a new optic, and then it's simply to get on paper.

[jarhead714]

South African 308 ball was available during the late 90s,I still have some.

At the time price was .10-.12 a rd.

[slamfire1]

M80 Ball Ammunition Roundup

I disagree with taking averages of groups and claiming accuracy. The author does this in the linked article, and claims an average, which is always less than the extreme spread. The extreme spreads are between 2 and 3 inches.

I found this in another forum:

https://www.shootersforum.com/threads/converting-mean-radius-to-group-size.72384/

Curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn't go to bed until I settled it in my mind.

I often shoot 10-shot groups and calculate their centers. So, already having many such targets on hand, I grabbed a few at random and measured them for MR (mean radius), then calculated the multiplication factor to convert the MR to the ES (extreme spread) of the group. In other words, if the MR was 1" and the ES was 3", then the multiplication factor would be 3.

To make a long story short, the average multiplication factor worked out to be 3.2 in my case (with a range from 2.9 to 3.5), using nine groups for reference. So, the old Colonel was right on.

The old Colonel was Townsend Whelen who said take the mean radius and multiply by three for an extreme spread.

I have shot machine gun ammunition and some lots shoot better than others. It is not match ammunition, nor was it ever expected to be match ammunition.

A bud of mine, at a military range we both shoot at, he watched a number of military teams shooting their M60's at 600 yards. The machine gunner had a spotter and the teams were shooting at the standard eight foot time eight foot targets that we civilian shooters use in matches. After the teams burnt belt after belt, the targets were put away, and bud got down there and looked at the stowed targets. He claimed there were six hits total on all the targets!

Now the ten ring at 600 yards is 12 inches in diameter, and the good shooters keep 18, 19 or sometimes 20 rounds inside that 12 inch ring with irons, and their match rifles.

Anyway, it seems that machine guns are not that inherently accurate, so shooting match ammunition in the things is un needed.

[smle-man]

M80 Ball Ammunition Roundup

I disagree with taking averages of groups and claiming accuracy. The author does this in the linked article, and claims an average, which is always less than the extreme spread. The extreme spreads are between 2 and 3 inches.

I found this in another forum:

https://www.shootersforum.com/threads/converting-mean-radius-to-group-size.72384/

The old Colonel was Townsend Whelen who said take the mean radius and multiply by three for an extreme spread.

I have shot machine gun ammunition and some lots shoot better than others. It is not match ammunition, nor was it ever expected to be match ammunition.

A bud of mine, at a military range we both shoot at, he watched a number of military teams shooting their M60's at 600 yards. The machine gunner had a spotter and the teams were shooting at the standard eight foot time eight foot targets that we civilian shooters use in matches. After the teams burnt belt after belt, the targets were put away, and bud got down there and looked at the stowed targets. He claimed there were six hits total on all the targets!

Now the ten ring at 600 yards is 12 inches in diameter, and the good shooters keep 18, 19 or sometimes 20 rounds inside that 12 inch ring with irons, and their match rifles.

Anyway, it seems that machine guns are not that inherently accurate, so shooting match ammunition in the things is un needed.

It is desirable for a MG to disperse its fire (within reason) as it is considered more of an area weapon than a precision weapon. Before mortars were in widespread use, HMGs were used for indirect fire to saturate the beaten zone with a volume of fire to hit troops in the open or to keep dug in troops down. A good HMG team could easily put rounds over a far hill to drop bullets on an enemy position on the other side. A MG that was too accurate would put too many bullets in the same tight area.