Recommended AR15 Ammo?

[AlphaWolf777]

I'm new to the world of Ar15s, (just put a DPMS Oracle in jail), and I made the mistake of purchasing 5.56 ammo. I want to play it safe and shoot .223 my question is: what is anyone's recommendations from personal experience the best brand of .223 to purchase? (Price doesn't matter, this will be shot once or twice a week anyway).

[Dark Mod]

The best brand regardless of price?

If your just plinking id say you wont notice the difference between gunshow reloads and match ammo.....

If your shooting once or twice a week that means you will shoot ALOT. your going to go through about 10,000 rounds a year. Buying the "Best" ammo will get expensive really quick. Think like $9000 a year expensive.

Ive never had a problem with Federal 55 grn, but i would never buy more expensive ammo than that in a million years.

If your not shooting competitavely you dont need match ammo

If your not shooting living animals you dont need hunting ammo

If your shooting paper or steel for your own enjoyment i guarantee you wont be able to tell the difference.

My favorite has always been Federal, and i stopped buying that stuff along time ago because its too expensive.

[LikeAllGuns]

It's about covered.. American eagle .223 55gr works great and is (used to be very cheap $6 20 rds)

Break her in with .223 and that 5.56 is good to go. I think it would be fine to use 5.56 from the start if the barrel marked 5.56

Good luck

[AlphaWolf777]

It's about covered.. American eagle .223 55gr works great and is (used to be very cheap $6 20 rds)

Break her in with .223 and that 5.56 is good to go. I think it would be fine to use 5.56 from the start if the barrel marked 5.56

Good luck

I didn't look at the barrel when I was buying it (LOL) but I know the thing with Panther M4s is that they say .223/5.56 on the lower, but the barrel is usually marked different. I called DPMS Panther and they told me as long as the barrel is stamped 5.56 and is using American made 5.56, it should be fine. But i've heard so many horror stories of ruptures that I think i'd rather play it super duper safe (borderline babying it) and just buy a dedicated 5.56 upper later on when I get all the upgrades for my rifle.

But thanks for the help guys, I will go with American Eagle or Federal then. Unfortunately I can't return the 5.56s to my local shop so I guess i'll keep 'em til I get a standard 5.56 upper. I just don't trust doing it with the stock one since there's so much confusion surrounding it. But I have no problems shooting .223, it's just that eventually I wanna guarantee that I can shoot NATO rounds.

[Arcaporale]

According to the DPMS website, your rifle is chambered in 5.56. You should have no problem shooting it. I say blast away.

http://www.dpmsinc.com/firearms/firearm.aspx?id=57

Check your barrel once you get it and look for the marking, it will be there. AR's which are chambered .223 are usually used in precision type rifles with heavy varmint barrels.

My Dad has a DPMS oracle upper on his AR build and his is marked 5.56. Of course if you still don't feel OK shooting your ammo feel free to send it to me. I should add that he's been shooting Hornady Steel match out of his DPMS.

You really should be able to shoot any type of factory ammo 5.56 or .223 out of your AR. If you want to buy American Federal and American Eagle which are really the same thing are good choices. If you don't mind buying foreign PMC and Privi are good also. If you don't mind shooting steel cased ammo Hornady cant be had at good prices.

[AlphaWolf777]

According to the DPMS website, your rifle is chambered in 5.56. You should have no problem shooting it. I say blast away.

http://www.dpmsinc.com/firearms/firearm.aspx?id=57

Check your barrel once you get it and look for the marking, it will be there. AR's which are chambered .223 are usually used in precision type rifles with heavy varmint barrels.

My Dad has a DPMS oracle upper on his AR build and his is marked 5.56.

Of course if you still don't feel OK shooting your ammo feel free to send it to me.

Yes, you're right, I looked at their site too just now and saw that thanks for the heads up. I will just check the barrel when I pick her up on April Fool's Day (Oh, great...) and if it says 5.56 I will not hesitate to shoot it. After all, I did spend $130 on the ammo and would hate to have to have it sitting around ;(

[milotrain]

Best AR ammo is the stuff you build. Grab LC brass from tactical brass and add bullets (if your barrel is 1:9) or get 77gr Nosler. Pack with 8208 and Tula Small Rifle Magnum Primers.

$262 per 1k if you use fresh brass every time. $150 every subsequent reloading (you'll get between 3-5).

[roushstage2]

A barrel marked .223 will still shoot a 5.56 bullet, won't it? The differences are a very slight difference in the case, and more pressure in the 5.56 round (being a chamber issue, not barrel), yeah?

Just asking for my own info/clarification.

[Arcaporale]

A barrel marked .223 will still shoot a 5.56 bullet, won't it? The differences are a very slight difference in the case, and more pressure in the 5.56 round (being a chamber issue, not barrel), yeah?

Just asking for my own info/clarification.

A .233 chamber will be able to accept a 5.56 cartridge, but the amount of pressure that that a 5.56 round will create is higher than the rated pressure for .223 guns. If your gun says .223 on the barrel don't shoot 5.56.

Will your gun blow up in your face if you do? Probably
not. But there's a much higher chance for a kaboom if you use ammo that your gun wasn't designed for.

[NotEnufGarage]

I'm new to the world of Ar15s, (just put a DPMS Oracle in jail), and I made the mistake of purchasing 5.56 ammo. I want to play it safe and shoot .223 my question is: what is anyone's recommendations from personal experience the best brand of .223 to purchase? (Price doesn't matter, this will be shot once or twice a week anyway).

You didn't make a mistake. Your barrel is a 5.56 barrel and is rated for 5.56 ammo. Shooting .223 is allowable, but adds no additional safety factor unless you're using really cheap ammo which may be incorrectly loaded.

[milotrain]

Black Hills remanufactured is the best price/performance I've found. Just get a bullet weight that matches the twist of your barrel.

[jsr3313]

You should have no problem shooting 5.56 out of your AR. If it was a bolt action only chambered for .223, then you would be limited to .223 only. But most AR's, as far as I know, are able to use 5.56.

Get the "cheap" PMC or Federal ammo in 55gr, and fire away. As was said above, if just punching paper, get the regular FMJ. Just try to stay away from the Wolf and Tula ammo, as that is steel cased.

If you feel the need to do anything else, well...there's a LOT of variety out there. From the lightweight varmint rounds, to the heavier 69gr-77gr long range/match rounds. It all depends on what you plan on doing with it.

[lpspinner]

If you go the the gunshows, I've used Miwalls reloads when I was out of my own and had no problems.

[roushstage2]

A .233 chamber will be able to accept a 5.56 cartridge, but the amount of pressure that that a 5.56 round will create is higher than the rated pressure for .223 guns. If your gun says .223 on the barrel don't shoot 5.56.

Will your gun blow up in your face if you do? Probably
not. But there's a much higher chance for a kaboom if you use ammo that your gun wasn't designed for.

Yeah. I mean the actual bullet; same size, yeah? You can shoot .223 out of a 5.56, but you shouldn't shoot a 5.56 out of a .223...just like 7.62x51 and .308.

[ls2gto]

So is shooting 223 ammo technically more "unsafe" than a 556 for a 556 barrel?

Also where are you guys finding American Eagle 223 for 6/box? I can't seem to find that stuff anywhere.