Best cheap 5.56 or 223 ammo

[Mike41]

Is there certain types of cheap ammo that is preferred over others?

Example :

1) White boxes of Winchester 5.56 for about $12 or in 223 55gr

2) Brown cardboard box of Federal XM193 (M193 Ball) 55gr for $11

3) PMC Bronze 223 55gr FMJ-BT

4) PPU (Made in Serbia) 69gr 223 Match ammo

5) TulAmmo

Which is best?

Which is better 5.56 or 233?

Which grain bullet is best?

Consider if only used for 50 yds or less 3gun matches?

What if there is a 200yd shot?

Please educate me on what to look for in caliber and bullet grain size + mfg for 50yd shots and an occasional 200yd shot + reasonable price.

Thanks,

Mike

[legacy]

55gr Brass case.

whatever you can find, whatever is cheapest.

I've shot thousands of 55gr PMC Bronze love that stuff. I've shot 55gr out to 300 without any problems. Only time I use 69gr is 400+ yards.

Edited October 11, 2013 by legacy

[pmt]

I'm buying 62gr Federal AE FMJ for $12/box. My 1:7 barrel seems to shoot better with these vs a 55gr bullet.

[Naka16]

Dependent on barrel twist rate and a lot of other factors. You will need to experiment, but I had luck with pmc 223, and winchester white box 5.56. Prvi was ok. Handloads with reloader 7 was tighter than most factory ammo

[snertley]

I have shot many thousands of Wolf/Tula 55gr rounds and under 200yrs its fine. In all the rounds fire only had 1 round with a primer in backwards. I was out at the range today and was consitantly hitting the 200yrd 8" gong with the Tula ammo. Its cheap and it works.

[Flatland Shooter]

Most of my shooting is under 200 yards. For years my favorite has been XM193. Reliable and accurate in my guns.

When it became hard to find any .223/5.56 ammo, I'd pick up anything I could. I can usually locate Tula for less than half the price of XM193. In the past month or so, it seems like I can get the 3 box limit of Tula during most Walmart visits.

An article posted somewhere on the web did a detailed study of how many rounds of steel cased ammo and brass cased ammo it took to wear out a barrel. Tula smoked the barrel at around 5000 rds. Brass cased XM193 lasts a little longer at something like 7800 rds.

Its nice to have your barrel last as long as possible, but with Tula at half the price, I can change out the barrel and still save money.

The only ammo I've had accuracy problems with is Independence. Usually found at the same price as XM193, I'm looking at a 6" or worse group at 100 yards (1:9 16" carbine barrel).

Bill

[Naka16]

I have shot many thousands of Wolf/Tula 55gr rounds and under 200yrs its fine. In all the rounds fire only had 1 round with a primer in backwards. I was out at the range today and was consitantly hitting the 200yrd 8" gong with the Tula ammo. Its cheap and it works.

[Mike41]

Which is preferred .223 or 5.56? 1/9 twist 16" barrel.

Thanks,

Mike

[larry weeks]

.223 vs 5.56 depends on your chamber (basically the throat dimensions). Michiguns makes a gauge to check it - http://www.m-guns.com/tools.php. The way Michiguns explains it, 5.56 ammo requires a longer, larger diameter throat, running 5.56 in a .223 chamber increases pressure.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this.

[a.roberts]

An article posted somewhere on the web did a detailed study of how many rounds of steel cased ammo and brass cased ammo it took to wear out a barrel. Tula smoked the barrel at around 5000 rds. Brass cased XM193 lasts a little longer at something like 7800 rds.

Bill

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

[Lead-Head]

I have shot many several thousand rounds of both AE223 (federal) and PMC bronze 55gr. Found both to be acceptable for 3 gun.

I believe it is about $9 a box now if you can find some.

[StarvinPilgrim]

I just had an email from Sportsman's guide that had lake city/federal M855 for $455 per 1000 if you're a buyer's club member. Sounded like a pretty good deal in today's world.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=1524252&ecid=Email-f341f&em_id=jtappel@cepc.net&utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email-flash&utm_campaign=f341f

ETA: that's the 62 grain bullet

Edited October 11, 2013 by StarvinPilgrim

[EkuJustice]

Watch using 855 as that's a dq a lot of matches for the steel core

[StarvinPilgrim]

Good point. I didn't think this was the steel core since it did not specify on the SG website. After a little research I can see that it is.

[Fitzghan]

I mostly use whatever cheap 55gr ammo I can find and have had no problems with Larues out to 350yds. I regularly use PMC Bronze, PMC X-TAC 55gr, XM193 and Independence.

[Waterfowl-widowmaker]

That's funny, you used the words cheap and ammo in the same sentence.

[Jesse Tischauser]

Freedom Munitions. Only ammo company I see sponsoring matches.

[Fitzghan]

That's funny, you used the words cheap and ammo in the same sentence.

Ha, you’re right! That is funny. Cheap in relation to other 5.56 ammo I guess.

[Smitty79]

Freedom Munitions. Only ammo company I see sponsoring matches.

Have you shot their 223? I've been happy with their 9mm.

[Mike41]

My rifle can shoot .223 or 5.56 so if price is same which is better?

I thought 5.56 was slightly more powerful???

Mike

[mic2377]

I vastly prefer either Lake City (Federal) XM193, or PMC in one of its flavors (Bronze or X-tac). PMC Bronze is reasonably accurate, moderate pressure, and clean. The brass is very nice to reload as well.

Winchester, Freedom Munitions, or Independence all come in as 2nd choice. Some of the Independence ammo seems pretty hot, definitely 5.56+ pressure.

PPU gets a "meh." It seems to shoot OK, but the brass is not nearly as nice as the PMC or Lake City to reload, it is dirtier, and it has not been as accurate for me.

[usmc90]

Freedom Munitions. Only ammo company I see sponsoring matches.

Have you shot their 223? I've been happy with their 9mm.

I got a box a cpl weeks ago to try..albeit only 75yrds (longest i have for personal) it grouped well and caused no issues i could immediately see..I'm leaning towards going to steel cased stuff just for shooting matches as retrieving casings after is tuff since most are picking it up to keep before the spent round hardly hits the ground

[NewRacer]

Freedom Munitions. Only ammo company I see sponsoring matches.

Have you shot their 223? I've been happy with their 9mm.

I shot their 223 at Rockcastle and had no issues hitting any targets out to approx 350. I used it on the side match too and hit everything remembering to hold a bit more for wind.

[MarkCO]

Freedom Munitions. Only ammo company I see sponsoring matches.

Totally agree. They make good stuff, help us out a lot too. They have some good 69 and 77 loads too.

[Nickoli]

I just finished shooting the last of my xm193 that I paid 260 a case for. Since then I've shot pmc xtac in 62gn with good results out of my 1/8 twist. Just be careful shooting some 62gn, check it with a magnet. The local clubs around me don't care as long as its a stage without any steel targets. PMC works good, and I see a lot of guys using it now.

I would honestly say if your shooting inside 100, get what ever you can at the best price. The xm193 I had was consistent MOA at 100 with a 2 MOA dot on my optic.