Long range ammo for my stretch 16

[jeremy kemlo]

Just finished building an ar with a stretch 16 barrel. Shot my first 3gun match two weeks ago and had a ton of fun. Targets went out to 300 yards. I hit them all without many misses using 55 gr american eagle ammo. The wind was 7-10 mph. Usually the wind is a lot stronger and blows from left to right. For days when it gets really windy would it help to go w a heavier bullet? I was looking at 69 or 77 grain Sierra match kings that are remanufactured by blackhills gold. I do not reload 223 so I looking for some suggestions.

Thanks

[JonKC]

Doing some ROUGH calculations, the difference between a 55gr fmj and the 69gr SMK @300 is about 4" in a 15mph. IMHO if your only shooting inside 300yds, FMJ will work just fine. My stretch barrel shoots 77gr SMK very well.

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[MarkCO]

The Stretch should be fine with whatever you choose. I shoot 60 and 69 grain Noslers for the longer range targets.

Heavier bullets are less affected by wind, but they are slower, so they are in the wind longer and the result in 3gun stage is minimal between them. The 60 to 69 grain bullets, for me, are the best balance. A little more accurate than the 55 fmjs and they have more energy on target which makes it easier for the ROs to call hits.

[Bullittmcqueen]

I would guess that as you get more serious about 3-gun, you're gonna want to shoot heavier loads at those distances, wind or not. Just for reference, my Stretch's love 69g Nosler OTM's, but still shoot well with 75g and 77g. Drew has some really good results with 77g SMK's.

[CJW]

69gr Black Hills for me.

[Therealkoop]

I like to run Nosler 69's

[jeremy kemlo]

I am guessing most of you reload. As I am not set up to reload 223, where is the best place to buy

this heavier ammo?

[Doug H.]

I used to shoot the Black Hills Reman 68s but now only shoot PMC .223 55s regardless of distance. Worked good as far out as 550 at Rocky Mountain this year. Shoots a little flatter than the 68s and right at 1 moa out of my JP barrel.

Doug

Edited October 27, 2015 by Doug H.

[Stlhead]

When I shot factory ammo, the PMC bronze did the trick for me as well. The whole heavy bullet vs the 55 argument will linger forever. Half of the guys I shoot with swear by 69's and the other half shoot 55's.

[mpeltier]

I dont neccesarily shoot a specific load because of how much it weighs. I shoot whatever my particular barrel shoots the most accurately. Ive had barrels that were tac drivers with 55gr, and some that were tac drivers with 75gr.. If your barrel shoots those 55gr say average of 1-1/4" and you try some 75gr Black Hills reman blue box and you get under an inch, id choose the 75gr. If it were reversed I would choose the 55gr.

With the acception of reliability, I put accuracy above all else when it comes to selecting a load for 3-gun.

[JohnLTD]

I second Doug's opinion, I hit all the rifle targets at RM3G with PMC 55gr Xtac 5.56 it isn't the cleanest ammo but it shoots flat and accurately.

[michael1778]

I am guessing most of you reload. As I am not set up to reload 223, where is the best place to buy

this heavier ammo?

I have been a happy SGammo.com customer for a long time. They had some IMI 77 grain loads available in recent weeks. The ADI Outback 69 grain loads are very nice. I have some of them myself.

[Bullittmcqueen]

Freedom Munitions is as affordable as any other brass cased ammo, strongly supports the shooting sports, and always runs discounts and promotions. Right now they are running a free shipping promotion for the halloween holiday. They have 69g and 77smk if i recall correctly.

[bengreenwell]

I shoot 69 grain Sierra match kings loaded in geco brass through mine.