Max. Effective Range of the 5.56 NATO

My Marine buddy shoots targets all day at ranges up to 600 yards. If I could shoot that well, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a coyote at 400-500 yards. I'm not familiar with the ballistics or energy of the 5.56 at those ranges, but I would say it's enough to kill a coyote.

Paper, on the other hand, is a lot easier to kill. I'd push your limits on paper...

Are you somehow limited to 55 grain bullets? Because heavier ones will have a longer range, and your barrel length will also affect the range.

If I remember correctly Army training manuals says max. effective range with 20" barrel is 600 meters. FMJ rounds are not known for their long range accuracy and past 400 yards wind can give 55 gr. a real fit. Heavier bullets and/or HP or ballistic tip bullets will greatly help out past 400 yards. If your barrel twist is 1/7 or 1/8 you can use up to 80 gr.(actually you could use heavier but that is another project in itself). My AR has 24" SS bull barrel 1/8 twist and I have been hitting 2 liter coke bottles at 850 yards with 80 gr. Sierra Match King bullets.

If you have a 1:12" you are just about screwed, and with 1:14" you most certainly are, and can use no heavier than 55gr. on average.

If you have a 1 in 10" twist you can use 62gr. and perhaps a little higher.

1 in 9" is the "do-all" good for 69gr. and some can go a bit heavier.

A 1 in 8" is good for 77gr. or so.

1 in 7" should stabilize anything short of 90gr. (for which you generally need a 1/6.5").


Pay close attention to the BC, for that is what you need in a nice long-range .223 projectile...SMK and the Hornady A-Max are likely your best bet.

Ball ammo is 600m max. OTM is 800m max.

The twist rate of your barrel (among other things) will inform your decision.

I thought I saw specialized match rifles set up for 1000 yards using special heavy, single-load bullets.

Berger VLDs and Hornady AMax loaded single shot, just short of the lands are competitive at 1000 yards.
/Bryan

the army used to say, with open sites, 330m, for the 55 grainers, shooting through an A2 rifle. With 62 grainers, and using a scope, you should be able to pretty much double that, if you know how to use your scope.

now then, if you wanna just tear something up, get a 1/14 twist, with 62 grainers holow points, or better yet, the 1/14 twist with 55 grainers, hollow points. very ouchy and very messy.

I was talking with a dude recently who is a emergency doc at Ben taub , he told me some interesting things about some of the gunshot wounds he sees. he said the 223 hollowpoint, and hit someone at knee level or lower... or in the arm.... , well I won't describe it here.

From my days in the Corps, it was 500 meters (550 yards) for a point target or 800 meters for an area target. This came straight out of our FM, and from the Weapons training book in the 7000/8000 series for NCOBC/Corporal's Course/Sergeant's Course.

Having shot on a meters course (Edson Range, Camp Pendleton) I can tell you that hitting a man sized target with irons does take patience and practice, but hitting yotes at that distance will need a really good scope and alot more practice than what one would think would be needed.



Kris

You may want to consider getting a different upper if you are ready to sink some extra cash into the rifle and ammo. A 6.5 Grendel will serve you much better into the 1000yd. line.

If you have a 1:12" you are just about screwed, and with 1:14" you most certainly are, and can use no heavier than 55gr. on average.

If you have a 1 in 10" twist you can use 62gr. and perhaps a little higher.

1 in 9" is the "do-all" good for 69gr. and some can go a bit heavier.

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I disagree completely, I know these are the figures commonly tossed about on the net but my experiences don't correspond.

I've not yet had a .223 with a 1 in 12 twist that would not shoot 69grn HPBT bullets with very good accuracy even out to 200yds. These same rifles will shoot the win 64grn Power Point like a house on fire

My 1-9 guns would shoot bullets as heavy and long as a 75grn A-max

now my 1-14 22-250's indeed would not shoot anything longer than a 55grn bullet worth beans

Max. Effective Range of the 5.56 NATO-----The AR is used primarily for punching paper and shooting yotes,

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To answer your question, Much farther than you or I have business shooting at critters

I disagree completely

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Those are the minimum values that the manufacturers recommend...I too have had rifles that would stabilize rounds that they "should not" have been able to. My 1 in 9" will miraculously stabilize a 77gr...but I doubt that is typical.

Maverick223 said:

Those are the minimum values that the manufacturers recommend...I too have had rifles that would stabilize rounds that they "should not" have been able to. My 1 in 9" will miraculously stabilize a 77gr...but I doubt that is typical.

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In which case wouldn't it be more prudent and helpfull to tell the OP that he'll just have to try a few diffrent loads to see what his rifle likes VS telling him he's SOL and should give up.

My elcheapo ER Shaw .223 1-14 stabilizes 60 Nosler Partitions. Not match grade accuracy after all its still a hunting bullet. Definitely try a variety and learn its limits-

In which case wouldn't it be more prudent and helpfull to tell the OP that he'll just have to try a few diffrent loads to see what his rifle likes VS telling him he's SOL and should give up.

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I never said that he should not...just that with a 1:14 or 1:12 you are SOL at far as bullets with a favorable BC...it may even take a 62gr. bullet...but NO CHANCE at a 90gr. with a .5+ BC.

Depends on many factors. Max range for what, effective killing or hitting paper? Which bullet weight are you using, etc...

There's a difference in hitting a target and actually doing damage. That's what i interpret effective as. How affective will 5.56 be at 600 meters with no fragmentation?

Testing by combat surgeon Col. Martin L. Fackler, MD (USA Medical Corps, retired), determined that M193 and M855 bullets need to strike flesh at 2,700 feet per second in order to reliably fragment. Between 2,500 fps and 2,700 fps, the bullet may or may not fragment and below 2,500 fps, no significant fragmentation is likely to occur. If there isn't enough velocity to cause fragmentation, the result is a deep, 22 caliber hole, except an area where the yawing occurred, where the diameter of the hole grows briefly to the length of the bullet.

http://ammo.ar15.com/ammo/project/term_velocity.html

Maverick223 said:

I never said that he should not...just that with a 1:14 or 1:12 you are SOL at far as bullets with a favorable BC...it may even take a 62gr. bullet...but NO CHANCE at a 90gr. with a .5+ BC.

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And how many .224 diameter 90grn expanding HUNTING bullets are there?

You guys get WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY! too hung up on FPS and BC. There's much more to it than that. You also have to match the bullet construction up with how the game animal is put together combined with the impact velocity. Simply trading velocity for BC or vise versa doesn't not automatically = the best load for the critter.

And how many .224 diameter 90grn expanding HUNTING bullets are there?

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I wouldn't place money on a yote hit with a 90gr. match bullet...would you?

Maverick223 said:

I wouldn't place money on a yote hit with a 90gr. match bullet...would you?

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Nor I would one hit with a 55grn ballistic tip or even a 64grn power point



90grn Berger VLD @ 2550 FPS 9.21" to 300 from a 200yd zero, 879 ft lbs at 300

64grn Win power point @ 3032 FPS 8.69" to 300 from a 200yd zero, 525 ft lbs at 300

55grn Fed Nosler b-tip @ 3240 FPS 6.685" to 300 from a 200yd zero, 598 ft lbs at 300

So please tell me how the owner of a 1-12 is "screwed" out of killing a yote 300yds+ away. You gonna tell me there's not enough energy with the load a 1-12 will shoot to kill Will-E Coyote

I wouldn't place money on a yote hit with a 90gr. match bullet...would you?

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No, but I would place money in the odds of recovering it.

I found out in the 60's that FMJ 30-06 was a sure way to hit coyotes and watch them get back up and run off in the brush to die somewhere else where you couldn't find them.

Light, fast, and explosive puts them on the ground DRT.

Long, slow, and non-expanding often puts them into over-drive if you don't break the spine.

rc

I know it is not scientific and no idea if it would be enough to humanly kill but I have shot 2 liter bottles filled with water out to 750 yards with 75 and 80 gr. A-Max's and they just explode. Don't know if it would be enough to kill a yote at that distance but just looking at the shredded bottle I would not want to take a hit at that distance. But anyway, consistently being able to hit out past 400 yards will take some practice. Get some different weight and types of bullets and see what your rifle likes. Just gives you another excuse to go to the range, lol.