Does anybody shoot Silver Bear in their AR?f

[camoman33935]

Just like the title states, I was wondering if anybody shoots Silver Bear .223 ammo in their Ar's. If you do, how well does it perform?

I'm not looking for extreme accuracy, just something to plink with and get some practice in with my AR without cleaning my wallet out lol.

Thanks in advance.

 

[AcceptableUserName]

FWIW I shot it in an AK and it did pretty well and wasn't terribly dirty. I'd do it in an AR but in moderation. There is better stuff for an AR like Fiocchi and PMC bronze that are probably superior for target shooting and still pretty cheap.

 

[camoman33935]

Yeah I know that PMC bronze is pretty inexpensive but it's hard to find. Well at least around here and online it is.

 

[mp510]

It's shot 100% reliably for me and the accuracy should be fine for your purposes. I never put any on paper, but I have had no problems making 100 yard shots with it in action matches. It definetely doesn't shoot any worse than PMC Bronze 223A does for me - I think the Silver Bear may well shoot better- but I'm more experienced now....I still have most of my 223A, but I don't like shooting brass when I can't reclaim the cases. A little more (carbon) fouling than brass case ammo, but it could have been worse. I would rather shoot silver bear than some of the other steel case stuff out there.

 

[AcceptableUserName]

my local walmarts have Federal 100 rds for 39 pretty frequently. if nothing else grab some fiocchi 55 gr in 50 rd boxes off ammunitiontogo.com

 

[rklessdriver]

I bought (and shot) a case of the Silver Bear 62gr bi metal JHP.

It functions in all of my AR rifles just fine. Not super accurate - but its better than Wolf. No mis-fires or any of that funny stuff.

It's good plinking ammo IMO. If the price is right I'll buy more of it in the future.

Will

 

[highorder]

I have fired 1500 rounds or so, and it shoots fine.

I did have some problems with the zinc corroding when stored in mags for six months at a time.

 

[OhioChief]

A ton of it, and it's fine. a little dirty I guess, but I clean after every outing anyway, so who cares. Good practice ammo, never had an issue.

 

[jpwilly]

one small step up from Wolf...There's Brown Bear, Silver Bear then Golden Bear...with Golden Bear being copper washed steel case and the premium product of the line. I've used Silver in both my AK and AR for plinking ammo and it works just fine. I use to have a few thousand rounds of it but most of it is gone and I'm not paying today's prices for that stuff.

 

[Onmilo]

I have shot Silver Bear for several years in several AR15 rifles.
The accuracy isn't match grade but function is fine, much better than other steel case 5.56

The last Golden Bear I saw was actually brass cased and made by Privi Partisan. It is excellent ammunition but priced higher than the factory Privi ammo.

 

[Al LaVodka]

Zinc plated ammo will turn grey eventually, like an old grabage can -- it is just a matter of time. But it is sacrificing itself for the steel underneath and making an oxidized coating that even protects itself underneath it. Additionaly, anytime you have two different metals next to each other over time they can do strange things at the atomic level. Recommendation: don't leave mags loaded, especially with the same cartridges, for more than six months.
Al

 

[Hatterasguy]

Ammo is coming down. You can get American Eagle at Cabala's or on gunbroker for .35 cents a round. You might even be able to do a bit better if you watch gunbroker.

 

[Zerodefect]

I though the small bit of it i shot was a little wimpy, but worked well.

 

[goldie]

ive used it in ar's, and other 223 rifles, works fine...

 

[HOLY DIVER]

+1 on pmc bronze but silver bear will work fine i've shot about 200rds through an AR with no problems

 

[mp510]

Ammo is coming down. You can get American Eagle at Cabala's or on gunbroker for .35 cents a round. You might even be able to do a bit better if you watch gunbroker.

When I bought my Silver Bear several months ago, I paid 23c./rd delivered.

 

[Average Joe]

No problems here either, shoots well, not match grade, but good for general use

 

[camoman33935]

So the most problem I'm seeing with it is that the zinc will corrode a little over time? Could this be counteracted by putting the ammo in an ammo can with some dessicant?

 

[Patriotme]

I've shot Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Golden Bear, Wolf, Tula and Remington from my S&W MP15 and Bushmaster. It's all good. No problems. Brown Bear (55gr) seems to be the most accurate of this group. One day I'll get serious and buy some expensive ammo but I'm having a lot of fun burning through this cheap stuff with friends and family.
I would like to say one thing about Silver Bear though. Several years ago my downstairs flooded. All of my ammo was under water for 2 or 3 hrs. The 22lr got tossed but I had a lot of ammo in larger calibers. The rest of it got dried off over the next few days and shot over that year.
All of the Silver Bear went bang at the range. I probably had 1500 rnds of Silver Bear 9mm. Of course every other brand went bang as well (except for a couple of rnds of 38spl from some manufacturer that I can't remember).
This is totally irrelevent to price and accuracy question but I thought it interesting that this cheap ammo will hold up to the elements as well as the more expensive brands.

 

[sarduy]

Does anybody shoot Silver Bear in their AR?

yes i do it all the time, same with the saiga... just clean the rifle after every range trip and you'll be ok.

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

Good plinking ammo for an AR.

 

[SHvar]

I use it alot, brown bear, silver bear, 55gr, 62gr, etc. In my experience its not as consistant as PMC in accuracy (differences of .25-1 inch), its alot cleaner to fire than PMC is, and inexpensive, loaded hot, makes a big bang, and works great.
Far better quality than wolf.

 

[leadcounsel]

My bushy AR never liked steel cased Wolf... so I stopped buying it. I have no idea if my new ARs will work with it.

I have heard that steel cased ammo is harder on extractors. I put up a poll here a while back. Some have experienced broken extractors. Sure it's a cheap and easily replacable part, but why do that to your rifle. Also the fouling was much worse.

 

[Va Shooter]

My DPMS loves the 62gr HP Silver Bear, need to buy a case of this stuff.

 

[Snakum]

I've shot boat loads of Silver Bear SP and Brown Bear FMJ in my 308 bolt gun and Brown Bear HP and FMJ in my AKs. The Silver Bear SP is not "dirty" as near as I can tell and I'm pretty fastidious about cleaning. And it is relatively accurate for cheap soft point ammo. The Brown Bear FMJ and HP was very accurate for cheap stuff but was a little dirty, either from the laquer or from gasses escaping around the case in the chamber.

I like both.