What AR ammo do you "stockpile"?

[Varminterror]

Varget, 41’s, 50 Vmax, 77 SMK’s, and 55 Hornady balls. Covers anything I’ll need to do, but doesn’t lock me into one purpose.

 

[boom boom]

I assume he's talking about the round throwing sparks as it is steel tipped.

55gr Federal works just fine for me.

Due to unburnt powder igniting, that is one reason indoor ranges often ban it as well as damage to the backstop.

 

[kwg020]

M193 ball and equivalent hand loads

Lots and lots of hand loads.

kwg

 

[Chuck R.]

I normally keep a couple hundred rounds of my defensive reloads on hand along with about 1000 loaded practice, class & 3Gun loads.

The rest is in the form of components. I do prep a a lot of brass every year after hunting season and before the matches start up while the weather sucks. So at any given time I've got the capability of loading a couple thousand rounds in a few hrs.

 

[ATLDave]

I'm another who mostly "stockpiles" his own handloads. I do have a stash of mostly PMC from before I started loading, but mostly I make and stock: 55 grain (or 53 grain) FMJ's or soft-points over AA2230 for general blasting or use at shorter ranges; and 69 grain SMK's over Varget for longer-ranged accuracy. I have smaller stocks of other stuff with 62 and 77 grain pills, but the two I listed above are my mains.

 

[gifbohane]

I’m really close to CarJunkie on this. I load 223 with H335 but use Hornady’s 55gr FMJBT. I have a handful loaded with Sierra hollow points that I loaded thinking maybe they’d be better for varmints or predators. I have a bunch of components and just load one or two hundred when I have time.

I also buy 7.62 x 39 whenever it’s convenient. Usually Tula from Walmart or Bass Pro. Anywhere from 40-100 at a time depending on my budget.

7mm- How many grains if 335 do you use with your Hornady 55gr?

I use 24.5.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I've accumulated a few ammo cans full of reloads using pulled M193s.

 

[BigSteve57]

I have a lot of M855 green tip. I use it for service rifle practice (it's plenty good enough for my offhand position ) and I can get it for around 30 cents/round or a little more.

 

[Browning]

Some Wolf .223 55 gr. SP
Some Wolf .223 62 gr. FMJ
A lot of M193
A fair amount of Hornady 75 gr. BTHP

 

[Chuck R.]

7mm- How many grains if 335 do you use with your Hornady 55gr?

I use 24.5.

Not 7mm, but 24.6 H335 under a 55FMJ was my load.

 

[gifbohane]

Not 7mm, but 24.6 H335 under a 55FMJ was my load.

Thanks chuck I used the words 7mm because I was referring to his post not the caliber. But I presume you mean that you use 24.6 of H 335 for your 223 round.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Chuck R.]

Thanks chuck I used the words 7mm because I was referring to his post not the caliber. But I presume you mean that you use 24.6 of H 335 for your 223 round.

Thanks for the info.

Yup, 24.6 H335 with WSR primers, mixed brass is my all around .223 load for practice, classes and matches. I'm in the process of changing to TAC though, cause I got a good deal on 8lbs of it.

 

[7mmsavage]

Thanks chuck I used the words 7mm because I was referring to his post not the caliber. But I presume you mean that you use 24.6 of H 335 for your 223 round.

Thanks for the info.

Hey Gifbohane and Chuck, my load is 24.5 gr. of H335. I shoot it through 3 AR’s with different barrel lengths and twist rates and it shoots good in all of them.

Like Chuck I use mixed brass, I used to try and separate by headstamp but for the shooting I do it just isn’t worth the effort.

 

[gifbohane]

7mm Savage - What is your COL? Chuck?

 

[Nuclear]

M193 or its equivalent, and Winchester 45 grain JHP, because I have one rifle that will shoot cloverleafs at 100 yards with it.

 

[7mmsavage]

7mm Savage - What is your COL? Chuck?

I seat so that the case mouth ends up in the middle of the canalure. Ends up at 2.221 + or - a thousandth or so.

Meant to tell you guys earlier. I chrono’ed this load and it’s about 200 FPS slower than XM193 through my 20” barrel. No idea what that would mean in a hunting or SD application but it’s really accurate, so I’m sticking with it.

I’d like to experiment with IMR4895 one day so that I can use the same powder as my bigger bore rifles. Anyone have any experience they want to share?

 

[Chuck R.]

I seat so that the case mouth ends up in the middle of the canalure. Ends up at 2.221 + or - a thousandth or so.

Meant to tell you guys earlier. I chrono’ed this load and it’s about 200 FPS slower than XM193 through my 20” barrel. No idea what that would mean in a hunting or SD application but it’s really accurate, so I’m sticking with it.

I’d like to experiment with IMR4895 one day so that I can use the same powder as my bigger bore rifles. Anyone have any experience they want to share?

Same here, I load to the middle of the cannelure for the 55grain FMJ stuff.

Other bullets, 60grn Nosler BTs for instance I stretch out to mag length in an attempt to decrease the jump since my 5.56 and Wylde chambers have room.

 

[lightman]

Not for an AR but the 2 cartridges that I keep the most ammo for is the 223 and 308. The 223's are loaded with BL-C2 and one of the plastic tip varmint bullets weighing 50 or 55 grains. The Sierra shoots the best but the Hornady and Nosler are close. The 308's are loaded with any one of the 150 grain soft points that can be bought in bulk and seated over a charge of BL-C2. The 223 is my go-to Prairie Dog round and the 308 is for my M1A.

 

[cfullgraf]

A bit off topic, I have some 223 Rem ammunition stockpiled for my AR-15s, by far the most ammunition that I have on hand is 40 grain V-Max 204 Ruger ammunition that I use to shoot prairie dogs with. I have a 26", heavy barrel, 204 Ruger AR-15 that works great on the prairie dog towns.

We take about a 1000 rounds with us to South Dakota when we go.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I have a lot of M855 green tip. I use it for service rifle practice (it's plenty good enough for my offhand position ) and I can get it for around 30 cents/round or a little more.

If your standing off hand is anything like mine, rocks will probably do. =)

 

[otisrush]

Hornady 55gr FMJs over H335.

 

[2ndtimer]

I'm surprised there are people buying PMC. I got some for my M1 Garand and it's trash. I got some for my 243, and it was the worst groups that gun ever shot. I avoid that entire brand like the plague now.

You might consider trying a box of PMC .223 Rem. Bronze 55 gr FMJ. I was surprised that while it wasn't match quality, it grouped better than Federal American Eagle, IMI, or Norma TAC-223 (all 55 gr FMJ) out of my Stag Model 6. (1in 8" twist 24" heavy barrel).

 

[benEzra]

I like the Federal M193 5.56. I don't see any use for the M855, I'm not shooting through armor and with the dry land I shoot on, it would just be a fire hazard if anything.

And M855 is actually slightly less penetrative than typical M193 in hard materials due to the lower velocity, until you move the target back to a few hundred yards where the higher ballistic coefficient of M855 gives it more retained velocity.

I personally haven’t found M855 to be super accurate, but for cheap range ammo, it’s not bad, and better than Walmart FMJ.

I will also say that too-cheap ammunition can make an AR with a great barrel shoot like a Romanian AK at 200 yards. I keep cheap steel-case and brass-case FMJ for local carbine matches, fun shooting, and a contingency reserve, but I’m preferring to buy more accurate loads these days. I think my next purchase may be some of the 77gr loads to see how they shoot.

What is really the "beef" with M855?

I don’t think it’s that people think that M855 is no good, but that it’s not worth paying more than M193 for what it delivers (a smidgen better performance at range). I’d happily shoot either as plinking ammo, if the price was similar.