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Best round?

muddy

muddy

Well-Known Member
I have an AR with a 1:9 twist, 20 inch barrel, free floating barrel.

What should I be looking for for ammo as far as brand, slug weight, powder, etc?

Caliber is 5.56x45 mm / .223

Thanks.
 
With a fairly fast twist like that you are going to be better off with a heavier bullet. SOmething in the 55-62 grain range should theoretically shoot the best.

Most popular around here is the Black Hills Ammo remanufactured ammo - better price than buying new stuff in 20 rd boxes. Also have a few guys who really like the Ultramax reman stuff. Both places take once fired military brass and resize and reload it - cheaper than having to buy new brass and shoots really good.

Some will disagree but I would stay away from the Wolf, BrownBear and other super-cheap Russian ammo with the steel cases. They are really dirty and have a laquer coating that can really gum up your action.

Any other questions, feel free to ask. I have several AR platform guns, sell a ton of em and have a bunch of guys in the neighborhood chasing 'yotes with them.
 
mine really likes the 55 grain blackhills, hornady varmit, and winchester silvertips.. I've got some 62 grains that I've yet to try
 
I shoot a lot of Wolf (now WPA) through my M4 set up, but it's not what I'd use for precision shooting. It's basically plinking/training ammo. I'm shooting iron sights on that set up so I don't need match grade ammo.

If the primary usage of your rifle is more precision, I'd suggest (if you want off the shelf) trying some Hornady V-Max and the black hills ammo. Either can be purchased from Midway USA. Lake City also makes some good M193 ball you can try.
 
For the price and performance you cant beat ultramax ammo. I have the bull 20 and the bull 16 i feed both of them ultramax and have never had any issues.
 
I'm trying out UMC 55gr. Bought a brick of 200 at Scheels. I'm sure it will work for breaking in and yotes.

I have been reading that a heavier bullet work better with your higher twist.

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Muddy, Honestly the 40 grain Vmax is the best bullet (ballistically) out of the .223 3800 fps w/ 1280lbs of energy. They shoot lights out, out of my DPMS, but I shoot the 55 grain Vmax now strictly because I hunt yotes with a group and they all carry AR's with 55 grain bullets, so if I by chance run out I can snag a "clip" :grin: from JakeWym and still be in the game. Also the availability of 55 grain ammo for a .223 is way better than for the 40 grain. I think you'll find that the gun will shoot amazingly well with any ammo, you'll just have to decide what you are going to be chasing with it and how often you may need ammo. :way:
 
I will second what DG says about the 40 grain bullet. They scream out of those guns, But, you lose a great deal of knock down power with a bullet this light. I also own a .204. I have shot 5 coyotes with this gun using a 32 and 40 grain bullet. The first 2 I shot tipped over instantly, and I never found the other 3. Moral of the story is this...unless you hit a coyote perfect, the 40 grain bullet is too light for coyotes. A great round for prairie though. The added weight will also produce more accurate shots at greater distances, especially on windy days. Good Luck.
 
If it was me I would try some Black Hills 60g V-Max or 69g SMK they seem to shoot good out of everything. I read on some long range hunting sites that you cant load a better round than Black Hills 69gSMK's obviously thats just a opinion... but it seems to be a VERY common one. Ive also shot Black Hills 68g. molly coated BTHP's out of my bolt gun and they shoot rediculously well, although now Im shooting the 60g. molly coated V-Maxs because Ive got a ton left over from a prairie dog hunt a few years back... they shoot very well as well, and really seem to do a number on everything Ive shot with them
 
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