Defensive 5.56 Ammo Recommendations

[knastera]

I'm building an AR pistol with an Anderson 7.5 inch 5.56 1:7 barrel and I'm looking for recommendations on defensive ammo. When you reply, please give me your rationale for the recommendation.

By the way, I know about fireball issues with that short a barrel. I have that covered with a 5.5" solvent trap instead of a flash suppressor (no baffles, so I'm not building a suppressor).

The intended use is in a single family home with brick walls and a maximum length of shot of 12 yards.

For those interested, the lower is also Anderson and the internals are Delton.


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[mopar92]

Use Brownells GI mags or Magpul G3 Pmags. Federal MSR Fusion 62/64 Soft Point. Crimped primer and annealed case. You lose velocity with such a short barrel so ball is out of the question. But the soft point is awesome sauce and bonded for better penetration.

 

[knastera]

Use Brownells GI mags or Magpul G3 Pmags. Federal MSR Fusion 62/64 Soft Point. Crimped primer and annealed case. You lose velocity with such a short barrel so ball is out of the question. But the soft point is awesome sauce and bonded for better penetration.

Thanks. That's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for.

For mags, I'm going with Hexmag 10/30s. They are coming with me on a trip to PA so I can repair them to be able to perform to full capacity.


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[iH8DemLibz]

Cuzz they make lethal flesh and organ tearing mushrooms. Barnes solid copper bullets kill the hell out of Bambi too.

 

[mopar92]

Thanks. That's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for.

For mags, I'm going with Hexmag 10/30s. They are coming with me on a trip to PA so I can repair them to be able to perform to full capacity.


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The reason I say GI or Pmags is because the feed lip on the mag sits higher than others. This means the feedramps are out if the equation. Dunno about hex mags but check to see if they are.

 

[knastera]

Cuzz they make lethal flesh and organ tearing mushrooms. Barnes solid copper bullets kill the hell out of Bambi too.

View attachment 203593

Nice. I use those in my .357 Magnum for the same reason (mushrooming, not Bambi killing).


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[Racer Doug14]

Federal 50gr frangible. Maybe 40gr varmint.

 

[Jaybeez]

I'm building an AR pistol with an Anderson 7.5 inch 5.56 1:7 barrel and I'm looking for recommendations on defensive ammo. When you reply, please give me your rationale for the recommendation.

By the way, I know about fireball issues with that short a barrel. I have that covered with a 5.5" solvent trap instead of a flash suppressor (no baffles, so I'm not building a suppressor).

The intended use is in a single family home with brick walls and a maximum length of shot of 12 yards.

For those interested, the lower is also Anderson and the internals are Delton.


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If it muffles the sound by any measurable amount, its a sound suppressor, baffles or not. If your pistol needs a flash suppressor, get a real flash suppressor.

 

[knastera]

If it muffles the sound by any measurable amount, its a sound suppressor, baffles or not. If your pistol needs a flash suppressor, get a real flash suppressor.

Understood. This doesn't reduce the sound. There are plenty of legal mock suppressors on the market. It's basically a lightweight barrel extension.


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[Biggfoot44]

I really don't want to reignite a neverending thread about flash hiders vs linear compensators vs gun cleaning accesories. Suffice it to say a 7.5un .223 will be massively loud with anything not requiring stamps .

IH8 is correct, X Bullets are fine things, If $ is no object . If you express the sentiment that your life, and the lives of your family are priceless, and $ truely isn't an object, I won't presently try to dissuade you.

Meanwhile , Mopar is on the right track with 62-64gr bonded soft point, for a whole bunch of serious applications, from most rifles, and "normal" SBR.

BUT , we're talking 7.5inch here ( for better or worse). Velocities will be down to close to 2000fps. At these vels conventional 55gr soft point won't be excessively fragmenting like they from more intelligent ( opps, more typical) bbl lengths. I can say they will perform closer to bonded performance, but can't say they will be *better* than Bonded.

Advantages ? Cheap enough to buy in bulk, to do buncha practice with actual defensive ammo ( vs 99% of shooting w/ generic, and one and only one mag of social ammo). And common at most LGS instead of ordering or driving all over.

 

[alucard0822]

There isn't enough velocity from a 7.5" barrel to expand, fragment, or pretty much do anything other than yaw to increase a wound track beyond .22" in diameter. So might as well get the absolute heaviest bullet possible, and being a heavier bullet will be loaded with less powder, reach peak pressure faster, and have a longer dwell time in the barrel, the flash and blast will be as light as possible. So something loaded with a 75+gr HPBT would make the best of it, pretty much the same reason 300BO and it's ability to use much heavier bullets has become so popular in short barrels.

As far as the "solvent trap" goes, there have been ATF letters, raids and enough bad stuff around their implied use that I wouldn't risk using one,especially in a defensive weapon where it may end up in court. The general gist is that if you intend on firing a rifle with one attatched, it is unlawful. The ATF has been pretty clear on other devices and shrouds, an enclosed "barrel extension" as you put it must surround a length of unported barrel, all they have to do is show it reduces noise by 1 DB, and you are toast. Luckily the Noveske Flaming pig is legal, shorter, and is probably the best thing you could use to push the blast forward as much as possible.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/01/foghorn/atf-says-solvent-traps-silencers-shuts-sd-tacticals-kit-business/

 

[OrbitalEllipses]

^Came here to recommend a heavier projectile like Mk262 clones.

 

[swinokur]

Cuzz they make lethal flesh and organ tearing mushrooms. Barnes solid copper bullets kill the hell out of Bambi too.

View attachment 203593

this

 

[slybarman]

^Came here to recommend a heavier projectile like Mk262 clones.

I have a bunch of this stuff which is supposed to be a decent Mk262 clone.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/cbc-5-56mm-nato-77gr-otm-hpbt-ammunition-50rds-cbc556c.html

 

[HordesOfKailas]

There isn't enough velocity from a 7.5" barrel to expand, fragment, or pretty much do anything other than yaw to increase a wound track beyond .22" in diameter. So might as well get the absolute heaviest bullet possible, and being a heavier bullet will be loaded with less powder, reach peak pressure faster, and have a longer dwell time in the barrel, the flash and blast will be as light as possible. So something loaded with a 75+gr HPBT would make the best of it, pretty much the same reason 300BO and it's ability to use much heavier bullets has become so popular in short barrels.

As far as the "solvent trap" goes, there have been ATF letters, raids and enough bad stuff around their implied use that I wouldn't risk using one,especially in a defensive weapon where it may end up in court. The general gist is that if you intend on firing a rifle with one attatched, it is unlawful. The ATF has been pretty clear on other devices and shrouds, an enclosed "barrel extension" as you put it must surround a length of unported barrel, all they have to do is show it reduces noise by 1 DB, and you are toast. Luckily the Noveske Flaming pig is legal, shorter, and is probably the best thing you could use to push the blast forward as much as possible.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/01/foghorn/atf-says-solvent-traps-silencers-shuts-sd-tacticals-kit-business/

I think the physics supports your heavy bullet idea. With such a short barrel, high velocity is out of the question. Not to mention I think the heavier bullet will make cycling more reliable by getting to the right pressure faster.

 

[alucard0822]

this

Nice bullets at "rifle" velocities, but at the < 2K FPS that can be expected from a < 8" barrel they end up performing like a very expensive FMJ

 

[ericoak]

Seems like a very poor choice for a home defense weapon...

 

[Melnic]

I'm not a home defense expert but I have been told
Defensive = Need reliability.

Just don't neglect that.
My home defense Pistol I have shot the ammo I have in it enough to trust it.

 

[HordesOfKailas]

I'm not a home defense expert but I have been told
Defensive = Need reliability.

Just don't neglect that.
My home defense Pistol I have shot the ammo I have in it enough to trust it.

The reliability aspect is something I'd worry about with an AR pistol in 5.56 for home defense. With such a short barrel, you're gonna want to tweak buffer weight and stuff to make sure it cycles properly. Not to mention the concussive blast indoors. My 10.5" 300BLK is a beast. I don't know I'd want to shoot an even shorter gun with a slower burning powder.

 

[knastera]

Thanks for the info. The buffer I'm using is for a pistol.


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