Let's talk different ammo brands

[Dodahdude]

I'm new to the AR .556 world. Shot a few hundred rounds of some local remanufactured ammo just for practice. And I know different firearms like certain ammo brands. But is there THAT big of a difference between XM193 Federal ball in Lake City, PMC, Winchester, Wolf, Remington on and on...... As well as XM855. *** Here is the Edit***. I meant 855 not 885.

And I know the difference between the .223/.556 chamber pressure as well as the difference between 55/65 grain projectile. I'm not target shooting or doing any competition shooting. Just a guy and his AR. But is there that big of a difference between brands? And what about purchase for resale value?

 

[Whitty Whit]

I have shot tulammo wwb PMC Remington independence and federal and never noticed a big difference. Only notice that tulammo has a distinct smell after being shot. Also I have only been shooting for a few months.

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[tcc722]

I would think any would be fine for the range. When the panic was in full swing, you could sell any brand for big money. There will always be a buyer for ammo.

 

[redhawk_hj]

there is a thread on ar15 that showed the break down of the effects of PMC bronze, wolf, tula and brown bear on ar-15's and in the end it is best to go with whatever is cheapest as the cost to fix an extractor or any other part that may be damaged with steel, is much lower than paying for brass.... as far as a target shooting goes.

 

[Boom Boom]

Go with WWB if you want to hide yourself in a white cloud of stinky smoke.

 

[amoebicmagician]

Federal is generally the best of the factory ammo.

I find that the Lake City seems to perform excellent, although PMC is not bad, and surprisingly Wolf Gold is very very good in the accuracy and cleanliness department.

Federal bulk pack 100 round .223 is also good, but not as good as the Lake City, but still better than PMC bronze.

PPU/Prvi Partizan is some of the most accurate .223 I've gotten my hands on out of my ARs, and it seems to run very clean.

Tulammo is the same as Herters and several other re-boxed variants- they all are Tulammo. The ammo is generally not very accurate, smells strange when shot, and is very very messy and generates a lot of smoke. This ammo is not sealed, so moisture will mess up this ammo, as will lubricants

Wolf steel case (WPA, polyformance) is decent ammo, but still relatively messy, if not as smoky as Tulammo.

Silver Bear can be either good or bad depending. Some Silver Bear I've gotten my hands on has had sealed primers, was RELATIVELY clean burning, and reasonably accurate. However, other times I've gotten silver bear .223 and it has not been sealed and has been middling accurate. Colt sells zinc cased .223 that is basically re-boxed silver bear.

 

[Dodahdude]

Well then Winchester is out. Thank you. One down. It seems sometimes that in Cabelas the American Eagle brand sits while Federal seem to fly off the shelves. But then again our local Walmart has been getting Federal brand and seem to set??? I believe both places had the Xm193.

 

[Deep Creek Rock]

OP whats the twist rate on your AR? Id factor that in on what ammo you buy too.

 

[Jim12]

When will some enterprising marketer with technical savvy come up with one that smells like sizzling bacon?

 

[Pwilliams1]

For the range a good ar should eat anything. I would only get brand specific if shooting for real accuracy or to sit on for a shtf situation.

 

[Gmercury2000]

When will some enterprising marketer with technical savvy come up with one that smells like sizzling bacon?

I'd invest! Lol

 

[Deep Creek Rock]

I'd invest! Lol

You could always get the next best thing. Tactical canned bacon from CMMG

 

[Gmercury2000]

You could always get the next best thing. Tactical canned bacon from CMMG

Wow!!

 

[Dodahdude]

As far as barrel twist rates I have two. One 1:10 20" and a 1:8 18". Someday I will be doing some yote and dog shooting.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Well then Winchester is out. Thank you. One down. It seems sometimes that in Cabelas the American Eagle brand sits while Federal seem to fly off the shelves. But then again our local Walmart has been getting Federal brand and seem to set??? I believe both places had the Xm193.

Federal owns Federal, American Eagle, and Black Hills. I listed them in order from cheapest to most expensive. I prefer AE or Black Hills ammo, but will use anything I can get my hands on as long as it isn't steel cased. Bushmasters don't like steel cased ammo.

 

[Respen33]

Federal owns Federal, American Eagle, and Black Hills. I listed them in order from cheapest to most expensive. I prefer AE or Black Hills ammo, but will use anything I can get my hands on as long as it isn't steel cased. Bushmasters don't like steel cased ammo.

I tend to use American Eagle as my .223 55gr of choice and federal or lake city as my 5.56 variety. Black hills is good but too expensive now to be worth the purchase.

I too found steel case a jam fest and avoid it through my Rock River.


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[Dodahdude]

there is a thread on ar15 that showed the break down of the effects of PMC bronze, wolf, tula and brown bear on ar-15's and in the end it is best to go with whatever is cheapest as the cost to fix an extractor or any other part that may be damaged with steel, is much lower than paying for brass.... as far as a target shooting goes.

Just found it. Wow... This is huge!

 

[OrbitalEllipses]

Just found it. Wow... This is huge!

The only problem is if you're precision target shooting. The cheap steel stuff isn't known for being accurate and while a lot of that is the shooter, I'm sure there's a larger variance between cartridges than say a Black Hills 5.56 or Fiocchi match-grade, etc.

 

[Pinecone]

It depends on your needs.

If you plan on reloading, Federal brass tends to be softer and the primer pockets get loose after less reloadings.

If you want the best accuracy, you have to test the various ammunition in YOUR rifle, to see what works best.

X193 or XM193 is pretty much the same from any manufacturer, as that is a US Gov standard.

If you just want to shoot, cheapest is best.

I don't worry about shooting steel core in any of my rifles. The online test shot a LOT of rounds, and VERY quickly. I don't do that.