Newbie ammo dilemma

[greg vess]

I think what he is getting at is a 55 gr. .223 projectile has 1099 ft. lbs of energy, vs a 69 gr. projectile has around 1379 ft. lbs of energy. That's almost 300 ft. lbs. of energy more which translates into more knock down power. 300 ft. lbs of more energy is nothing to sneeze at. The bigger the bullet the more knock down power. However the speed of the AR15 projectiles produce massive tissue wounds so one kind of crosses out the other. More speed with more tissue damage or less speed with more ft. lbs of energy. Either way you go it's going to be a mess for the guy on the other end. I believe bullet selection is more important than weight or speed when dealing with the AR platform. Unless you are shooting a AR10 .308 with a OTM projectile and then it wins hands down. Just saying! I just used .223 ballistics because that's the chart I had on hand. I am sure the 5.56 has similar effects.

 

[paliknight]

Heavier bullets may be more ideal for competitive shooting, but for any other purposes, the difference is neglible.

If he's just shooting at the range, agreed. But if hypothetically someone was in a more tactical environment, then the difference would matter. I know he isn't looking for tactical, I was answering the general question.

 

[drewga11]

If he's just shooting at the range, agreed. But if hypothetically someone was in a more tactical environment, then the difference would matter. I know he isn't looking for tactical, I was answering the general question.

I disagree with "a more tactical environment" making much difference. Its already been stated by someone with a lot more experience than me, that 55gr ball performs fine out to 500 yds from a 1:7 barrel. Not gonna be a whole lot of "tactical situations" past 500 yds where a .223/5.56 is the right tool for the job.

 

[drewga11]

I think what he is getting at is a 55 gr. .223 projectile has 1099 ft. lbs of energy, vs a 69 gr. projectile has around 1379 ft. lbs of energy. That's almost 300 ft. lbs. of energy more which translates into more knock down power. 300 ft. lbs of more energy is nothing to sneeze at. The bigger the bullet the more knock down power. However the speed of the AR15 projectiles produce massive tissue wounds so one kind of crosses out the other. More speed with more tissue damage or less speed with more ft. lbs of energy. Either way you go it's going to be a mess for the guy on the other end. I believe bullet selection is more important than weight or speed when dealing with the AR platform. Unless you are shooting a AR10 .308 with a OTM projectile and then it wins hands down. Just saying! I just used .223 ballistics because that's the chart I had on hand. I am sure the 5.56 has similar effects.

What he was getting at, was the idea that a faster twist rate equates to less stability from lower weight bullets and vice versa. While it is true to some degree, its not going to be very noticable from an average length 1:7 barrel inside the practical range of .223/5.56.

 

[greg vess]

I was referring to what drewga11 said more so than the OP. But I agree with you 100 percent.

 

[insulinboy]

I like Tula for plinking. Has a wierdish detergents smell but shoots fine

This, CG&P has the WPA 500 round casses for $125 I believe, haven't had to pick any up for a while.. after a few thousand rounds of plinking in a DPMS Oracle there have been 0 issues

 

[Smoothie]

I don't believe they were knocking 5.56 for home defense. I think they were cracking fun at the tip with the tracers.

Yep, tracers so you know when you have pumped 30 rounds out already so you can do a mag change to take care of the rest of the army. Lol

 

[cmshoot]

For those not wanting steel case, sgammo.com has IMI M193 for $.33/rd. This has been my go-to training ammo for awhile.

 

[romans1212]

ALL MINE IS PMC BRONZE 55g. Everything runs just fine.

 

[republican]

Green tips for plinking and Federal Fusion for hunting/defense. 62 gr

What he said. Fusion is the best however I also like the Remington premium stuff in the shiny foil box they sell at wal mart.
My 1/7 groups the federal 50gr. Varmint tip stuff almost as well as the fusion at 100 yds and it is less than $10 a box at Academy.