Ammo Question

Jan 2009
360
0
Seattle
Hey guy's I'm relaying a question from a friend of mine. He wants to buy 1,000 rounds for his AR, there are two options for ammo, one is 62gr .223 Penetrator, the other is 62 gr 5.56 Penetrator. They're both the same price @ $305.00. I know that .223 would be a bit more accurate, not sure if it's a huge difference or not. His upper is capable of shooting 5.56. So I'm just wondering what you guys would do in that situation.. I'm just not too terribly knowledgeable on the pro's and con's of each round to give him an informed decision. Anyways, I would greatly appreciate any input you guys have.
 
Jan 2009
845
0
Renton, WA
If his rifle is chambered for 5.56, it can shoot .223 as well. The reverse is NOT true however, never fire 5.56 in a .223 chambered rifle!

.223 ammo fired from a .223 rifle is the most accurate, though I'm not sure on .223 vs 5.56 in a 5.56 rifle. IIRC 5.56 is more accurate in that case.

So if he's chambered for 5.56, I'd go with that as it's a hotter round than .223 assuming it's a mil-spec 62gr load.
 
Jan 2009
360
0
Seattle
Thanks for your input Pete, I know that a rifle chambered for 5.56 can shoot 223, but a .223 can't shoot 5.56.. Similar to 357's being able to shoot both 38 Spl, and 357, but a 38 can't shoot both. Yea it's mil Spec, I'm curious to test out the accuracy compared to a .223.. Will keep you posted.
 
Jan 2009
845
0
Renton, WA
Yeah for the best accuracy, it's definitely .223 fired from a .223 rifle. Firing .223 from a 5.56 rifles loses some accuracy. But I'm not sure where that stacks up vs 5.56 from the same rifle. I guess I could test it some time with my S&W, it's 5.56.

Side note, there's also the .223 Wylde chambering, which is supposed to be 'the best of both worlds', as in it will shoot 5.56 but is more accurate with .223 than a standard 5.56. My RRA is .223 Wylde and it is quite accurate, rated .75 MOA from the factory, and I have multiple pennies and nickels with holes in them from 100 yards that would back that claim up.
 
Nov 2009
463
0
WA
From a defensive standpoint, the 5.56 is superior. Other than that, you're shooting a rack grade rifle. Mil spec (and most AR's aren't) means it must shoot under 4 moa or something ridiculous.

The .62 grain penetrator means very little in the civilian world. It's less effective against soft targets than 55gr and we're not shooting through Russian helmets so....why pay more?

I prefer a good 5.56 55 gr load for just about everything
 
Jan 2009
1,684
0
s. greenlake *****
I tried a bunch of different stuff when I started shooting AR's.
I got one of my 20" shooting really well with 72gr..

I ultimately realized it made sense to shoot as much as possible and site in my guns for ammo I would have available more often.. so shooting 55 grain kinda became my go to..
 
Jan 2009
845
0
Renton, WA
Something else that hasn't been brought up yet, what's the twist rate of the rifling? That's going to dictate what grain bullets you'll be able to use and what's likely to be most accurate, if that's what you're going for.

But if it's defensive use, then yeah I'd go with what's plentiful and you plan to use for that. For example, my S&W carbine is my defensive AR, I shoot almost exclusively 55 grain ammo. Reloads for practice, Hornady TAP for defense, both 55 grain. My RRA rifle has a faster twist rate and will stabilize heavier bullets, so I've run everything up to 77 grain loads in it.
 
Jan 2009
360
0
Seattle
It's a 1x9 Twist, I e-mailed Delton for him just to make sure it could handle it, and they said that it's absolutely fine to shoot 5.56 through it.
 
Jan 2009
360
0
Seattle
He got 2k of 5.56, and 1k of .223, he went back to order another 1,000 rounds of 5.56 but they were sold out of the 5.56, so he ended up getting the .223 AP Penetrator.
 
Top