Recommendation needed on .223 Remington ammo

[tonyv138]

Hello, I have been lurking for a while, decided to post and ask few questions.
Been shooting .22lr so far. First dive centerfire world. Specifically, AR15 .223 Remington

Yesterday I finished my AR15 build, Took it to the range today, It does shoot ok.

Now im looking for recommendations/experiences on what ammo i should be on look out for my barrel - Shillen .223 Match, Stainless Steel, 1:12 twist, 24in long with the headspaced bolt.

Also, if there are tips on how to improve my game, im ready to learn how to best tune my AR for optimal performance.

Thanks!

 

[Rank Amateur]

Can you tell us what kind of shooting you intend to do? What range? Plinking steel, varmints, paper targets? Twist of your barrel will limit you to lighter bullets (Shilen specs show 63 grain or less), so I'm presuming you're not intending something like 4-500 yd target matches, right?

 

[CJ6]

Sig, Sierra, Berger, Hornady with the lighter weight (under 60 grain bullets) for your 12 twist. To maximize the potential of your rifle, you may want to look into hand loading.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Hello, I have been lurking for a while, decided to post and ask few questions.
Been shooting .22lr so far. First dive centerfire world. Specifically, AR15 .223 Remington

Yesterday I finished my AR15 build, Took it to the range today, It does shoot ok.

Now im looking for recommendations/experiences on what ammo i should be on look out for my barrel - Shillen .223 Match, Stainless Steel, 1:12 twist, 24in long with the headspaced bolt.

Also, if there are tips on how to improve my game, im ready to learn how to best tune my AR for optimal performance.

Thanks!

Hrndy Sf 223rem 53gr V-max 20/200

Precision Rifle Shooting Accessories

theurbanriflemanstore.com

My entire store was full of 223 and 556 until a few days ago. My distributor is RSR group and someone came in and completely cleaned them out of 223/556 ammo.

But I still have these.

 

[RegionRat]

Your 1:12 twist predicates your selection.

When you pick that twist, you are in effect picking the middle to lighter ends of the 224 bullet lengths/weights.

Don't let that bother you for now. You can always get yourself a 1:7 twist match upper if you want to venture into the heavier end of match bullets later.

Next we consider magazine length ammo since there isn't much point to single feeding of a 1:12 twist bbl.

Roughly speaking, the Hornady 53 VMax is an excellent choice for general varmint shooting, and the 40 VMax is also very good. Both are available as components and loaded ammo.

In good AR barrels, this bullet/ammo is good at short range and out to about 400 or so but less in wind.

If you want target ammo, it will be harder to find stuff that works in 1:12 since most 223/556 target ammo is 69 grains and up these days.

You can find compatible components for match ammo in the 40 - 55 grain class, but then you would have to load the ammo yourself.

You can spend some time with 40 - 53 grain VMax ammo to learn the ropes and it shouldn't break the bank or be hard to find.

 

[whatsupdoc]

1:12 is a very slow twist for an AR, what the @urbanrifleman suggested should work.
Shooting AR's is challenging most of the time its not the rifle that needs tuning its the shooter.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Remington has a 50 rd value pack with 50 gr HP. If you can find the 250 rd ct Barnes 55 bthp bucket it's good ammo. Win white box 45 gr is good stuff.

 

[anschuter2013]

If you handload, I would recommend Berger 52 grain match and 52 grain varmint (yellow label and orange label, respectively) and would suggest LT-32 for powder. The bullets and powder recommended are readily available, right now.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

If you shoot 223 or 5.56, be aware of a soon to be shortage.
An industry insider told me this week that most all civilian 5.56 contracts have been terminated due to the chit in Israel and Ukraine. So prepare accordingly.

Right now, I'd be more concerned with actually obtaining ammo, rather than the right ammo for your twist.

 

[LiveFire]

Ive always found fiocchi extrema 50gr vmax to be one of the better "affordable" factory loads for a guy with an ar15 wishing good accuracy. Another factory option is ADI and this link is the best price Ive found. Before I reloaded I shot exclusively the two mentioned ammunition. Both served me well on paper and chucks. Both loaded with quality bullets.

ADI World Class .223 REM 55 Grain Sierra Blitzking CASE200 UPC: 9332153003173

Global Ordnance. ADI (Australian Munitions). The Sierra® BlitzKing® selected for this load is designed for explosive expansion in varmints and small game with the accuracy of the MatchKing® bullets

globalordnance.com

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Ive always found fiocchi extrema 50gr vmax to be one of the better "affordable" factory loads for a guy with an ar15 wishing good accuracy. Another factory option is ADI and this link is the best price Ive found. Before I reloaded I shot exclusively the two mentioned ammunition. Both served me well on paper and chucks. Both loaded with quality bullets.

ADI World Class .223 REM 55 Grain Sierra Blitzking CASE200 UPC: 9332153003173

Global Ordnance. ADI (Australian Munitions). The Sierra® BlitzKing® selected for this load is designed for explosive expansion in varmints and small game with the accuracy of the MatchKing® bullets

globalordnance.com

That’s a heck of a deal at $.60 a round.
To the OP and anyone else, this AR ammo is flying off the shelves and you better get it bought now. I think I read the government has shut civilian sales off of the Winchester lake city stuff and Hornady has took a big hit with the recent plant explosion.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I would also stay away from the Xm-193 .556 type ammunition if you’re wanting accuracy.

 

[LiveFire]

That’s a heck of a deal at $.60 a round.
To the OP and anyone else, this AR ammo is flying off the shelves and you better get it bought now. I think I read the government has shut civilian sales off of the Winchester lake city stuff and Hornady has took a big hit with the recent plant explosion.

What you mentioned and vista selling to some czech company leaving the future of cci, federal, speer and other brands under that umbrella an uncertainty. And heading into our typical election year "panics" Maybe nothing changes or maybe it does. Buy it as you can afford it folks.

 

[tonyv138]

Thank you, this is very helpful. Got some ADI and VMAX to experiment with

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Ive always found fiocchi extrema 50gr vmax to be one of the better "affordable" factory loads for a guy with an ar15 wishing good accuracy. Another factory option is ADI and this link is the best price Ive found. Before I reloaded I shot exclusively the two mentioned ammunition. Both served me well on paper and chucks. Both loaded with quality bullets.

ADI World Class .223 REM 55 Grain Sierra Blitzking CASE200 UPC: 9332153003173

Global Ordnance. ADI (Australian Munitions). The Sierra® BlitzKing® selected for this load is designed for explosive expansion in varmints and small game with the accuracy of the MatchKing® bullets

globalordnance.com

Has Global Ordnance been in business for a good while?

 

[LiveFire]

Has Global Ordnance been in business for a good while?

They used to be the importer of stribogs and grand power pistols. Not sure if they still are. As far as time in business I believe it was 2015 or so when I first got turned on to the ADI ammo. It was sold as Outback Ammo and you could get it at cabelas. Cabelas stopped carrying it so a friend and I split a case from global ordnance.

 

[urbanrifleman]

That's about one quarter of what I bought.

 

[Bill K]

Due to the conflicts all around. Whatever 223/5.56 you can buy, you better stock up, as shortly it may be very hard too come by.

 

[dusterdave173]

The Fiocchi Field ammo with the Vmax is Great ammo! 50g seems to be the easiest to find--the 40 Vmax shoots great also--It is about as good as you can get for a plain AR

 

[tonyv138]

The Fiocchi Field ammo with the Vmax is Great ammo! 50g seems to be the easiest to find--the 40 Vmax shoots great also--It is about as good as you can get for a plain AR

Can you please help me understand the term "plain AR" better. I am trying to see where my ar fits