.223/AR Bullets

[Benjblt]

So I'm not much of a reloader but I've decided that I need to start for my AR15 in 5.56/.223 that I just purchased since ammo is so expensive and hard to find. Any suggestions on a good plinking bullet that is economical? How bout a good self-defense bullet? I have a M&P 15 Sport II with a 1:9 twist. There area lot of options and I don't know what to watch out for . . . For instance, Midway USA has a few different bullet seconds but thought that might be too problematic for a semi auto. Any help is greatly appreciated. Be gentle if my question is too open ended.

 

[Curoso]

I shot Berry’s for a while and they weren’t bad for the price. I got some Winchester fmj’s from a guy for dirt cheap on the AR-15 forum too. Those also weren’t bad. I used to have an extreme bullet about 10 minutes away but they closed so now I’m back to berry’s. If your just plunking I say get the cheaps. Also, if you have a turret press see if you can find the boat tails. They make life a lot easier.

 

[menhaden_man]

The Hornady 55 gr are decent for plinking... I have a pile of different bullets for other stuff. For SHTF sort of thing, my 5.56 pistol does pretty solid with the 62 grain green tip bulk ammo.

Natchez

www.natchezss.com

 

[FLS]

Hornady 55 FMJs shoot pretty good for a plinker. Me and a buddy split a case,of 6000. I load them over H335 in LC brass.
55 grain Nosler Ballistic tips are really accurate in about everything I’ve shot them out of.
With your twist, you might be able to shoot 75/77’s , but 68/69 will probably be better. I load both over TAC in LC brass.

 

[5MilesBack]

Get some Vmax or TNT's and "plink" on some prairie dogs.

 

[30 Alk Mag]

55gr and less H335
62gr + Varget
LC brass
YMMV

 

[Benjblt]

Thanks guys for the info.

 

[snuzzo29]

For plinking I think the Hornady 55gr FMJ are some of the best. I just bought some Berry's but haven't had a chance to test them out yet. For a self defense bullet I like Speer Gold Dots.

 

[MLGrace]

Berrys 55 fmj. Cheap and pretty good quality.

 

[robtattoo]

Might be a little more spendy, but if you see the 60, 62 or 65gn SP seconds on Midway, I've found them all to be extremely accurate in all my ARs (and my bolt guns, actually) over a middling-warm load of Varget. They've all performed really well on game too (2 deer, maybe 9 or 10 hogs) aaaaaand it's pretty much all I load the days. I want to say they run about $12/100 but it's been a few months since i needed to replace any.

 

[Michael17]

Berrys shot about a 4-5 moa group out of my AR, but they are super cheap good for mag dumps and screwing around with steel. If you want a little bit more accurate I’d go for the hornady 55 gr soft points they could shoot around 1 moa with a good load work up, and you could use them for varmint hunting.