Another new AR-15 owner with ammo question

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ScottsGT

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I'm finally getting my AR-15 (RRA) complete, and I'm on a hunt for ammo. I've found a local dealer that has 500 rds. of Lake City for $100, and up the road in NC, I can get 1000 rds. of South African for $140. Does anyone have experience with the South African ammo? It is listed as non corrosive. Just don't want to get involved with something that will damage my new toy. :what:
 
The SA is good stuff. Funny smell to it but other than that it works just fine. I shot a carbine class with it not long ago and never had a problem.

Look here for your ammo answers, lots of good info.

http://www.ammo-oracle.com/

Congrats on the new RRA, I love mine.
 
To get the most out of your new rifle I recommend getting some ammo with match bullets which will shoot better than the 55 gr Nato rounds. Try Blackhills "Bluebox" 52 gr HPBT. These are reloads in LC cases which I've used before I began reloading. Last time I purchased some, Georgia Precision had the best prices.
 
Unless you're shooting matches or hunting with it, stick with the surplus. You'll find out quickly that the match ammo will become quite expensive as it is nothing to send upwards of several hundred rounds downrange in a single range trip. And if you have friends or family, you could start topping the 500 (or with my friends 1000) mark. And you can have really good accuracy out of the surplus ammo so don't let that stop you from throwing down the dollars for it.

For the best bang for your buck, invest in good reloading equipment and reload your brass.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of the AR.

For ammo, I prefer Israel Military Industries (IMI) M193. US Milspec ammo manufactured in Israel. Boxer primed, reliable, and consistent, it is hard to beat. IMI M193s civilian production line twin is Winchester Q3131A. IMI is contracted by Winchester for the production of this ammo using the same materials and tooling as their M193.

Ammoman (Ammoman.com) has 500rds of Q3131A for sale at $109, including delivery. 21.8 cents per round.

Botach Tactical (Botach.com) sells 1,200 rds of IMI M193 for $189, including delivery. 15.8 cents per round.

Both Q3131A/IMI M193 are of recent manufacture (2001 or more recent). Ammoman has good (not great) prices and outstanding customer service. Botach is spotty when ordering anything other than ammo from them, however I've orderes ammo from Botach at least six times in the past couple of months and have yet to have a problem with an ammo order.

It would also be a good idea to get youself some mags. You can't go wrong with USGI mags. Ammoman is currently selling "gold standard" of pre-ban AR mags, new in wrapper Labelle teflon coated 30 rd mags (5 for $159). I already own ten (I'm stuck to purchasing pre-ban mags while I can, thanks to the permanent Pataki Ban in NY State), and they are the finest mags I have ever seen. For the range and just banging around, Ammoman is selling steel British SA80 30rd mags (5 for $79). Tough magazines that you won't care about dropping to the ground in a tactical reload drill, or just banging around in your bag.

You now have ammo, mags, the next must is a Lula. It is an ingenious Israeli invented plastic gadget that is used to load/unload AR magazines. It will save the feed lips on your mags and your own fingers from undue stress and damage.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the tips, Guys! I've just ordered two 30 rd. mags that are NIW USGI with green followers for $25 each. Found them on AR15.com I would get more, but after just forking out the bucks to finish up the AR, well you get the picture. BTW, I went with the A2 16" with mid length grips. Now if the upper would just arrive. :rolleyes: I'm probably going to buy 40 or 60 rds. just to hear it go bang, then save up for some ammo in the 1000 qty. I've got to stop buying so many guns in different calibers!
On reloading, I've read that it is not cost effective to reload .223, since it is so cheap right now. I do reload for .45 ACP and I'm setting up for .30-'06 for the Garand right now.
 
DO a search for the "AR-15 Ammo FAQ," and you'll get more info than you ever want to know. Focused on surplus ammo, tho.
 
I've only gone through about 500 rounds but so far I've had pretty good luck with Silver Bear ammo. No malfunctions, reasonable accuracy, consistant, cheap. What else could you ack for in practice ammo? Only weakness is that it is not reloadable. I've seen it for as little as $2.39 for a box of twenty.

Scott
 
On reloading, I've read that it is not cost effective to reload .223, since it is so cheap right now. I do reload for .45 ACP and I'm setting up for .30-'06 for the Garand right now.
Click to expand...

Never known anything other than .22lr or Wolf to be cheaper to purchase than to reload.

If it's a plinking gun, it's almost always cheaper to reload than purchase. Only way cheaper is the steel-cased Wolf stuff and that's no comparison really. Apples and oranges.

Now, if you're shooting match-only, you might have a point.
 
In cas you are interested, Natchez Shooter Supply is having a sale on American Eagle brand .223 Remington. Check their website, but I believe it is $2.99 per box (20) if you buy a case (500 rds).
 
No! No! I'm not going to tell you! I'm saving it all for myself! :D

Actually, I cannot remember their name. I'll look it up in SGN tonight and let you know tomorrow. I know that they're in Indian Trail NC. I bought my Port. .308 from them last year. They have really good prices on ammo. They also offer Olympic at the same price, but too many negative reviews on AR15.com on that stuff.
 
I've used surplus south african PMP several times. It's a decent round, just clean your AR often.

The Winchester Q3131A is good, my bushmaster likes it, though I have'nt used enough of it at this time to advise.

ammoman does have some good deals, & i get my order promptly. Got a good deal on cases of Q3131A w/ tracers recently.

Get a lula, stripper clips & decent magazines. you can replace springs & followers easily on worn magazines, but it is time consuming. and extracting a round when the worn magazine does'nt do its job is a pain.

if you feed your AR the proper diet & maintain it well, it will be a very happy creature....

Welcome to the wonderful world of AR's....
 
Before you try the surplus ammo make sure you have a 5.56 Nato chamber.
If you try 5.56 surplus in a .223 REM chamber you can run into serious pressure problems. Shooting .223 REM in a 5.56 chamber is no problem.
I only mention this becuase you didn't say anything about a model or make of your new shooter. :)

The SA surplus is good ammo. You shouldn't have any problems.
 
The South African ammo is highly regarded, but also considered pretty near impossible to find nowadays. So make sure it's the real thing, then grab it for $140. At the same time, the Lake City (if it's recent manufacture) is probably about as good as it gets--the Q3131A is possibly more accurate but probably not as hot--so I'd get it, too, even though it's probably about $10 overpriced for 500 rounds. I don't think you'd regret either purchase.
 
I just checked with my dealer getting me my RRA, and he might be able to get the same ammo as the local guys have at wholesale. He helps me out on things like that.
Jack19 - You got it buddy! Their the ones. I brought in the ad this morning to post the web address. www.classicarms.us
I also found the LULA ad. Looks like a must have.
I must admit, this is my 3rd AR. I bought my first one in '94. It was a Colt SP-1 with the triangular grips. Bought it for $600. Crime bill passed and sold it a month after I bought it for $1600. I could'nt pass on that kind of profit :D (Thanks Billy Bob Clinton!) Couple years back I bought a Bushmaster M-4gery with the mini-Y comp. Shot about 100 rds. and sold it because it was unenjoyable to shoot with the air blasting me in the face each time I pulled the trigger. I should have just rebarrled it!
Anyway, this time I did my homework and found a combination I think I am going to like.
Now I'm thinking about that .50 Beowulf !
 
I originally bought the Bushmaster with the mini-Y comp. I called Bushmaster with my complaints about the comp and they rebarreled the rifle for me. I only paid for shipping. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who disliked the mini-Y, but I'm really glad Bushmaster really is a customer oriented company.
Good luck with the new AR.

Scott
 
DeputyVaughn,
Well, that makes me feel good! I took a beating on my trade. But in the long run, I guess I'm happy. Mine was one of those special deals Bushmaster put out with the A-1 uppers. I called about having it changed over to an A2, and the guy told me that almost everyone they sold at this rock bottom price has come back for a new A2 upper change out, so they had to start charging $100 to do it. If I remember, I think retail was about $550 on these. They wanted to clean out their inventory on A1 uppers.
I guess I should have asked about the Mini-Y comp too! :banghead:
 
Acctually he should have the 223 Wylde chamber in the RRA. Witch is fine for surplus ammo as well as commerical.
Click to expand...

Rock River Arms (Wilson) 16" bbls are chambered in 5.56 NATO. Only their 20" bbls are 223 Wylde.
 
I'm interested in your opinion of the Rock River? I passed on one to buy my Bushmaster. I could have had one with the basic M-4 setup and a couple of goodies for $875.00 + tax. I got my Bushmaster out the door with 200 rounds of Federal .223 ammo for $900.00. I may have paid a little too much either way but I'm not complaining, part of my deal was interest free financing. I had Mrs. DeputyVaughn's approval so I had to move quickly (before she changed her mind).

Scott
 
DeputyVaughn,
RRA's are the up and coming AR on the market now. VERY highly reguarded in the AR world. Check out ar15.com. And the best thing about RRA's is that you can purchase the uppers and lowers seperately and save about $200 on exise tax. Go to their website and check out the prices for a lower and then an upper and check the price to a fully built rifle. It's almost $200!:scrutiny: I have had my lower since Feb. but have finally decided to spend the rest of the bucks and get it done. And you can save a LOT of money if you have a good friend with an FFL that can get it for you at his cost ;)
 
ARperson,
Right you are, sir. I myself, found the RRA combinations to be the lowest priced with high quality. I didn't even price the Bushmasters seperatly.
 
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