Need Ammo advice .223 and .308

[metalmachine]

I'm geting a Springfield Armory National Match M1A, and a custom Mini 14 out of Accuracy systems inc.
I want to get ammo for different uses for both of them. I am very familiar to handguns off and on for the past 25+yrs but just now getting into center fire riffles. Please give ammo (manufacturer, weight, bullet type) rec. for the following
.223 for range/plinking out to 200yds-300 yds
.223 for home def. out to 100yds-200yds
.308 for range out to 200yds-300yds
.308 for home def. 100yds -300yds
also online suppliers would be helpfull. For the home defense stuff I'm not bargain hunting. I'll buy it bulk, check it out at the range and keep it. Got to watch out for zombies and all that.

 

[alucard0822]

If you are not reloading I would suggest, for the M1A 168gr federal match with the sierra MK bullet, fairly easy to find and shoots well out of almost anything. For the mini, it depends on what twist rate you have, 1 in 9 or 10, 50 or 55gr black hills match works well, a faster twist may shoot a 77gr bullet better though, best thing to do is to try a variety of ammo and use what offers the best accuracy with an acceptable cost. For HD I would suggest to choose a single weapon and train well with it (thousands of threads on that one) and use military style ammo, 147gr FMJ for the M1A, and for the mini hornandy TAP. basically the round closest to what the rifle was designed to shoot, either has many times more power than a pistol and are more than capable of 1 shot stops, this makes reliability more important than bullet design in choosing an ideal defense round IMO.

 

[metalmachine]

Thanks for the info. Why wouldn't I want the soft point or HP for home def.? When I say HD I mean outdoor HD. Inside would be rem 870 or sig 226. in 40 cal. Do I get knock down with the fragmentation of the fmj along with the ability to penetrate cover barriers? Please advise. I thought the military used fmj for the political reasons of UN and such.

 

[byf43]

For the .223, Federal or Winchester 69 gr. BTHP loads as a starter.
Not to throw dirt on the Mini 14, but, you will need to ask Accuracy Systems, Inc., what THEY recommend.
The Mini has a reputation for it throwing groups.
The barrel twist rate, the barrel/action bedding, etc. will all play a role.

As for the M1A, Federal Gold Medal Match with 168 gr. Sierra BTHP is hard to beat, in my experience.
As for a defensive load. . . duplicate the Federal GMM load, but, swap out the 165 gr. Sierra GameKing BTHP bullet.
(This projectile shoots the same in my firearm, but, it has one whoppin' hollowpoint in comparison to the competition projectile!) With that said, back when I was shooting High Power at my local club, I used the 165 gr in place of the 168 and got great groups, without the cost from the MatchKing bullet.

For surplus (plinking) ammo, IF you can find the South African (SA) ammo, it is pretty decent ammo.
IF you can find the Portugese ammo, I've heard that this is some great stuff.
Of course, the LC surplus is good ammo, too.
Don't discount the Federal 'American Eagle' ammo, either. This ammo shoots good in my AR-HBAR and the .308 shoots good in my M1A.

IHTH.

 

[Art Eatman]

For the .223, any soft point bullet of 50 to 55 grains will work just fine for varmints. Prairie dogs to 300, for sure; I'd sorta figure coyotes to 200 for clean kills. But I'm a softie, plus I usually call coyotes in close, anyhow.

The same load is plenty good for home defense, considering that "defense" of one's home involves ranges from the sidewalk on in toward the house. Any old bullet would work.

Pretty much the same deal for a .308. A 150-grain softpoint will do Bad Things to Bambi--or coyotes and jackrabbits, for that matter. And the average Bad Guy is quite subject to an attitude change should he be the recipient of your gift, anywhere out to 500 yards or even more.

The main thing is to buy small quantities of various brands/types so you know what groups best in your particular rifle. THEN buy in bulk.

Art

 

[DMK]

For my .308 Garand and FAL, I keep Hornady 155gr TAP handy for home defense. This ballistic gel test here is pretty convincing. I've found that load to be exceptionally accurate in my Garand. Black Hills has a 155gr. AMAX that would probably work just as well. Those are probably a bit pricy for target shooting though. For that, I'd used Black Hills Blue Box in 168gr, or Federal Gold Match when you can find a deal on it. I've had good luck with those.

For my 1/9 twist ARs, I use Black Hills 75gr. Open Tip Match for both HD and range use (Cheaper Blue Box for range use). It's pretty darn accurate and should work as well as anything to stop an attacker. I'm seriously considering trying some of Hunting Shack's "HPBT Tactical 5.56-17N-T" ammo. It's a 75gr. Boat Tail HP doing 2850 fps. If you don't have a 5.56 chamber, they also have the slightly downloaded .223 version: HPBT Tactical 223-17N-T