PMC 223A vs. Remington .223 UMC?

[Benelli Shooter]

I am having some problems with Remington UMC .223 LC223R3 ammo short stroking on my AR15. I understand it is some pretty weak ammo. It shoots about 2" lower than my usual American Eagle ammo at 50 yards. So, the short stroking does not surprise me.

Is PMC 223A loaded hotter than the Remington .223 UMC? I have heard the PMC is dirty and has a big muzzleblast at night. I just want some reliable plinking ammo and wonder if the PMC is hotter?

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I have used both the PMC 223A and the Remington UMC with no problems; but I definitely liked the PMC 223A better.

Accuracy was superior with the PMC and price was better. It does tend to have a noticeable flash compared to the UMC; but I haven't noticed any big difference in how dirty it is.

 

[Benelli Shooter]

Is the PMC a hotter round? Or, is it weak like the Remington UMC.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Don't recall what it chronoed at but IIRC it was in the typical range for .223 SAAMI ammo (i.e. slower than M193 but faster than Wolf).

Let me check my shooting log but the PMC may have failed to cycle my mid when using a 7oz MGI buffer.

 

[rangerruck]

how old is your ar? is it well broken in and lubed? i say this becuase, for a low end ammo, the remmy ammo is quite good, consistent, and more accurate than they should be.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I use mostly UMC .223 55gr FMJ for target practice. I do not have short-stroking problems, in three different AR's (16" carbine, 16" mid-length gas system, 20" rifle). I did initially have trouble with the bolt stop not being activated in the 16" carbine, but solved that with cleaning and FP-10 on all relevant parts. Now all three are 100% on UMC ammo. I have shot some PMC and have not noticed any difference in operation.

For an experiment, and assuming your AR-15 is chambered for 5.56mm (most but not all are), get some Q3131 or Q3131A, or XM193, and see if that fixes the short-stroking problem.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Checked my log on the PMC - 39 out of 40 rounds short stroked with a new mid barrel/bolt and the MGI 7oz buffer (the buffer was too heavy for the mid barrel - I also had short strokes with all the other ammo including XM193).

After replacing the MGI buffer with a standard carbine buffer (about 1/3 that weight) and relubing, I had 2 short strokes with the PMC in 258 rounds and then no problems with the remainder after that.

 

[mp510]

Is the PMC a hotter round?

I have found the PMC 223A to be a high quality load, that groups pretty well. I shot some of that and some late '70s vintage South Korean military surplus ammo recently, and I would say that they felt the same- which jives with comments on the ARFCOM ammo review board that
223A is very similar to (and made on the same line as) South Korean service ammo.

 

[Ryder0001]

This is a old topic but i just thought i would put my 2cents in. I have both UMC and PMC I have not had any short stroking or failures to fire in either and i have fired hundreds of rounds for both. All out of the same rifle my Panther AP4 (with the works).And I started to noticed something my grouping at 50 yards prone where much tighter with ... Remington UMC! In my experience the PMC was all over the place. I started to ponder why this was, my answer was sweet and simple. I looked at the bottom of the brass of the PMC in a unfired box, the markings where all different! Dates from 1992-2008. The UMC on the other hand was all uniform. This has led me to the conclusion that PMC are all a little different and so will there impact points, while the UMC will be a more consistent point of impact. Hope this helps!