justin22885
member
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2009
- Messages
- 2,102
ive been doing some testing of different types of ammo against my 75 grain HPBT hand loads in 5.56 in a few different rifles and im not all that impressed with 5.56 anymore.. giving it a best chance to perform the best it can ive learned that compared with golden tiger 7.62x39 out of my AK, not only does the 7.62x39 have better barrier penetration (obviously) but it delivers a larger permanent wound cavity on account it yaws after only about 2-3 inches, and at the absolute furthest distance i'll let a ballistics chart go it only had 5 feet more drop at 600 yards than 75 grain 5.56
also out of a borrowed 16 inch AR-15, i was getting a decent 1-1.5 MOA groups, out of my 5.56 AK-74 i was getting larger groups likely due to the 1 in 9 twist (because both the AR and AK get about 2 MOA with M855), and out of my polish AKM i used to test the golden tiger ammo i was getting about 2MOA with that ammo, so on top of everything i said in the above paragraph, the golden tiger matches M855 5.56 for accuracy and with the boat tail bullet of the GT and higher velocities, its much flatter shooting than youd expect 7.62x39 to be
so, the fact the performance of my best effort 5.56 ammo wasnt all that spectacular compared to 7.62x39, especially the GT ammo, and considering how much higher the costs are per round (30-32 cents per round for reloading components), im probably going to give 5.56 a rest and focus on the two main com block calibers of 7.62x39 and 5.45x39
since i do not have an AK-74 in 5.45, i wasnt able to test this but reviewing the data of various loads out there the almost instant yaw of the rather long cartridge gives a pretty large (matches the GT 7.62) wound cavity while the bi-metal steel/copper jacket offers better barrier penetration than 5.56, and the yaw effect is far more reliable at a greater spectrum of ranges and velocities compared to expanding or fragmenting ammunition
im not trying to convince anyone 5.56 is bad, quite the opposite i still think its a decent round, but in my personal tests of my hand loads, M855, and GT 7.62x39, i just dont believe the 5.56 is worth the effort and costs id have to put into getting it to perform where i want it to and so im abandoning that effort and probably 5.56 as well
also out of a borrowed 16 inch AR-15, i was getting a decent 1-1.5 MOA groups, out of my 5.56 AK-74 i was getting larger groups likely due to the 1 in 9 twist (because both the AR and AK get about 2 MOA with M855), and out of my polish AKM i used to test the golden tiger ammo i was getting about 2MOA with that ammo, so on top of everything i said in the above paragraph, the golden tiger matches M855 5.56 for accuracy and with the boat tail bullet of the GT and higher velocities, its much flatter shooting than youd expect 7.62x39 to be
so, the fact the performance of my best effort 5.56 ammo wasnt all that spectacular compared to 7.62x39, especially the GT ammo, and considering how much higher the costs are per round (30-32 cents per round for reloading components), im probably going to give 5.56 a rest and focus on the two main com block calibers of 7.62x39 and 5.45x39
since i do not have an AK-74 in 5.45, i wasnt able to test this but reviewing the data of various loads out there the almost instant yaw of the rather long cartridge gives a pretty large (matches the GT 7.62) wound cavity while the bi-metal steel/copper jacket offers better barrier penetration than 5.56, and the yaw effect is far more reliable at a greater spectrum of ranges and velocities compared to expanding or fragmenting ammunition
im not trying to convince anyone 5.56 is bad, quite the opposite i still think its a decent round, but in my personal tests of my hand loads, M855, and GT 7.62x39, i just dont believe the 5.56 is worth the effort and costs id have to put into getting it to perform where i want it to and so im abandoning that effort and probably 5.56 as well