What's the best general purpose round for the AR-15 platform?

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Bexar

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Now that ammunition is becoming more available I'd like to start buying two or three boxes a month for hog/Texas deer hunting...general 'Honey...shoot that over there...pesky critter shootin...stuff.

Her rifle is a 16 inch barreled, 1/9 twist, grunt over the counter, standard configured AR.

Reloading is an option.

No price higher than about twenty-ish dollars a box.
 
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For shooting critters, a 62-64 Grain Soft Point or Bonded Soft Point would work for anything up to deer or hogs with good shot placement, and would work great as a self defense/home defense round also. My primary AR stays loaded with Winchester Ranger 64 Grain SPs.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
Plain old GI 55 gr. FMJBT. Either .223 or 5.56mm XM-193.

Typically these are the cheapest you will find and they will get the job done.
 
For hogs and deer I'd want a heavier bullet that has a thicker jacket. There is some reasonable priced JHPs available that fit that bill.

I probably would avoid FMJs for game as they don't stay as lethal over as long a range as JHPs.

BSW
 
It seems, and not just because of this thread, that 62 grain is the best weight in .223 for GP use.
 
The 62gr is the best overall round for your twist. It will probably shoot 69gr but you will be better served with the 62gr and 55gr.
Shoot different rounds and see what it likes.
I built an upper with a 1:7 barrel and oddly enough it really likes cheap Wolf 55gr ammo.
 
For an AR, I generally only shoot 2 bullets....Hornady 55gr FMJ-BT over H335 is my plinking round and a 77gr SMK over Varget as my long range match round. I do have a 1:7 twist though. Not all 1:9 twist rifles can handle the 77gr.
 
Winchester Ranger 55 gr power point. Ammunition Depot has it on sale at $16.50/box

For a few bucks more you can get Federal Vital Shok with a 60 gr Nosler Partition bullet. Federal has a number of 60-64 grain bonded and fusion bullets rated for hunting.
 
Cabela's currently has the Hornady 55 gr SP ammo on sale for $29.95 for a box of 50. I load that bullet with 26.0 gr of Varget for our "all around" .223 AR load.
BTW, that price works out to $12 per box of 20 for good reloadable brass with a soft point bullet that is accurate and hits hard.
 
I have always liked the 64 grain soft point as a general purpose hunting 5.56 cartridge.
That said, I shoot way more 55- 62 grain FMJ and as much 77 grain fmj as I can find.
 
I like the Nosler 55gr ballistic tip and Seirra 69gr SMK's. I reload them for about $7ish per 20rds. The noslers can be bought for around $25 a box of 20, not sure about the sierra's. They both shoot great out to 300yards with my S&W M&P with 1/9 twist. Both put coyotes down no problem. I generally use the noslers for groundhogs and the SMK's for target shooting.
 
I bought 1,000 rounds of this several years ago for around $300. It shoots very well in my guns and is my plinking ammo. I can still find it priced under $10/box at times and buy several boxes at a time when I do. Not target grade, but it still shoots MOA or a hair more.

I have a few hundred rounds of various budget priced 55 Gr FMJ ammo. Most is just fine, but I prefer the 60-62 gr stuff.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/AMM-199

For huntng or SD I use this. Same trajectory, just a bit more accurate, usually closer to .75 MOA. $35/50 rounds isn't dirt cheap, but not bad for hunting ammo.

http://georgia-arms.com/223remington60grhornadyv-max50pk.aspx
 
jmr40 said:
I bought 1,000 rounds of this several years ago for around $300. It shoots very well in my guns and is my plinking ammo. I can still find it priced under $10/box at times and buy several boxes at a time when I do. Not target grade, but it still shoots MOA or a hair more.

I have a few hundred rounds of various budget priced 55 Gr FMJ ammo. Most is just fine, but I prefer the 60-62 gr stuff.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/AMM-199

For huntng or SD I use this. Same trajectory, just a bit more accurate, usually closer to .75 MOA. $35/50 rounds isn't dirt cheap, but not bad for hunting ammo.

http://georgia-arms.com/223remington60grhornadyv-max50pk.aspx
Click to expand...
That PMC stuff looks good. Thanks.
 
I have three rounds I use in my AR with a 1:7 twist.

First the XM193 55Gr Nato 5.56 round. I don't have a brand preference but I have a lot of Lake City stuff. I like it because it's dependable, generally accurate, and every range I've been to will be ok with it.

Second the XM855 62Gr Nato 5.56 round. Again no brand preference but it's a little more accurate for my rifle. It has the steel penetrator tip so some ranges will not allow you to shoot it.

Third the Hornady TAP-FPD 75Gr HP .223 round. A heavier bullet that is better for personal defense or hunting smaller game. A little hard to find these days.
 
A good bonded 60ish grain bullet would make a great bullet for general use regarding home defense and hunting deer sized animals. The TSX bullets would work well too but would have a lot more penetration through housing material if you missed a bad guy.
 
General purpose? M-193
Just remember what they say about a "jack of all trades". There are much better rounds for specific applications.
 
I've also heard not all PMC does it. Maybe they got enough complaints and fixed the problem.

M
 
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