Your opinion of my "stash" choice for 5.56

[speaksoftly]

Cartridge, Caliber 5.56 mm, Ball, M855 (United States): 5.56x45mm 62-grain FN SS109 ball cartridge, green tip w/steel penetrator and a lead core.

The above round is what I think I've decided to start stocking for my AR-15. I'll probably buy a bit every paycheck. I'm wondering if any of you have had experience with this round and if so what you think of it. I've read good reviews about it but only on websites that sell it (who NEVER publish the bad reviews submitted). So give me your two cents on this ammo (preferably opinion of those who've actually shot it haha). Thanks

-Marcos

P.S. Handgun ammo stock is made of Federal Hydra Shock .40 155 grain JHP...just FYI.

 

[migkillertwo]

Well its cheaper than m193. I'm thinking this is really good if your target is inside a vehicle.

 

[RainDodger]

It works fine. In my AR, I've found that it's not as accurate as the M193 or my own handloads. It is all accurate "enough" though... my AR has iron sights and it works perfectly well for what it's designed to do. That's my opinion, fwiw.

 

[pv18463]

I'm an AK guy so I'm not sure if this pertains to your choice of ammo, but it's something I came across and might be something to think about.

http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm#Why not M193/M855

 

[KW]

I look at M855 as the "jack of all trades" round in 5.56mm.

It's fairly cheap - much more affordable than the heavy hollowpoint or bonded softpoint rounds.

It feeds and shoots reliably, and it's available in sealed battle packs from Prvi.

It fragments as reliably (or unreliably depending on your perspective) as M193. The M193 will fragment out to a greater distance due to it's higher muzzle velocity however.

It penetrates better then some other 5.56mm rounds. This is something of a gray area - the bonded softpoints will do a better job on autoglass. I've also seen repeated claims that M193 penetrates better at close range, but the tests I've seen people do on steel seem to point to M855 being superior. Dr. G.K. Roberts posted some testing on Level III plates over on M4carbine.net and the M855 was able to penetrate some of them - M193 and other non-AP 7.62mm loads weren't able to do this in his test. In a recent army penetration test on car doors and concrete M855 performed better than M193 or Mk262.

It offers better long range performance then M193. It's better ballistic coefficient results in a flatter trajectory and less wind drift. M855 definitely penetrates better than M193 at long range - it was required to demonstrate penetration of a steel helmet at 600m when it was accepted in the early 80's (which M193 couldn't do). And many scopes with bullet drop compensating reticles are calibrated for M855.

All told I think it's a very good compromise. It's not the best in any one area, but improves on the 5.56mm's weakest points which are penetration and range, while still offering some enhanced wounding performance at close range over a non-fragmenting round, all at a bargain price.

 

[speaksoftly]

Also, I currently have about 300rds of .223 Remington UMC JHP 50 grain ammo. Rated at 3425 fps. You think this would be a better choice?

 

[Boba Fett]

Generally speaking, if I purchase SS109, I buy the IMI stuff. Often difficult to find and not really on the inexpensive side. http://www.wideners.com/itemview.cfm?dir=18|830|845

I have M855 from Lake City and IMI. Both seem to be pretty good (no jams or other issues). Accuracy out of my AR has been good. Not match grade, but good enough for "stash" purposes.

Allow me to rephrase since the Language Nazi's want to edit my language/delete my whole post, but let other people post things like 'crap'...

Good by... seems things are even worse here than I recall.

http://www.thehighroad.org/announcement.php?a=20

 

[Al Thompson]

I actually like the 55 grain M193 clones better. I'm finding PMC for 7 bucks per 20 rounds (less if you get a case). IMHO, good compromise ammo - not wild about FMJ for anything other than range use, but as noted, M193 is about the best of the FMJ.

Your JHP ammo would be great for indoor use. I've shot a fair amount of water bottles and it seems to go through two 1 liter bottles fine.. IMHO, it's light for deer, but placement is key if you have to use it on bigger critters.

 

[Boba Fett]

I've shot a lot of the PMC stuff too and found it to be quite good. No issues and seems to be accurate. $7ish per 20 is about right in our area too if you get it at a store. About 32 cents a round at ammunitiontogo.com:
http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalog1/index.php?cPath=24_83_105&sort=2a&filter_id=34

 

[Hatterasguy]

IMHO any 5.56 will do as long as you hit the target. They have 30 round mags so if the first shot isn't enough, you have 29 more chances.


Personaly I like American Eagle XM193, just bought 400 rounds of it today.

 

[desidog]

I'll probably buy a bit every paycheck.

You might find, $/round, that you'll save money by buying larger quantities on fewer occasions....online retailers tend to be significantly cheaper than local stores in most areas; and fewer orders means less shipping costs overall.

 

[madcratebuilder]

You might find, $/round, that you'll save money by buying larger quantities on fewer occasions....online retailers tend to be significantly cheaper than local stores in most areas; and fewer orders means less shipping costs overall.

+1

Save and buy in large quantities, saves $$

 

[W.E.G.]

Everything you need to know about "milspec" 5.56 ammo at http://ammo.ar15.com/ammo/

 

[Al Thompson]

http://www.palmettostatearmory.com/168.php

 

[possum]

as long as it isn't the lake city crap that has been out lately you should be good. personally i shoot, train and have for all my other "needs" pmc 55gr fmj.

 

[halfacop]

I stock a few hundred rounds of the SS109 myself....

If you happen to be targeting "things" in cars and such then this round will certainly do the job. If the "things" your targeting are walking around with armor on or chest rigs with mags and equipment on them - SS109 will help you penetrate that and get to the kill zone....

If your shooting just "regular things" then it will zip right thru and not exactly have the effect your hoping for. Though - another round or two follow up will get you that result your searching for.

In your quest to keep the stash on the low price point then I would certainly look into simply stashing the money and then buying a case. As the others have said - it will be cheaper that way in the long run for you....

 

[NWCP]

I like the Lake City SS109 penetrator rounds just fine. Both my ARs function well with them an when buying case quantities the cost is reasonable. I try to always have a case on hand for practice and a case locked up for a 'things go really wrong scenario. I also have Hornady ballistic tips set aside just for hunting. Nowhere near as much as I do with the SS109. In fact not even close.

 

[C-grunt]

SS109 does not work, it takes 5-7 rounds to drop someone.
Use something else.

.

Care to elaborate on your opinion here. Because from my experience, my friend's experiences and my brother in law's experience (Marine in Fallujah), you would be wrong.

Im not saying that M855 will drop someone in their tracks, with good shot placement, every time. Because no round short of cannons will. Ive seen 7.62x51, 7.62x39 and 7.62x54 fail on multiple occassions to drop people in their tracks. Some people are just plain tough.

 

[Al Thompson]

Ditto for C-grunt's statement. As long as we are using FMJ, we will not capture a rifle's full effectiveness. There's a reason FMJ is banned for hunting most places.

 

[RyanM]

I'm assuming your AR has a 1:7 rifling twist rate? Otherwise, you may get very good results with M855 (IIRC, some 1:9 barrels stabilize it okay, but some are marginal).

For a 1:7, I'd stockpile 75-77 gr OTM or JHP whenever I could find it (oh, look, I already did! ). If it's a 1:9, I'd go for 67-69 gr OTM/JHP, if the barrel will stabilize it, 60-65 gr JHP otherwise (with a smaller stash of 60-65 gr bonded JHPs).

About the only benefit of steel core M855 is shooting through relatively thin sheet metal, and maybe glass. Lead core JHPs work better against pretty much everything else, including flesh and bone. There's a reason why the people being issued Mk267 (or something like that) nearly always love the stuff (well, 2 reasons, it's also way more accurate than M855).