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Sorry if this question has already been asked but Im new to this forum. I'm looking quality rounds for range use. What are y'alls suggestions? Thanks!!

Well, I like cheap. So usually it will be .223 55 gr caliber ammo.

Some brands that work great and cost the least are at Walmart If they have them.
* Perfecta .223 - 50/rnds - $17
* Federal .223 100/rnd $34
* ZQI

Now shopping at Cabelas/Academy you are looking for
* PMC
* Herters (Brass not steel!)
* Fiocchi
* PPU
* Privi Partizan
* IMI - (Israeli Military Grade stuff!)
* Winchester
* Remington

All of these are good stuff. I rarely buy the Winchester/Remington as the others are as good if not better and cheaper.
Best is to go to Cabelas and buy the Bulk packs. You can get a ammo box in with the deal.
I stayed away from recommending the Steel cased ammo. It works, and it is cheapest, but it is harder on the rifle and more likely to give you a fail to eject.

I would amend the above to make sure to only buy brass-cased ammo. I know that plenty of people shoot the steel-cased varnished stuff, but the .223/5.56 case doesn't have enough taper to use that kind of ammo reliably. I've seen WAY too many fired steel cases stuck in AR barrels that wouldn't extract for love or money......some times so badly that running a rod down the barrel and trying to tap the case out won't remove it. Then you need a gunsmith with a chamber reamer. Brass cases OTH have natural lubricity and are very good at extracting cleanly.

Steel cased ammo is fine for AK pattern rifles because the case has a pronounced taper and extracts easily.

I use Freedom Munitions .223 re-manufactured rounds. They work great. https://www.freedommunitions.com/ammuni ... reman.html. If you live in the Houston area, they have a store at 290 and Jones Road.

howdy wrote:I use Freedom Munitions .223 re-manufactured rounds. They work great. https://www.freedommunitions.com/ammuni ... reman.html. If you live in the Houston area, they have a store at 290 and Jones Road.

I like Freedom Munitions as well. They also give a 5% veterans discount.

If you don't mind having the ammo shipped, LAX ammo is of a similar quality, usually a bit cheaper, and they don't collect sales tax.

I order from several on line dealers. I've used Aguila, PMC, and American Eagle. I totally agree to NOT use steel cased. I ran about 500 rounds of Wolfe on my first AR without any problem. I ran a few rounds of steel cased through my M1A SOCOM 16 and it caused problems. Resolved at that point to never run steel cased ammo through any gun that I care about. I do think I'd try if I ever add an AK to the collection but figure Commie guns are designed to run Commie ammo

Rhino1 wrote: I do think I'd try if I ever add an AK to the collection but figure Commie guns are designed to run Commie ammo

True!!

The problem is that the brass expands and contracts with the resulting powder explosion.
Steel, doesn't always contract.... hence the stuck case

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

howdy wrote:I use Freedom Munitions .223 re-manufactured rounds. They work great. https://www.freedommunitions.com/ammuni ... reman.html. If you live in the Houston area, they have a store at 290 and Jones Road.

I like Freedom Munitions as well. They also give a 5% veterans discount.

If you don't mind having the ammo shipped, LAX ammo is of a similar quality, usually a bit cheaper, and they don't collect sales tax.

I recently bought a 1000 rounds from BiteTheBullet.com, and paid $261.99/1000 for remanufactured 55 grain FMJ, shipping from Las Vegas, Nevada. The same thing from Freedom Munitions is $290.00/1000, shipping from Lewiston, Idaho. The quality is about the same.....they both use Hornady FMJ bullets, but the total cost freight included is somewhat cheaper from Bite the Bullet. I like Freedom Arms and have bought a ton of ammo from them, but I'm going to give Bite the Bullet a try for a while. Their 9mm ball is pretty cheap too.

The Annoyed Man wrote:I would amend the above to make sure to only buy brass-cased ammo. I know that plenty of people shoot the steel-cased varnished stuff, but the .223/5.56 case doesn't have enough taper to use that kind of ammo reliably. I've seen WAY too many fired steel cases stuck in AR barrels that wouldn't extract for love or money......some times so badly that running a rod down the barrel and trying to tap the case out won't remove it. Then you need a gunsmith with a chamber reamer. Brass cases OTH have natural lubricity and are very good at extracting cleanly.

Steel cased ammo is fine for AK pattern rifles because the case has a pronounced taper and extracts easily.

I've had several friends bring steel cased coated .223 and .556 to my place to shoot in their AR's. All of them jammed after the barrel got hot. It may be the coating melting and sticking to the barrel, or it may be something else. But stick with brass unless you like frustration.

Anyone use the Wolf brass .223?

rotor wrote:Anyone use the Wolf brass .223?

Haven't tried it yet.

The Annoyed Man wrote:I would amend the above to make sure to only buy brass-cased ammo. I know that plenty of people shoot the steel-cased varnished stuff, but the .223/5.56 case doesn't have enough taper to use that kind of ammo reliably. I've seen WAY too many fired steel cases stuck in AR barrels that wouldn't extract for love or money......some times so badly that running a rod down the barrel and trying to tap the case out won't remove it. Then you need a gunsmith with a chamber reamer. Brass cases OTH have natural lubricity and are very good at extracting cleanly.

Steel cased ammo is fine for AK pattern rifles because the case has a pronounced taper and extracts easily.

I'm going to respectfully disagree... while this was true in the past, steel cased ammo today is no longer covered in lacquer. Also, back when folks would get steel cases stuck in the chamber, most were shooting 20" rifles. With a carbine length gas system, and the higher pressures involved, reliable extraction can be achieved using steel cased ammo. Add in the O-ring enhanced extractor and I doubt you will have any issues.

And remember, not all steel cased ammo is created equally... there is a big difference between Tula and Hornady Steel Match, and a price difference that matches as well.

cyphertext wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:I would amend the above to make sure to only buy brass-cased ammo. I know that plenty of people shoot the steel-cased varnished stuff, but the .223/5.56 case doesn't have enough taper to use that kind of ammo reliably. I've seen WAY too many fired steel cases stuck in AR barrels that wouldn't extract for love or money......some times so badly that running a rod down the barrel and trying to tap the case out won't remove it. Then you need a gunsmith with a chamber reamer. Brass cases OTH have natural lubricity and are very good at extracting cleanly.

Steel cased ammo is fine for AK pattern rifles because the case has a pronounced taper and extracts easily.

I'm going to respectfully disagree... while this was true in the past, steel cased ammo today is no longer covered in lacquer. Also, back when folks would get steel cases stuck in the chamber, most were shooting 20" rifles. With a carbine length gas system, and the higher pressures involved, reliable extraction can be achieved using steel cased ammo. Add in the O-ring enhanced extractor and I doubt you will have any issues.

And remember, not all steel cased ammo is created equally... there is a big difference between Tula and Hornady Steel Match, and a price difference that matches as well.

We have also found that the Russian steel cased ammo does not use the more costly copper jacketed lead bullets. The bullets appear to be copper plated only and the bullet itself appears to have iron mixed in - if you check you will find that the bullets are magnetic. The use of these rounds will lead to early barrel replacement.

Many ranges don't allow FMJ rifle ammo so take that into account, depending on where you plan to shoot.

I won't usually buy .223/5.56 unless I find it for around $.29/round. I've been normally buying it from Palmetto State Armory when they offer up PMC ammo with free shipping on their weekend flash sales for right around $.29/.30/round. Free shipping and no taxes, win win.