.223 Ammo descriptions and letters

[Scott in Houston]

I searched here and on Google, and I think I just don't know the term for what I'm trying to find.

Essentially, what do the letters after .223 ammo descriptions mean?

For example, today I found Remington (the green/gold box) in
55 gr (I know what that means :) ), PSP R223R1 <-- what does all that mean? (Soft point?)
Then found 55 gr MC R223R3. (MC=FMJ, but what's R3?)
Also bought some Federal .223 in a 100 round value box for $39.95. It says
223 55 Grain FMJ BP223BL... What's "BP223BL"?

Is there a place online with all the difference 'codes' or abbreviations?

PS. Also saw some 5.56 Winchester Whitebox with a Q3131A1 designation.... it was $9.97 for 20 rounds.

[A-R]

I searched here and on Google, and I think I just don't know the term for what I'm trying to find.

Essentially, what do the letters after .223 ammo descriptions mean?

For example, today I found Remington (the green/gold box) in
55 gr (I know what that means :) ), PSP R223R1 <-- what does all that mean? (Soft point?)
Then found 55 gr MC R223R3. (MC=FMJ, but what's R3?)
Also bought some Federal .223 in a 100 round value box for $39.95. It says
223 55 Grain FMJ BP223BL... What's "BP223BL"?

Is there a place online with all the difference 'codes' or abbreviations?

PS. Also saw some 5.56 Winchester Whitebox with a Q3131A1 designation.... it was $9.97 for 20 rounds.

PSP is Remington's designation for soft point. MC is FMJ. The other numbers/letters are the manufacturer's "model numbers" for the particular load - so if you like a load you can just order that same model number again ... look up the ammo on manufacturer's web sites and you'll find same numbers to distinguish between what would otherwise be very similar ammo.

[Scott in Houston]

Ok... got it. I'll continue to Google and look at each manufacturer's site.

I bought 4 boxes of this today:


$0.39/round. Not great, but not terrible for brick & mortar stores.

When my rifle arrives Thursday, the store that is acting as my FFL has offered me 1000 rounds of this

for $350. Is that decent ammo for practice?


PS. There seems to be little to no difference between practice and SD ammo (unlike handguns). Both penetrate the same on flesh and walls, etc. Both are light years ahead of anything coming out of a handgun too.
The more money is spent for accuracy & consistency, right?

[BobCat]

For defense you might want a soft point or hollow point - a hunting bullet - rather than FMJ.

The military uses FMJ because of an ancient convention about not using "inhumane" projectiles. You, a private citizen, are not bound by that.

[NcongruNt]

The Federal is decent plinking ammo. It's not super accurate, but it's not sloppy, either. It's a good value, and available at WalMart. I actually have done some comparison on the accuracy of several factory loads fired from a lead sled.

Winchester Q3131A1 is the best-performing factory load I've found. It groups very tight and consistently for factory ammo. If you get a good deal on some, I'd say grab it up. From what I understand it is the standard IDF load. If you're ever near Brenham, you might consider dropping by Ammunition To Go, as they carry it in quantity at a decent price.

A close second is PMC Bronze 223A. I'd say the PMC is the best value. It's regularly around $9/box. Cabela's has it on sale right now for $6.49/box. I'm going to grab a bunch tomorrow if Cabela's has any left in stock.

On the opposite end are Monarch 55gr FMJBT (Prvi Partizan rebranded for Academy) and American Eagle "Tactical" AE223. Both give me poor grouping through my rifle, especially the AE223.

[A-R]

I'm now on my third different AR barrel configuration and I've found that each barrel likes a different ammo. My current Sabre Defense 1/8 twist fluted 16-inch barrel likes any 55 grain included the cheap AE stuff. Haven't found a 62 grain it likes. But it loves 69 grain too and does well with 77 grain.