223 / 556 Suggested Bullets??

GooseGrease

GooseGrease

New member
Hey all you AR experienced shooters,

I have a new Ruger SR556FB with a 1:9 twist in a 16" barrel. Targets will primarily be coyote. Since this is my first AR I need to start somewhere with bullet types / brands so the logical place is here. I am a very experienced hunter but with far different calibers than the 223 / 556. Any suggestions? The beer is on me for the person who bingos on the best round!
 
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For factory ammo, try the Hornady with either the 55 grain V-Max, or the 55 grain Z-Max (Zombie ammo). The bullets are similar but not identical, with the Z-Max being a bit sturdier. For handloading, try the same bullets.
 
If your looking for loaded ammo the fiocchi 50gr Vmax shoots really well out of all my ARs. And they are very affoardable.
 
My all time favorite commercially loaded ammunition is the Black Hills 52gr MHP. There are other good ones though, I also like the 53gr Hornady Superformance, Federal American Eagle loads a 50gr or 55gr HP that was pretty good and Ultramax loads a 52gr or 55gr HP that was impressive to me.


Chupa
 
Try the V-Max in 50, 55, 60 gr. and see which one groups the best.

Those things shoot excellent groups out of my D-Tech upper.

Good luck.
 
If you hand load, my favorite combo is a Speer 70gr SP with 25.8grs Varget. It is a hammer on coyotes and great on deer within 150 yards. If I'm just varmint hunting I like 60gr Vmax with 24.5grs Bench Mark.

Make mine a Guinness! lol
 
Every AR I've ever built liked the old benchrest load of:
55gr bullet(I prefer V-max) 26.6gr of Win 748.

In my M4's the 26.6 cycles the action so softly, I didn't think it cycled. My coyote load became 27gr.
 
Black hills 50 grn vmax for me, shoots the best out of my AR and r700. It took a while for me to find it i shot ultra max in about 3 or 4 forms and had no luck at all. Hornaday 55gn vmax shoots ok groups out of them. My guns just like the 50 grn. pills for some reason.
 
Not to hijack the thread but what would you recommend for whitetail deer? I am determined to hunt with my AR this fall and it is okay where I am to use .223. Max shot range for me is 200 yards where I hunt. Any suggestions?
 
Originally Posted By: benbNot to hijack the thread but what would you recommend for whitetail deer? I am determined to hunt with my AR this fall and it is okay where I am to use .223. Max shot range for me is 200 yards where I hunt. Any suggestions?

Nosler makes a 60 gr. Partition in .223 you may want to try. They work very well in .30 cal., but I haven't tried them on anything big in .223.

I do own quite a few of them, though.
 
The 60 gr. V-Max works great for coyotes. It is available for hand loading or in factory loaded form. My hand loaded 60 gr. V-Max easily hovers right at ½” five shot groups and it does a very good job on predator size critters. For deer last year I used a 62 gr. Barnes TSX and killed a couple of skillet sized whitetails easily shooting through both shoulders. The problem for me with the Barnes was the TSX grouped so far off from my normal scope zero I had to sight in for deer season and then re-sight back in after deer season for coyotes with the V-Max. This year it is going to be the 62 gr. Federal Fusion bonded core. A friend had some and I shot a couple groups from my RRA and that Federal factory load is scary accurate! More so than the TSX from my gun with the added big benefit that it shoots to my normal sight settings. Now the two loads are in sync with the scope sighting of the rifle and makes life just a tad easier. The Fusion bonded core bullet has an excellent reputation on game and I intend to put it to use this fall. As mentioned the 60 gr. Nosler Partition could be another good choice if it works out in your rifle. With the popularity of the AR platform there are actually a lot of deer size game bullets being offered now for the .22 centerfires that change the field just a bit over how these were perceived as a deer cartridge years ago.
 
Originally Posted By: GooseGreaseHey all you AR experienced shooters,

I have a new Ruger SR556FB with a 1:9 twist in a 16" barrel. Targets will primarily be coyote. Since this is my first AR I need to start somewhere with bullet types / brands so the logical place is here. I am a very experienced hunter but with far different calibers than the 223 / 556. Any suggestions? The beer is on me for the person who bingos on the best round!


Got two, listed in favorite order. I must say, never tried them on yotes before, but the are simply devastating on PD's, and believe STRONGLY they would be effective on yotes.

1. First favorite: Speer 50 gr. TNT, pushing with 24 gr. of Accurate 2015. Will turn a PD inside out !!!!!! Don't let the light weight of the bullet scare you off this one !!!!!!!

2. Second favorite: Hornady 55 gr. 2260 SPSX pushed with 23 gr. of TAC. The SX in the stock number stands for "super explosive", and are they ever !!!!!!! Know people who've tried this on yotes, and leaves a massive exit wound.

It would be worth your while to get a couple hundred of each bullet, and try them on yotes. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Hangtime
 
Thanks GC. I just happened to buy some of the 62gr Federal Fusions yesterday to try out. Hope to shoot them next weekend and see how they perform in my Rock River. They look like a good bullet for deer, I will know in a month or two!
 
Originally Posted By: GooseGrease The beer is on me for the person who bingos on the best round!


You will be buying a lot of beer because everyone has their best rounds.

I prefer the NBT 55's, with a 55 Vmax close second.
 
Originally Posted By: benbThanks GC. I just happened to buy some of the 62gr Federal Fusions yesterday to try out. Hope to shoot them next weekend and see how they perform in my Rock River. They look like a good bullet for deer, I will know in a month or two!

If you think about and have the time let me know your results if you don't mind.
 
Originally Posted By: GooseGreaseHey all you AR experienced shooters,

I have a new Ruger SR556FB with a 1:9 twist in a 16" barrel. Targets will primarily be coyote. Since this is my first AR I need to start somewhere with bullet types / brands so the logical place is here. I am a very experienced hunter but with far different calibers than the 223 / 556. Any suggestions? The beer is on me for the person who bingos on the best round!


I have a 1/9 in a DPMS. It shoots 50 gr vmax and nosler bt's .5 moa all day. Black hills blue box and ultramax stuff works great.
1st one is ultra max nbt 3shot at 100 yards 2nd one is a 5 shoot vmax at 100 yards. Good luck
http://s1174.photobucket.com/albums/r614...afilter=noflash
http://s1174.photobucket.com/albums/r614...afilter=noflash
 
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Sierra 55gr Spire point BTs work great for me with Tac powder. They hold together better which is a characteristic that I prefer in any hunting bullet.
 
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