Soft points loaded to 5.56 specks

[recon562001]

Dose any one know of an economical 63-65GRN soft point loaded to 5.56 specks?

I have used Silver State armory 64GRN PPT and Wilson combat Game king loads but they are a little too pricey to keep a decent amount on hand.

[Zim]

This should probably be in one of the ammunition related sub-forums.

[rjacobs]

Gold Dots or Federal Fusion. You can get Fusion at Walmart.

[Zim]

Both of those are loaded to .223 pressure.

[rjacobs]

Both of those are loaded to .223 pressure.

but what does the extra tiny bit of performance get you? nothing in the grand scheme with a soft point IMO. I think I remember reading the Fusion will open to 1700fps, same with the gold dots since they are basically the same bullet design. 1700FPS doesnt come until 300 yards in a 10.5" barrel according to Hornady and 400 yards in a 16" barrel. The 223 loading will get there around 250-270 yards and ~350 yards. So you are getting 50 more yards of "lethality". Meh...

Gold Dots used to have a separate 5.56 line(I think I have 6 boxes), but not anymore. I remember Grant posting why they ended the 5.56 loading, but cant find the thread.

Hornady has a 5.56 loading of 62g soft points in the TAP line. They have a few other premium 5.56 loadings. Seems to be a 150fps difference between the two. Not enough IMO to worry about with a soft point where you are relying on expansion to do damage vs. tumbling and temporary cavity to do damage with an FMJ or hollow point.

I personally would rather focus on stocking up a large supply of something like the Federal Fusion that you can get at wally world vs. chasing my tail trying to stock up a round that is hard to get a hold of and availability is spotty.

[NWcityguy2]

Since most soft points bullets are used for hunting, and almost all bolt action rifles have 223 chambers, you aren't going to see too many options for soft points bullets loaded to 5.56 pressure. But when using soft points, 5.56 velocities aren't nearly as important. Soft points will expand at much lower velocities than is required to make a FMJ fragment.

So on the one hand you can reload, and the world is your oyster. Or on the other you can shoot 223 velocity ammo and unless you are shooting at long ranges, it won't effect a soft points ability to expand.

[Zim]

...

The OP wanted 5.56 loadings, not me. Personally, I stock Fusion MSR for exactly the reasons you stated. They stopped manufacturing the 5.56 loaded Gold Dots because morons were loading them in .223 chambers and problems ensued.

[markm]

What are specks? ;)

[recon562001]

1. I don't shop at Walmart and if you are buying ammo there you are paying too much.
2. I want 5.56 because my rifle likes it better accuracy wise.
3. The bolt action comment seems illogical to me. Think of all the guys that use ARs hog hunting and look at how many ARs are sold compared boltguns now a days.
4. Why not take advantage of the extra edge 5.56 gives me? Using your logic I'd only shoot 38+p in my revolvers instead of .357.
5. I do reload Nosler defense, serria game kings and, Barnes TTX but I only have a single stage press so volume is time consuming and I'd rather have quality factory loads for reserve stock.
6. I can get SSA PPT very easily, hell I see it more often locally then gold dots or fusion. I just want a more economical option I can buy in bulk.

[wildcard600]

1. I don't shop at Walmart and if you are buying ammo there you are paying too much.

3. The bolt action comment seems illogical to me. Think of all the guys that use ARs hog hunting and look at how many ARs are sold compared boltguns now a days.


i agree with the first statement.

but on the second i have to wonder how many of the AR's sold to hunters or for hunting actually have 5.56 chambers considering the majority of AR's actually sold are junk.

IMO

[rjacobs]

I wasnt suggesting Fusion simply because you can buy it at walmart and their prices on it actually arent half bad, I thought I saw it for like 17 bucks a box a few weeks ago. You can buy Federal Fusion just about anywhere(cabelas, bass pro, gander mountain, most gun shops, etc....). You might pick up a box and see how it shoots through your gun before you completely dismiss it.

But if you are stuck on 5.56 for whatever reason, I would probably lean into the Hornady TAP 62g 5.56 loading, if you can find it, ive never seen it personally. Its probably also NOT any cheaper than the SSA PPT's.

[NWcityguy2]

You're not seeing the big picture. It doesn't matter what you want, there still isn't a factory source of economical 5.56 velocity soft point ammo. This isn't some "logic" I cooked up sitting behind my computer while watching people on youtube. These are the realities of shooting world right now. Some of your points don't even make sense and what you want isn't nearly as important as you are making it out to be. Give the 223 velocity options a try, they are just fine.

[MistWolf]

If you want 223 ammo to make 223 pressure and velocity, you must shoot it in a 223 chamber. Shoot it in a 5.56 chamber and it's pressure and velocity will be reduced. 223 ammo is not loaded to lower pressures, it's loaded to make full pressure in the shorter throated 223 SAAMI chamber.

The above is a general statement because every barrel is a law unto itself. You won't know what kind of performance you're getting from any barrel & ammo combination until you measure it. Until you go shoot it over a chronograph, you're just guessing and making a poor guess at that.


I want 5.56 because my rifle likes it better accuracy wise
How many different commercial offerings have you tried? There is a lot of 5.56 out there that is known to give only mediocre accuracy and most ammo loaded for the best consistent accuracy isn't loaded to give the highest velocity.

I think you should develop a recipe your rifle likes and load up a few two or three nights a week until you got the stash you want

[recon562001]

[QUOTE=NWcityguy2;1986477] It doesn't matter what you want, there still isn't a factory source of economical 5.56 velocity soft point ammo./QUOTE]


That's the question I was asking. If you don't know of one that's fine but don't get worked up over my question.

What point dose not make sence? I want a decently priced soft point that shoots well out of my rifle?

Honestly with your little YouTube rant I'm going to disregard any thing you say.

[foxtrotx1]

1. I don't shop at Walmart and if you are buying ammo there you are paying too much.
2. I want 5.56 because my rifle likes it better accuracy wise.
3. The bolt action comment seems illogical to me. Think of all the guys that use ARs hog hunting and look at how many ARs are sold compared boltguns now a days.
4. Why not take advantage of the extra edge 5.56 gives me? Using your logic I'd only shoot 38+p in my revolvers instead of .357.
5. I do reload Nosler defense, serria game kings and, Barnes TTX but I only have a single stage press so volume is time consuming and I'd rather have quality factory loads for reserve stock.
6. I can get SSA PPT very easily, hell I see it more often locally then gold dots or fusion. I just want a more economical option I can buy in bulk.

Walmart has good prices depending on where you look and at what ammo.

As noted earlier, many ARs have improperly cut 5.56 chambers or they are just .223 to begin with. Plus, I think you vastly underestimate the number of hunters with ARs vs. Bolt guns. Varmint rifles are mostly .223 and they sell like hot cakes.

.223 pressure ammo is going to preform better accuracy wise, typically. It's much harder for high pressure ammo to be as consistent.

Your argument with the +p to 5.56 is apples to oranges. Different applications costs and benefits.

[recon562001]

How many different commercial offerings have you tried? There is a lot of 5.56 out there that is known to give only mediocre accuracy and most ammo loaded for the best consistent accuracy isn't loaded to give the highest velocity.

I think you should develop a recipe your rifle likes and load up a few two or three nights a week until you got the stash you want

I've had the rifle for several years and have put at least 20 commercial 5.56/223 loads through it in every weight from 55-77. The SSA PPT and a TTX hand load I have by far it's favorite loads but it shows a preference for any mid weight soft point in 5.56 chambering. I have even used simmialer loads in .223 and 5.56 with 5.56 getting significantly better groups.

[recon562001]

I did not start this thread to debate .223 vs 5.56. I know what MY rifle shoots better I came here to ask a question not for you to tell me what MY rifle will work with. If I wanted that I would have posted this on AR15.com.

If you know of a smaller quality company like south west ammo, freedom muntions, persision ammo, Atlanta atms and ammo, ECT let me know. If you want to tell me I'm wrong with what I want to spend my money on to feed my rifle with please don't respond.

[ggammell]

Winchester Ranger 64gr Bonded 5.56....in stock

http://www.sgammo.com/product/winchester/20-rds-556mm-bonded-winchester-ranger-64gr-jsp-ammo-ra556b

[recon562001]

Winchester Ranger 64gr Bonded 5.56....in stock

http://www.sgammo.com/product/winchester/20-rds-556mm-bonded-winchester-ranger-64gr-jsp-ammo-ra556b


Thanks but $30 a box in not what I consider economical.

[ggammell]

Thanks but $30 a box in not what I consider economical.

I might suggest that what you're after isn't economical to begin with. You've set you're sights on a particular load, you're probably going to have to pay to get it.

[recon562001]

I might suggest that what you're after isn't economical to begin with. You've set you're sights on a particular load, you're probably going to have to pay to get it.

I understand that but I can already get the SSA PPT I have mentioned for around $1.00 a round, I asked if any one knew of a scorce available in bulk at a cheaper price. You sent me a link for a product that's has limited availability at a greater price.

If some one loads M855 and it's 40¢-50¢ around I don't see why a similarly priced round can't be made using a game king or winchester power points.

[ggammell]

Sorry. I didn't see a price I you're other posts.

[Zim]

If you already know what performs the best out of your rifle, and don't want to spend what it would cost to get a better performing round, what exactly is the question? It sounds like you want champagne on a domestic beer budget, which just isn't realistic.

[SapperRob]

I think the SSA is the most economical when compared to the Winchester or Federal factory 5.56 loads at twice the cost using the same Nosler (Winchester) or similar Federal TBBC bullets. The only cheaper option is hand loading.

I just went through 60 rounds to test for accuracy and function (limited I know but at my expense) with the SSA 64 PPT ammo compared to Speer 55 GDHP .223 in my rifles. Issued duty ammo is Fed XM-193, but I wanted a better performing round in my personal rifles that would allow me to use the free stuff for training without having to adjust anything.

The SSA fired to the same poa/poi as the XM-193 both suppressed and unsuppressed out of a 10.3 SBR. The SSA shot a much tighter group (50 yard prone on NRA 50yard zero target) with the XM-193 grouping around it. Any deviation in accuracy is smaller than what I bring to the table and not caused by the ammunition. The SSA was able to lock the bolt to the rear suppressed on an empty magazine.

The Speer GD did not shoot to the same poa/poi as the cheaper XM-193 and was far enough off to require different hold overs during training to get hits. The .223 Speer would not lock the bolt to the rear on an empty mag while shooting suppressed. Still more accurate than the XM-193 (what isn't?) and was noticeably "softer" than the other 2 rounds.

Of course your barrel and results might be completely different from mine, but I understand trying to keep everything the same.

Rob