View Full Version : Snapshots: Range Reports
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Snapshots are brief . . . looks at a variety of ammunition loads commercially available for use in the .223/5.56mm AR-15 platform. A typical “Snapshot” will include a short description of the load, chronograph data from a single barrel and the accuracy (technically precision) results of one 10-shot group fired from a distance of 100 yards.
The reviewed loads were chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel with a 1:7” twist, chrome lining and NATO chamber. 10-shot strings of each load were fired over an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “proof screen” technology. All velocities listed are muzzle velocities as calculated from the instrumental velocities using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software program.
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Accuracy testing was conducted from my bench-rest set-up from a distance of 100 yards following my usual protocol. The fore-ends of the weapons rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest and the butt-stock rode in a Protektor rear-bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was attached to the objective-bell of the scope. Naturally, the wind conditions were monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below.
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Prior to the firing of the factory loads, control groups were fired using hand-loaded, match-grade ammunition. In every case the control groups had significantly smaller extreme spreads and mean radii than the factory loads tested. A representative 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15 using hand-loaded the 62 grain Berger HP bullet is pictured below.
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INDEX
post #02 - Australian Outback Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing
post #03 - Federal Tactical 62 grain Bonded SP LE223T3
post #04 - Winchester 223 Remington PDX1
post #05 - Hornady 223 Remington 55 grain GMX Superformance
post #06 - American Eagle 223 Remington 55 grain FMJ
post #07 - IMI “Razor Core” 77 Grain OTM, LR, Mod 1
post #08 - Wolf Military Classic 55 Grain FMJ
post #09 - PMC Bronze 55 Grain FMJ
post #10 - Hornady Steel Match 55 grain HP
post #11 - Hornady Steel Match 75 grain BTHP
post #12 - Speer 5.56mm 64 grain Gold Dot
post #13 - Winchester 64 grain PowerMax Bonded with "Protected Hollow Point"
post #14 - Hornady 223 Remington 50 grain GMX "Full Boar"
post #15 - Hornady 5.56mm 55 grain GMX Superformance
post #16 - Prvi Partizan 69 grain Match
post #17 - COR-BON 69 grain Performance Match HPBT
post #18 - Fiocchi 77 grain Exacta
post #19 - Prvi Partizan 62 grain FMJ BT
post #20 - CORBON 62 grain DPX (Barnes TSX)
post #21 - Remington 62 grain Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded
post #22 - Federal 62 grain FUSION
post #23 - Hornady 60 grain TAP
post #24 - Remington 62 grain HP Premier Match
post #25 - American Tactical 5.56 x 45mm 62 grain
post #26 - Nosler 77 grain Custom Competition HPBT
post #27 - Hornady 223 Remington Superformance 53 Grain V-MAX
post #28 - Winchester Q3131
post #29 - Hornady 223 Remington 75 grain Superformance
post #30 Federal 62 grain XM223SP1
post #31
post #32
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*No animals were harmed during the testing of this ammunition.http://www.ar15.com/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif
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Australian Outback Sierra 55 Grain BlitzKing
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When chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel over an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “Proof Screen Technology”, the Australian Outback Sierra 55 grain BlitzKing load had a muzzle velocity of 2972 FPS with a standard deviation of 20 FPS.
A 10-shot group fired off the bench at a distance of 100 yards from one of my AR-15s with a Krieger barrel that has a 223 Remington chamber and a 1:9" twist had an extreme spread of 0.98".
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I also fired another 10-shot group of the Australian Outback load from one of my AR-15s with a Krieger barrel that has a 5.56mm match chamber and a 1:7.7" twist. That group had an extreme spread of 0.92".
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Federal Tactical 62 grain Bonded SP
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The Federal Tactical 62 grain load uses a bonded soft point bullet with a cannelure (62 grain TBBC). (All the better to shoot your auto-glass with, my dear!) There is a scant amount of lacquer sealant at the case mouth (mostly in the cannelure.) The primers are also sealed and crimped. As you can see from the picture above, the components come loaded in a shiny nickel plated Lake City case.
This load had a muzzle velocity of 2978 fps. The smallest 10-shot group had an extreme spread of 2.13” and a mean radius of 0.54”.
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Winchester 223 Remington PDX1
60 Grain "Split Core" Hollow Point
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This load had a muzzle velocity of 2975 FPS and a standard deviation of 37 FPS when chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired at a distance of 100 yards from one of my Krieger barreled AR-15s had an extreme spread of 1.77" with a mean radius of 0.65".
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Hornady 223 Remington 55 grain GMX Superformance
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This load had a muzzle velocity of 3105 FPS with a standard deviation of 17 FPS from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from my 20" Lothar-Walther barrel at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.59".
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American Eagle 223 Remington 55 grain FMJ
This load had a muzzle velocity of 3104 FPS with a standard deviation of 23 FPS when fired from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 2.4".
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IMI “Razor Core” 77 Grain OTM, LR, Mod 1
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This load is topped with a 77 grain OTM bullet with a cannelure. The case mouth is sealed and the primers are crimped and sealed. When chronographed from the 20” Colt barrel, the load had a muzzle velocity of 2866 FPS with a standard deviation of 21 FPS.
A 10-shot group group fired off the bench from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.95”.
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Wolf Military Classic 55 Grain FMJ
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55 grain bullets loaded in steel cases. Muzzle velocity of 3009 FPS with a standard deviation of 34 FPS from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from a free-floated 16" Colt HBAR at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 2.82".
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PMC Bronze 55 Grain FMJ
I evaluated the accuracy (technically, the precision) of the PMC Bronze 55 grain FMJ ammunition using my 20” stainless-steel Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15. This barrel has a 223 Wylde chamber with a 1:8” twist.
Three 10-shot groups fired in a row from the bench at a distance of 100 yards had the following extreme spreads:
2.22”
1.82”
2.15”
for a 10-shot average extreme spread of 2.06”. The 30-shot composite group had a mean radius of 0.72”. Unfortunately, my cocker spaniel chewed-up my chronograph data for this load.
The smallest 10-shot group . . .
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Hornady Steel Match 55 grain HP
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This ammunition is loaded with a 55 grain hollow-point bullet. The muzzle velocity from the 20" Colt barrel was 3017 FPS with a standard deviation of 19 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from a Lothar-Walther 20" barrel had an extreme spread of 1.36".
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Hornady Steel Match 75 grain BTHP
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This load had a muzzle velocity of 2694 FPS with a standard deviation of 26 FPS fired from the 20" Colt A2 barrel. A 10-shot group fired from a Lothar-Walther 20" barrel at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.95".
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Speer 5.56mm 64 grain Gold Dot
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This load had a muzzle velocity of 2834 FPS from the 20" Colt barrel with a standard deviation of 17 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from a free-floated Colt 16" HBAR had an extreme spread of 1.42" at 100 yards.
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Winchester 64 grain PowerMax Bonded with "Protected Hollow Point"
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Hornady 223 Remington 50 grain GMX "Full Boar"
Hornady’s 223 Remington 50 grain “Full Boar” ammunition is loaded with the monolithic, gilding metal 50 grain GMX bullet.
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When chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel with a NATO chamber, chrome lining and a 1:7” twist, the 50 grain Full Boar load had a muzzle velocity of 3277 FPS with a standard deviation of 17 FPS.
A 10-shot group of the 50 grain Full Boar load fired from a Lothar-Walther barreled semi-automatic AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards, had an extreme spread of 1.85”.
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Hornady 5.56mm 55 grain GMX Superformance
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Prvi Partizan 69 grain Match
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The advertised velocity of Prvi Partizan’s 69 grain OTM load is 2855 FPS. The muzzle velocity of this load from the 20” Colt barrel was 2755 fps with a standard deviation of 14 FPS.
The 69 grain Prvi bullet is slightly longer than a 69 grain Sierra MatchKing; 0.930” versus 0.890”.
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A 10-shot group fired from a distance of 100 yards from a semi-automatic AR-15 with a Krieger barrel that has a .223 Remington chamber and 1:9” twist had an extreme spread of 2.26”.
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COR-BON 69 grain Performance Match HPBT
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COR-BON’s 69 grain Performance Match ammunition is loaded with Sierra’s 69 grain MatchKing. An added bonus with this ammunition is that is uses Lapua Match brass, arguably some of the finest brass available for reloading for AR-15s.
COR-BON’s website claims that the velocity of this load is 3000 fps from a 20" barrel. From the 20” Colt barrel this load had a muzzle velocity of 2854 fps with a standard deviation of 25 fps. From a distance of 100 yards, a 10-shot group fired from a Krieger barreled AR-15 with .223 Remington chamber and a 1:9” had an extreme spread of 0.88”.
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Fiocchi 77 grain Exacta
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This Fiocchi load uses the 77 grain Sierra MatchKing (without a cannelure.) The load is charged with ball powder. From the 20” Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2549 fps with a standard deviation of 16 fps. This is a little on the slow side for this particular category of ammunition, however since this is intended to be a “target load”, velocity is not a crucial factor at shorter distances.
A 10-shot group fired from 100 yards from a Krieger barreled AR-15 with a 1:7.7” twist, had an extreme spread of 0.995”.
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Prvi Partizan 62 grain FMJ BT
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This load is not an M855 clone. The 62 grain bullet used is considerably shorter than an SS109 bullet and it has a lead core and copper jacket construction with no penetrator.
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PPU 62 grain FMJ BT
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The muzzle velocity for this load was 3039 fps. A 10-shot group had an extreme spread of 3.18” and a mean radius of 1.06”.
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CORBON 62 grain DPX (Barnes TSX)
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This COR-BON load uses the Barnes 62 grain TSX bullet which has an all-copper construction. The bullet is much longer than a typical lead core/copper jacketed bullet of the same weight. This load had a muzzle velocity of 2963 fps from the 20" Colt barrel. The 10-shot group of record had an extreme spread of 1.75" and a mean radius of 0.61".
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With 62 grain TSX hand-loads, I’ve been able to achieve sub-MOA accuracy for 10-shot groups at 100 yards.
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Remington 62 grain Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded
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Here are a few pics comparing the Remington 62 grain Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded bullet to the Speer 64 grain Gold Dot and the 62 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. As with the TBBC, the Core-Lokt bullet has a greater area of exposed lead at the meplat than the Gold Dot.
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The muzzle velocity of the Remington 62 grain Core-Lokt load from a 16" Colt barrel with a NATO chamber, chrome lining and a 1:7" twist was 2776 FPS with a standard deviation of 43 FPS. From a 20" Colt barrel with a NATO chamber, chrome lining and a 1:7" twist the muzzle velocity was 2887 FPS with a standard deviation of 56 FPS.
I fired a 10-shot group of the Remington 62 grain Core-Lokt load from my 20" Noveske HBAR from a distance of 100 yards. The graoup had an extreme spread of 3.1".
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Federal 62 grain FUSION
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The Federal 62 grain Fusion bullet appears to have a very similar design to that of the Speer 64 grain Gold Dot. Both are bonded bullets, have the same advertised muzzle velocity and both have the unique Gold Dot boat-tail shape. While this load is being marketed as a "deer" load, it has all the makings of a good barrier-blind load.
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It’s difficult to see with the naked eye, but the Fusion bullet has a “skived” tip.
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As seen above, the Fusion bullet has a cannelure and the case mouth is crimped. The lot that I evaluated is loaded in Lake City 09 brass cases. The primer pockets are crimped and sealed and the load is charged with “ball” powder.
The advertised velocity for this load is 3000 fps. From a 20" Colt barrel with a NATO chamber, chrome lining and a 1:7” twist, the 62 grain Federal Fusion bonded soft-point had a muzzle velocity of 2877 fps. The claimed ballistic coefficient for this bullet is 0.339.
The accuracy of this load was excellent for a soft-point bullet. A 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15, at a distance of 100 yards, had an extreme spread of almost exactly 1 MOA. It will be interesting to see how this load performs after barriers.
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Hornady 60 grain TAP
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This TAP load uses the 60 grain VMAX bullet with a cannelure. The load had a muzzle velocity of 2927 fps from the 20” Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-16 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.88” and a mean radius of 0.27”.
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Remington 62 grain HP Premier Match
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This Remington load is topped with a flat-based, cannelured, 62 grain HP projectile and uses Remington – Peters brass.
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The muzzle velocity of this load was 2897 fps with a standard deviation of 14 fps. A 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15 had an extreme spread of 1.3” and a mean radius of 0.52”.
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American Tactical 5.56 x 45mm 62 grain
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This M855 “clone” is charged with ball powder, has crimped and sealed primers, asphalt sealant at the case-mouth and utilizes a 62 grain SS109-type projectile. This bullet is a full-metal jacket, boat-tailed, cannelured projectile with a steel penetrator insert.
The muzzle velocity of this load was 3077 fps with a standard deviation of 21 fps. America Tactical claims that this ammunition “is lot tested to assure less than one minute of angle” accuracy at 100 meters.
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A 10-shot group of this load fired from an AR-15 with a free-floated, 20” Colt HBAR had an extreme spread of 4.49” and a mean radius of 1.33”.
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Nosler 77 grain Custom Competition HPBT
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This ammunition uses Nosler’s 77 grain OTM projectile with a cannelure, loaded in Nosler brass.
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This load had a muzzle velocity of 2612 fps with a standard deviation of 19 fps. A 10-shot group fired from my Krieger barreled AR-15 had and extreme spread of 0.98” and a mean radius of 0.31”.
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Hornady 223 Remington Superformance 53 Grain V-MAX
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According to Hornady, the 53 grain V-MAX bullet has been “optimized for the .223 Remington chamber.” This load produced a sizzling muzzle velocity of 3285 fps when chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel.
The 53 grain V-MAX is shown on the left compared to a 52 grain A-MAX on the right.
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The test vehicle was my 24” Krieger barreled AR-15 with a 1:9” twist and a .223 Remington chamber. The 10-shot group of the 53 grain Superfromance load had an extreme spread of 0.70” when fired from the bench at a distance of 100 yards.
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Winchester Q3131
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This load had a muzzle velocity of 3279 FPS with a standard deviation of 24 FPS when chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel. A 10-shot group fired off the bench at a distance of 100 yards from a free-floated Colt 6721 barrel had an extreme spread of 4.08"
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Hornady 223 Remington 75 grain Superformance
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The 223 Remington version of the 75 grain Superformance ammunition is loaded with the Hornady 75 grain BTHP bullet; the “T1”. This bullet does not have a cannelure, but a slight taper crimp at the case mouth produces a crease in the bullet jacket. Naturally, this load is charged with one of the “highly progressive” Superformance powders.
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Hornady advertises that this load obtains a velocity of 2930 fps when fired from a 24” SAAMI test barrel. I chronographed this load from an AR-15 that has a 24” stainless-steel match grade Krieger barrel with a 233 Remington chamber. A 10-shot string fired from the Krieger barrel produced a muzzle velocity of 2881 fps with a standard deviation of 14 fps.
An accuracy SnapShot of this load was obtained from my AR-15 with the 24” Krieger barrel that has a 5.56 Match chamber. This barrel was chosen as the test vehicle because it shoots the Hornady 75 grain BTHP bullet extremely well. Previous testing with factory loaded ammunition from both Hornady and Black Hills ammunition topped with the Hornady T1 bullet produced 10-shot groups from 100 yards in the 1 MOA spectrum. My match grade hand-loads using the T1 bullet fired from this barrel have approached half-MOA 10-shot groups from 100 yards.
The Superfromance load was fired from the Krieger barreled AR-15 from my bench-rest set-up at 100 yards. The 10-shot group had an extreme spread of 1.878”.
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Federal 62 grain XM223SP1
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Fired from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2719 FPS with a standard deviation of 34 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from one of my Krieger barreled AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 1.24".
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Hornady 223 Remington Superformance 53 Grain V-MAX data added to post #27.
Winchester Q3131 data added to post #28.
Data for Hornady 223 Remington 75 grain Superformance added to post #29.
Federal 62 grain XM223SP1 data added to post #30.
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