Solid practice ammunition

[JediGuy]

What do you use?

So far, I’ve used various, but primarily Federal 55gr .223 FMJ. Would love to find some good alternatives. The pennies matter, though I’m not interested in anything that would cause damage to the gun or fail to cycle properly. If $0.28-0.30 per round is the best to expect, no worries.

I’d also love to hear recommendations for 77gr “practice” ammo. I’ve got good Black Hills stuff for when I want to get good precision practice or keep in mags for HD, but would love to find alternatives that would perform similarly for a lower price.

[ruckusjuice]

The best 55gr ammo I’ve found for bulk purchases is Wolf Gold. It’s made by a Taiwanese subsidiary. The rumor I’ve heard is that it’s the ammo used by the Taiwanese military. Brass cased with sealed primers. Seems to be loaded to 5.56 velocities and decently accurate. Brownells sells it for $300/case and with their constant discount and free shipping coupons, it’s not uncommon to be able to buy a case for $270 shipped.

Can’t help you with 77gr ammo.


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My posts only represent my opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of my employer. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

[Furbyballer]

for 77 grain, magtech and imi can both be found in the $.55 or less arena. I like wolf gold and men 556 for my practice 55 grain stuff. Magtech also makes a 62 grain fmj non-penetrator that I love shooting with.

[Circle_10]

At some point I'm going to throw together a junk AR out of spare parts and a bargain basement barrel and use it to practice with the cheapest crap ammo I can get. At the moment though I really don't distinguish between practice ammo and "stock up" ammo and basically use M193 for everything, primarily Federal, Prvi, and IMI. Most of my ARs are sighted in for M193. Although I do have one scoped AR zeroed for IMI 77gr, which I shoot out of it fairly often.

[TRSTNG]

My .02 ... Wolff Gold is great ammo and is available a great price. I prefer not to shoot anything but brass cased stuff. The good folks at SGAmmo have it for around .275 per round, plus shipping. Not sure how the Internet tax thing is going to change the picture here though, but for now...that's about the best price I can find. Also pays to keep an eye on Sportsmen Warehouse, with their free shipping and discounts, you can often get Wolf Gold for a good deal from them.

As others have pointed out, if you have the means to swap out your barrel, steel case is the cheapest way to go. I have had issues with it clogging up my DI systems though since it is pretty dirty stuff.

[vicious_cb]

What do you use?

So far, I’ve used various, but primarily Federal 55gr .223 FMJ. Would love to find some good alternatives. The pennies matter, though I’m not interested in anything that would cause damage to the gun or fail to cycle properly. If $0.28-0.30 per round is the best to expect, no worries.

I’d also love to hear recommendations for 77gr “practice” ammo. I’ve got good Black Hills stuff for when I want to get good precision practice or keep in mags for HD, but would love to find alternatives that would perform similarly for a lower price.

You never said for what kind of training.

The ammo Im using for "UP" drills at 25 yards is going to be different from the ammo Im using to bang steel at 400 yards.

[TRSTNG]

On the other hand, I've "banged steel" at 400 with Wolf Gold as well...just sayin'

If is *training* it is training and a hit is a hit is a hit. You practice the fundamentals and get the best results you can. Competition? Something else. Real world? SMK 77gr from a match grade barrel for distance shots when it absolutely must be there, on target. :)

[Stickman]

You never said for what kind of training.

The ammo Im using for "UP" drills at 25 yards is going to be different from the ammo Im using to bang steel at 400 yards.

I don't think this point could be said any more succinctly.

I have ammo I shoot just for pictures.

I have ammo I shoot for steel targets.

I have ammo I shoot at distance.

I have ammo I shoot for CQB/ CQC training.

I have ammo that stays loaded in mags ready to go.

[TRSTNG]

Everyone will need to determine what "good enough" means for them, under any circumstance. Debating the point is probably not a very fruitful exercise. To each his own. Whatever you use, train well, train often, train productively. And God bless.

[JediGuy]

Practicing fundamentals, looking for clean center mass hits at 7-50 yards, sometimes 100-200 if I drive an hour.

[Stickman]

I'll point out that I still feel a lot of the ammunition prices we see today are artificial. Going back 15 years ago, or even less, Q3131A was $160 per thousand, and often that was the price delivered. Wolf 7.62x39 ammo was $79 per case. These aren't the musings of an old man shaking his fist at the sun, though I can see where it can be viewed that way, the issue becomes a matter of WHY prices have doubled. Material prices don't make the difference, neither do most other guesses given.

I know some people will claim we have been at war since 01, and that has caused ammo prices to go north, but that is an obscene answer. It isn't like many companies have ammo contracts for the GOV, never mind have ammo contracts for big Army (or the rest of the small time ammo blasters).

Back to the topic of what is decent ammo for blasting, I can comment that I know of a few upper end companies that use Wolf Gold for all their ammo needs as they have found the price and quality to meet their needs.

[5.56 Bonded SP]

I've shot 20k+ rounds of steel ammo and it never gave me a problem aside from a ligt primer strike or two. Made hits just fine on steel targets at 100-200 yards.
The money saved with steel ammo could easily buy a whole new upper at 5,000 rounds. Steel ammo is going for 170-200$ per thousand rounds right now. That's 100-130$ savings per case.

You said pennies count. Don't believe all the internet ranting about steel ammo. The jackets on the bullets are a guilding metal that is as soft as copper, the same stuff used during the world wars. It's actually the cheaper powder used that can lead to throat erosion, but your looking at 7,000+ rounds before your barrel is going to be trashed.. Or 700$ in savings, which is plenty to buy a quality new upper.

That lucky Gunner test was cool and all, but rapid firing 5,000 rounds mag dump after mag dump in a single day isn't how most people use their ARs, and if it was ammo cost wouldn't be a concern at all.

None of my guns have a problem cyclig steel. When I first buy a new gun, I shoot a 100 rounds of steel case ammo through it to make sure it cycles.
All my ARs shoot it just fine.

Once I started making more money I started mostly shooting brass because the price wasn't a concern, I also reload high quality ammo for low cost.

You should also be saving your spent brass, one day you'll be glad you did if you aren't already.

[5.56 Bonded SP]

I will also echo that wolf gold is great brass cased ammo. It's very accurate stuff in most of my guns, giving me about 2moa. I also reload the brass.

I've shot about 10k of the stuff with no complaints. It shoots 3000+ fps out of a 16" barrel iirc.

[Campbell]

75% steel
25% brass, Wolf gold and IMI

I have found WPA steel case to function 100% in my three rifles and is typically 2-4 moa which is fine since I rarely shoot beyond 250. IMO its a bargain.

[SkiDevil]

What do you use?

So far, I’ve used various, but primarily Federal 55gr .223 FMJ. Would love to find some good alternatives. The pennies matter, though I’m not interested in anything that would cause damage to the gun or fail to cycle properly. If $0.28-0.30 per round is the best to expect, no worries.

I’d also love to hear recommendations for 77gr “practice” ammo. I’ve got good Black Hills stuff for when I want to get good precision practice or keep in mags for HD, but would love to find alternatives that would perform similarly for a lower price.


I have tried a lot of different ammo for practice, but have basically settled on the following three brands: CBC 62, and 55 grain FMJ, MEN 55 FMJ, and Federal 55 grain FMJ.

I fought the idea of paying for 'premium' ammo and finally decided to reload my own.

I mostly reload 55 grain FMJ for plinking and 69/ 77 grain for target practice.

Something you may want to consider looking into to save money or more realistically shooting more ammunition for the same amount.

[MegademiC]

For cheap accurate ammo, im trying hornady’s steel cased match 77gr ammo soon. Might want to check it out.

If im not trying to shoot 1-2 moa targets or test accuracy, I use wolf gold. Reliable, reloadable, etc.

[Wake27]

For cheap accurate ammo, im trying hornady’s steel cased match 77gr ammo soon. Might want to check it out.

If im not trying to shoot 1-2 moa targets or test accuracy, I use wolf gold. Reliable, reloadable, etc.

How’s it performing for you? Tried it against the Magtech and IMI 77 grainers?


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[Hammer_Man]

MEN 56gr. 5.56 works great for most things I do. Magtech 62gr 5.56 works great for me as well.