best .223 ammo for my AR-15

[richard91577]

I'm new to shooting a AR-15 rifle and needing little help. I just got my new DPMS AR-15 rifle. I hand it for about two weeks now and not a single round thur it. Has a 16" barrel and 1and 9 twist. I'm plaining on playing around up to 200 yards right now. Once I get some more money looking about butting a scope on it and shooting longer range. So I'm just wondering what is the best grain weight for it and brand to shoot thur it. From the cheapest and to the highest. Just wondering wanting to buy a case and not wanting to buy something thats not going to fire will and jam up on me and thanks for you help.

[bkb0000]

start with cheap bulk ammo.. learn to shoot it. then you'll know where to go from there..

good bulk brass-
federal AE xm193 (apparently on sale for $60/200 at bi-mart right now, if you have those)
winchester q3131
wolf 55gr. FMJ
anything else you can find

nothing will hurt your gun, and you won't be able to out-shoot any of this stuff any time soon.

ETA- on second though, DPMS is notorious for having tight chambers- in light of that, i'd either steer clear of steel-cased ammo (like wolf) or expect to learn to do some stuck-case extraction drills.

[Eric D.]

Any bullet weight up to 69gr with a 1/9 any heavier and you may have issues with bullets not stabilizing. Check out the PMC ammo on cabelas or Palmetto State Armory.

[richard91577]

I was told 60 and up would have a hard time stabilizing with a 1 and 9 twist and was just wondering if thats right or not. So thats what I'm trying to find out what is a good round to shoot

[royta]

federal AE xm193 (apparently on sale for $60/200 at bi-mart right now, if you have those)

I miss Bi-Mart like crazy. I wonder if I still have my card from when I used to live just outside Yreka, CA or in Oregon.

[Gutshot John]

I was told 60 and up would have a hard time stabilizing with a 1 and 9 twist and was just wondering if thats right or not. So thats what I'm trying to find out what is a good round to shoot

That's something of a misstatement. It's not so much the weight of the bullet but its length, the heavier bullets also tend to be longer.

1:7 is usually preferred because it will stabilize the broadest range of bullet weights/length.

1:7 will also stabilize heavy bullets (77gr) much better than 1:9.

1:9 stabilizes slightly better if you're going to be shooting exclusively 55gr but if you're shooting 62 grain it will do just fine.

I'd stick with your barrel in the meantime. Shoot the cheap ammo all you want (Fiocchi .223 is my fav go-to practice ammo).

[hammonje]

My favorite M193 is Prvi Partizan (PPU). I have shot thousands of rounds of the stuff and it is more accurate in my firearms than LC. I can get 1 MOA out of it. I have also shot their M855 with equally great results.

Can be found at Wideners.

One of my rifles has a 1:9 twist and it stabilizes Win 64gr PP handloads at 1 MOA at 100 yards. I pulled the right shot which is evident. This was shot using a 2 MOA CompML3. 10 shot string.

[Gutshot John]

It should be noted that different loads will perform differently in different firearms so going by any particular recommendation YMMV.

You'll need to try a few to find where your carbine's sweet spot.

[fdxpilot]

Unless you are sure your DPMS is a true 5.56 chamber, I would stay away from any brand of XM193 or M855/SS109, and stick with .223 ammo like Fiocchi. A 5.56 chamber can shoot .223, but a standard .223 chamber shouldn't be used to shoot 5.56.

[hammonje]

The rounds are identical in dimension whether .223 Rem or 5.56 NATO. The differences lie in the chamber. Cantact DPMS and inquire about their chamber dimensions. The M193/M855 will be hot and acheive greater MV versus the .223 Rem. No other differences.

I prefer a Wylde chamber myslef. It eats anything. I doubt your DPMS has a match chamber. Good quality 5.56 ammunition should shoot fine. The more generous 5.56 chamber will be beneficial upon heating and fouling improving extraction efficiency. Just more room. Adds reliability but decreases accuracy, albeit probably to an insignificant amount in the carbine platform.

If you try some 5.56 and it jams then get it reamed.