Please tell me of any successes with cheaper .223 ammo.

[tacshooter]

I have an AR HBAR and a Handi-Rifle. Has anyone had any good accuracy with the cheaper ammo like Wolf, Silver Bear & etc. My max range will be 200yds. Also has anyone got good or bad info to report on the Greek "Olympic" brand .223   I am looking for cheaper shooting for a while. Any info on these brands as to accuracy, cleanliness, lacquer melting off of steel cases into chambers etc. would be appreciated.

Thanks, Tacshooter :roll:

[Jerry Lester]

I have a Bushmaster (A-2). It shoots the 62g HP Silver Bear stuff pretty daggone good. It's got some kind of copper washed metal jacketed bullets(not copper, maybe tin), but it's a fairly soft jacket, so I don't think it'll hurt your rifling.

This ammo knocks a pretty good sized exit on a groundhog out to around 200 yards, so I wouldn't use it on a pelt.

It's hard for me to say "exactly" how accurate it is in this rifle because I mainly just plink with it. I can tear a pop can up at 150 yards with the "almost" stock sights. I turned the front post down, then re-flattened the sides so I have a finer aiming point. I figure that's plenty good enough accuracy for this particular rifle.

I tried some wolfe ammo, but it wasn't very accurate at all, and the coating on the cases gummed up my chamber, and made manual extractions very hard. It was a pain to clean back out of the chamber too.

[barber]

I use Black Hills re-mfd  .55 gr soft points, have had good luck out to 250  yrds  so far.

[scruffy]

ditto what cknight98 said.  Buy a box and try them out.  

later,
scruffy

[oso45-70]

Jerry,
I have found that if you are not shooting paper for groups all of the ammo that has been mentioned will work just fine. The 223 is probobly the least picky round you will ever find. If you can get them in the chamber they will do a good job for you. Keep shooting and enjoying the little 223.
Thats the most fun you can have with your pants on. Good luck.
....................................Joe..................................................................

[BillP]

Make sure you know the twist on your 223.  It varies and makes a difference in what weight bullet shoots best.  If you need to know more about this, I am sure someone will be glad to explain it.  The way to save money on 223 amo is to start reloading.  223 is an easy cartridge to load.  If you don't want to reload try Blask Hills remannufactured rounds.  They shoot better than new ammo for most people.

[varmit_master]

Hi the factory ammo i would have to go with  knight98 on that one the Win 45.gr HP 40 rd pack is a great deal and a good bullet for the price VM

[cattleskinner]

Personally I like the Black Hills 52gr. MHP in my SS Handi rifle...It's $15/box of 50 from Cabelas, and usually a buck or two cheaper if you shop around...the reman. blue box stuff.  At close range, it will practically  tear a young groundhog in half, and almost do it at 200+ yds.  The mature groundhogs usually soak up the bullet, and if the bullet does happen to exit, it's about the size of a quarter...all are DRT if hit anywhere in the upper half of the body...and boy are they accurate(<1" groups @ 100yds. easy if the barrel is allowed to cool between shots).

~~~Cattleskinner

[oneshotonekill]

The best "cheap" ammo I've found in 223 is the ultramax reloads in 55fmj and 62 fmj.  The 55 gr stuff is like $6.87/50 and the 62 gr is around $10/50 at Natchez shooters supply.  Both shoot sub MOA out of my Rem 700 vls and my Savage 12fvss (I've had sub .5" 5 shot groups with this stuff), the 62's don't shoot well in my handi rifle but the 55 are right around 1-1.5".  One other bonus is that the brass is once fired lake city so its a good source of brass as well.

[LibertyShip]

Georgia Arms, hands down.  55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.  $15 for 50 rounds.  High quality, very accurate.

http://www.georgia-arms.com/rifle_ammo.htm

[7magWoodsman]

My Mom had a problem with coyotes and was afraid for her MinPin(a little German dog) and all she had in the house was a 30-06 a Beretta92f and a 16ga shotgun and she hates the recoil of my old '06 and frontyard is roughly 300x200yards. I took care of some/most of the yotes but she still had a problem with the "Noon Dogs" and I only had time in the early morning and late afternoon, so I went to Ace Hardware and bought her a NEF Heavy Barrelled .223 Rem. and Simmons Aetec 2.8-10x 44mm also bought a box of every "good" .223 they had...It seemed to like Federal Premium 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip best, so I zeroed it in at 100 and was suprised that it only dropped roughly 2.5 inches at 200 and held remarkable groupings considering the price of the rifle............

Now about cheap .223....I was bored one day and decided on riding out to visit and thought I would shoot the .223 a few times while I was out there, I dropped by Wal-Mart and bought the cheapest stuff they had, Remington UMC .223 it was/is under $4.00 a box. I bought 2 boxes and went to her house...the groupings at 100 yards was nearly identical to the Premium NBT and although I don't recommend them for hunting(predator control in her case) I believe they are GREAT for plinking....Mom still prefers the Federal Premium NBT but thats a given....