DK Firearms

Most accurate over the counter ammo for .223/5.56?

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  • Rebel_Rider1969

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    Wanting to see if my new barrel is any good. 20 inch .223 wylde with nikon 12x scope. I'll wait till the new trigger gets here to try it. Thanks
     

    Fear21

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    Hard to say. Each rifle / barrel is different.

    Generally, as far as brands go I’ve had good luck with Federal Gold Medal Match. Black Hills is another good one. If you want the best out of it you’ll probably want to look at making your own load for the rifle.
     

    kidsoncoffee

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    Black hills and hand loads have been my most accurate out of a 16" barrel. This is a left hand twist barrel so YMMV.
     

    wildrider666

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    Firearms can be picky eaters, there's often differences of what a gun likes within the same mfr production like and specs. Find a cartridge that fits your twist rate, and has the lowest standard deviation and start there.
     

    Rebel_Rider1969

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    Shot the 18 inch .223 wylde. Hands down the hornady spire point 55gr was the clear winner. #80255. Could put 3 in a 2x2 square @ 100 yards with my shooting. Group was quarter size.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Careful of them 77's out of a 9 twist.
    Them big,long,heavy bullets,with a long ogive,and long tapered boat tail,are not a friend of them slow twist bbls. --- SAWMAN
     
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    SAWMAN

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    Hummmmmmm . . . what is the difference between a "match bullet" or loaded ammo,and a (I guess) "regular bullet" or load anyway ??? ---- SAWMAN
     

    FLT

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    A match bullet has been approved by a bearded tattooed operator, regular bullets are just fudd approved. :decision::scared:
     

    SAWMAN

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    Yep, I would agree with your above and the loads you mentioned. --- SAWMAN
    BUT - -> Just to be clear . . IMO . . there are some really great factory loads (Fed,Rem,Win,etc,etc.) that are not labled "Target".
    Here is one that I have come across. <MOA at 200yds in my Benelli MR1,16" 1:9 twist.
     

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    Rebel_Rider1969

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    Well i think the hornady rounds are very good, 50 rds for $23.
    And they are sp's. I'm sure a better shooter than me could make em touch @ 100. Built this for small/medium pests at longer ranges not for hunting food. Picked the 1:9 just for lighter bullets. If I want to shoot heavyweights I'll grab the 450.
     
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    Telum Pisces

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    Only you and your gun can tell you what is best! Everyone offering advice is great. But I have had two of the same exact guns/barrels like different ammo! Not to say that yours will or will not like this or that ammo. But only you can determine that. Takes going out and shooting it. Which is the fun part to me.

    I have one rifle that will shoot the same hole with the cheapest of cheap ammo. Throw in some expensive stuff and well, it goes to crap! I like that rifle!!! I have another that loves PMC X-Tac ammo. I have another loves Federal premium match the most so far. For plinking, they all get the same. But if I'm going for accuracy, I have to feed them what they like!
     

    FLT

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    I’ve gotten a few surprises when it comes to barrel twist rates , I have a 18 inch Wilson Barrel with a 1 in 7 twist that likes 50 grain federal soft points. It will group them in to less than a half inch pretty regularly. Till the internet became a thing a rifle that shot that good was pretty rare. Now days all the operators on the net do that off hand , well, that’s what they claim anyway.
     

    FrommerStop

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    Agreed. Hunting and self defense rounds wouldn’t be very good if they couldn’t hit the target with a degree of accuracy. I assume the reason I had good luck with the Varmit rounds in the past is that they are designed to hit smaller game.

    I test my personal rifles with Federal LE223T3, which is just the “Tactical” version of the Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, but it’s what I carry and it’s more accurate than bulk ammo.

    To be fair, these days if I can consistently maintain 3-4” at 100yrds with my 11.5 and a red dot with 3x magnifier and bulk ammo, I’m happy.

    Back when I was shooting a 14.5-16” gun with 6x glass at 200-600 yards, then I’d stick with a “match” round.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

    Good point in that the accuracy goal could depend upon the intended use. I do not hunt much anymore and any serous shooting would be for self defense. I do not know how most civilians in the terrain where I live could ever legally justify a shot past say 200 yards. How many bad guys are likely to be a threat at long distances. As a matter of ego I may set up an AR that can do that just to say I have a rifle that will. A farmer surrounded by large flat fields could have different requirements.
    A varmint hunter obviously must have MOA accuracy or better.
     
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