what ammo choices are best and what are people using?

[BobinLaConner]

I am really picking up a lot of valuable information from reading through all the great threads. I didn't see any threads that simply listed what ammo choices most people are going with or what the top choices are with the best chances for success. I'm not up to speed on reloading or ballistic stats, but I know there are many factors that go into choosing the right ammo and that I should find what works best in my gun and fits the need. And I may be getting ahead of myself since I don't have it yet, but the gun will be the DDM4 V5 16" CHF barrel.

What would be good recommendations to start with? I would think I should have several types of ammo on hand to cover several needs...I would sure appreciate suggestions on what the favorites are for each category (or if other categories should be added or whether .223 or 5.56 would work best).

1) Plinking/target round (priced to own a large quantity, but still good performance, does not have to be the cheapest)


2) Accurate target round for sighting in (maybe items 1 and 2 can be the same ammo?)


3) 100 - 150 yd coyote/varmint round (for dropping and stopping, not necessarily fur, I was thinking the Nosler factory ammo?)


4) Best Defense large mammal stopping round (Home Defense or possibly SHTF)


Thanks for any feedback, I will do my own testing, but this info will help me get there a little quicker.

B

[Quib]

Some reading here: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...mmo-do-you-use

[TehLlama]

If you need further resources, Molon and DocGKR's posts (ARF, M4C, LF) are also incredibly insightful, don't be afraid to take a full week reading all the different sources.

[Paulo_Santos]

The Hornady 55 and 60 GR TAP make good self defense rounds and great for varmints. The Hornady 75 GR TAP is good for everything, but a little more expensive to use as a plinking round. For plinking, I'd use whatever I could get my hands on such as M193.

[HS2]

I've tried a variet of M193 clones. For general practice I have had the best results with Fiochhi 55 FMJ. Not a true M193, but very consistent at about 35 cnts / round.

For target / precision shooting, any of the 50-55 grn ballistic tip rounds work great.

Haven't tried the Horandy 55 or 60 TAP. I agree with paulsantos... the 75 TAP is excellent.

[Captains1911]

Hornaday TAP (75gr) should fulfill the requirements for items 2, 3 & definitely 4. It is expensive though.

[TehLlama]

Hornaday TAP (75gr) should fulfill the requirements for items 2, 3 & definitely 4. It is expensive though.

I agree with this - for now I'm set up with a lot of PRVI 75gr practice ammunition and a line of mags filled with TAP in 75gr.
I think there's always a place for affordable 55gr blasting stuff, though a well thought out 55gr load should be a fantastic all-around performer within reasonable range.
I'm looking at making a switch to 62gr (M855/62grFMJ mixed with Barnes TSX and/or Mk318SOST) for my shorter weapons and using up my 75gr on 18" guns.

[PD Sgt.]

For practice/plinking, I have had good results with the Hornady practice TAP ammo. It is steel cased, which turns some people away, but it can be found at a good price and has run just fine in my guns. It is also nice because the reloader in me does not feel bad about not scrounging up all the casings and saving/cleaning them, etc.

I also recommend the regular TAP ammo for duty/defense, though I have only used the 60 grain bullets. The 75g are probably a bit more useful in a wider variety of applications though.

[billyblooshoes]

i just picked up a case of wolf military classic. its going to be the first steel cased ammo ive run through my AR. have not shot any of it yet though. i was wary of trying it before with the laquer coating, but now they have done away with that and it has some sort of teflon coating or something. many people ive talked to run it for target as well as competition with no issues at all. i'll report back with my experience once i run some through. assuming it performs well, the price is right at around 200 shipped per 1000.

[Hatter]

I shoot Ultramax soft tip. I've found it to be extremely reliable and hella accurate - good enough for home defense and prairie dogs at 300 yds with Leupold CQ/T. I'm forced to the soft tip because I shoot a lot of indoor at my local range. I was getting a good price on it in bulk but I think they're moving to a cheaper Fiocchi alternative.

Anyone have any good leads on bulk orders of soft tip ammo?

Thanks!

[Dos Cylindros]

Don't over complicate things. The 55 grain is the cheapest and easiest to come by in all ammo types. Sight in with 55 grain and make your actual carry round 55 grain and you will be good to go for most purposes. The heavier weights, do have a good reputation with the military, but what most people don't realize is that they wanted retained energy at distance (several hundred meters), and the 55 grain was not doing this. For typical civilian and LE engagement ranges (usually well within 100 yards) the 55 grain is devestating and effective because it still has a good amount of velocity which is what the 55 grain requires to be terminally effective. My current agency issue is 64 grain, however our range loads are 55 grain, which translates to a different POA/POI between the two rounds. I sight in with 64 grain on my duty gun and just ignor the POA/POI shift with the training rounds. My personal HD carbine is sighted in with 55 grain and I carry 55 grain in it for the KISS factor.

[Wondering Beard]

Don't over complicate things..

That's probably the most important statement here.

There is a bewildering array of ammo choices out there, most of which doesn't offer much improvement over each other. 62grs here, 64grs there, 77grs here, 75 grs there; a change of a few grains is highly unlikely to make a difference.

Sight in the gun for whatever round is going to be your carry round, practice with 55gr loads.

For " large mammal" as you put it, most everything will work fine. If you have special needs (like penetrating through glass or car bodies for a lot of LEOs), then certain rounds are better than others at those specific jobs but outside of that, it tends to be a bit of a wash.

Quality ammo from a quality manufacturer will take care of you fine.

[BobinLaConner]

thanks...I tend to think the same way. My primary concern will be learning from others good or bad experience and getting quality ammo that has the reliability. I will try several of the brands/types recommended here to see what the gun (and I) shoot best with.

[Op4guy]

Personally I have been shooting the Tula .223 exclusively for almost a year now and have had no complaints with it:
http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...la-ammo-report

I know it may not be the highest quality ammo out there but for training ammo it has done very well. I do keep a stock of M855 on hand in case I need it but it's only about 500 rounds and gets rotated annually. If i were to burn through that for some SHTF situation I would fall back on the Tula without batting an eye as I know it performs well in my guns. Like Dos said, don't over think things as it will be just fine considering the distances the average person will use it at.

[Vise]

I was able to go out and shoot some BVAC 64 grain .223 this weekend and I was very impressed. This ammunition held 1moa in my 16" rifle all day. BVAC has not been around long. These guys started making hunting ammunition in 2008 but they know what they are doing. The stuff I got off Cheaper than dirt was relatively inexpensive but it is very accurate. I like the fact that its a little heavier than your standard 55 grain stuff. Heavier bullet means marginally better ballistics and more stopping power. It is also a soft point so when you hit something it is going to open up. At $0.38/round its in the middle of the cost range but the extra $0.10/round is more than worth the quality. I will be purchasing this again in the future. The one negative remark I will make is that when I opened up the box there were a handful of rounds with the bullet pushed into the cartridge. I found 6 or 7 like that out of 500.

I have to say that buying hunting ammunition for home defense and shtf makes sense to me. When you shoot something you want it to die. I think this stuff is going to give me the best chances of hitting my target and killing what I hit. Their website is www.bvac-ammo.com
I don't work for them or anything, just giving credit where credit is due.