What should I feed my new AR

[Sparkey]

I just got a new Colt H bar match target and wondering what ammo I should use and what brands to stay away from. The salesmen at the gun store said to stay away from brown bear and wolf put he did not make any recommendations as what to use.
Thanks

 

[SemiAutoSam]

Don’t feed it anything that isn’t brass cased , IE anything that is a steel cased round don’t use in it.

IF a magnet will stick to it its steel.

Usually these rounds are a lacquer flashed or copper plated.

Wolf is one of the brands to steer clear of, IE the steel cased wolf ammo I have no idea if they make a brass cased round.

 

[redtail]

You are going to be limited to just a few possibilities if you don't load your own stuff. Any NATO surplus ammo will work well. Agree with Sam, I'd stay away from the steel imported stuff.
Also, stay away from commercially reloaded ammunition.
The money you save buying poor ammo isn't worth it.

 

[atilla]

Also, stay away from commercially reloaded ammunition.
The money you save buying poor ammo isn't worth it.

back when it was a good deal/all that was available i shot maybe 2,000 rounds (maybe more) of ultramax reloads and only had one failure.

would i choose it over NATO spec or decent federal M193? no. is it fine to shoot? IMO yes.

 

[redtail]

Ultramax in particular is 1 to stay away from. There have been several well documented KBs in recent times with Ultramax remanufactured ammunition.

 

[mac1911]

Just newbie to ARs here.......but if you have a target rifle you should at least buy the best match grade ammo you can afford. If your looking to buy cheap ammo buy another run of the mill upper for range fun and plinking and save the wear and tear on the target gun for nice ammo and serious hole punching.
I expect to get a "hit" on target from my AR.

just a side note: I went through 60 rounds of federal gold match 77grain. ahhhh yeah thats when I learned more about barrel twist rates. something to consider.

 

[op4guy]

Like mac said, if you bought a match gun and intend to shoot for distance and accuracy you should be looking towards a good match grade ammo. I have heard good things about Blackhills ammo being good stuff.

That said, to be afraid to run steel cased ammo though an AR is a little paranoid. I for one run quite a lot through my gun and have not suffered any issues. My gun is not one that shoots slowly @ 300 yards where I am trying to stack 5 rounds in one hole. I'm nearing 10k rounds of Tula through my LMT and have had nothing but success. I don't clean it much either-about every 2k i have pulled the bolt, wiped it down and the inside of the upper, run a quick patch or 3 through the barrel, oil with SLiP 2000 and reassemble. All done in under 10 minutes. Colt doesn't make crap guns and I can't see why it would bother it.

 

[MechanicBenjamin]

i don't have a colt AR but I do have an AR. I have never shot a single steel case round through mine and I never intend to.. now its not that i reload my own. (not always, but mostly) i just prefer brass ammo over steel. The laquer from steel cases can/will if hot enough melt off and down into your trigger group.. Something i don't want to ever chance. Now I have shot a few boxes of that ultramax and i can say I'll probably never do it again.. I never had a malfunction of misfire, it just shoots like garbage.. I use my AR mostly for varmit hunting and some varmits you only got about 4X8 target or so, to hit out at over 100 yrd..

 

[radioman]

I have two AR's both have had over 2000 rounds of steel case ammo through them. Matter of fact both together have had less than 100 rounds of brass cased ammo! They are not match grade rifles nor are they 300yrd tack drivers. If you want that type of precision get the ammo recommended by the other posters. If you want to go to the range and have fun then the steel is the way to go. IMHO I have never had a problem. Never a fail to fire and maybe two fail to feed issues with me behind the gun but with my 300lb friend he has never had a feed issue with the 1000 rounds of steel he has put through my AR's. This varnish melting thing?? Never happen if you keep your gun clean. I clean my guns all the time just because I have the time and I like guns. I have never even seen a remnant of melted varnish? Never! My extractors, looked at under a loupe are like new. No ware from the big bad steel ammo. With the money I save I plan on tricking out a Remington 700 in .223 so I can shoot some steel through that gun as well. I pay 4 dollars and thirty two cents a box of twenty as compared to over twenty five for the match grade stuff! Won't be long before I save up enough for that 50cal I've been looking for. Maybe I'll nix that idea because as far as I know they don't make steel case 50's yet.

 

[wolf223]

any AR should feed anything except wolf...

i personally use Silver Bear .223, federal xm193, PMC, privi in grains of 55 and 62 for my zombie killer. for my service rifle, anything in 69+ grains works. Hornady, Fiocchi (sp), Black Hills, Privi

 

[cevtv]

The laquer from steel cases can/will if hot enough melt off and down into your trigger group.. Something i don't want to ever chance.

I thought it was a well documented fact that the use of lacquer had stopped a few years ago, and they use a polymer now that does not cause any problems.

 

[Youradolt]

I thought it was a well documented fact that the use of lacquer had stopped a few years ago, and they use a polymer now that does not cause any problems.

You are correct as far as wolf goes they still make brown bear with lacquer in 7.62x39. Some people live by the gunshop BS, I prefer not to spend all my money on over priced ammo. I like my four dollar a box ammo. If your ar will not run wolf then you should buy a different gun. My gun has never seen a brass case and has never had a jam to date wolf runs just fine in my gun but it can be dirty.

 

[Evenflow]

A properly lubed AR15 should be able to cycle any ammunition.

Fed thousands of rounds of Wolf/Brown Bear/Silver Bear through my spikes, it loves it. Normally go for whatever is cheapest.

 

[DevX]

The laquer from steel cases can/will if hot enough melt off and down into your trigger group.. Something i don't want to ever chance.

You are going to have quite a few other problems first if you get your gun hot enough to melt the lacquer off that ammo.

 

[jasons]

Steel tends to be a bit tougher on extractors (so I hear,) but extractors are cheap and easy to replace. I use it in my zombie gun when I know I won't be able to pick up my brass. No problems. (It tends to be a bit more dirty than more "respectable" brands but I don't really care about that either.)

 

[flintoid]

 

[MechanicBenjamin]

why does every thread reply have to turn into a debate? Can't we just give our advice and what we've been told and what we KNOW about our own firearms without someone alse debating it? Why???

 

[vellnueve]

why does every thread reply have to turn into a debate? Can't we just give our advice and what we've been told and what we KNOW about our own firearms without someone alse debating it? Why???

If you don't want something commented on, don't post it.

 

[Youradolt]

why does every thread reply have to turn into a debate? Can't we just give our advice and what we've been told and what we KNOW about our own firearms without someone alse debating it? Why???

what if what you are told is wrong? what if what you KNOW is wrong? If you give advice that is not correct on the forum or any forum prepare to be called on it.

 

[redtail]

Sparky,
What have you been feeding it, and how is it shooting? I'd like to hear how you're liking your rifle.

Probably a fair number of you are familiar with AR15dotcom. Within the contents of that site there are several reported KBs with Ultramax ammunition, which is remanufactured stuff. They (Ultramax) are paying for new guns for those who have had their rifle blow, so obviously there is a known problem, and they must feel like they are at fault. A few of these KBs have happened to members of that forum and they are posted in the first person, complete with photos. IMO it is pure luck that nobody has gotten hurt. Yet. Though I have heard of 1 report of injury-not in the first person however, so I don't consider it confirmed.
One of my rifles is a RRA tactical entry carbine, the same spec as the Bushnell Patrolman's carbine I believe. While using Wolf steel cased ammo I have twice had the rim of the steel shell break off the case, from the force put on it by the ejector, causing a FTE jam. The bolt cycled and tried to load another round in to the chamber with the stuck case in it. Both times I had to remove the shell with a cleaning rod through the muzzle. I only fired off a couple of hundred rounds of the Wolf, but those 2 problems were enough for me. Never again.
The rifle shoots better than my Bushy, which mostly sits around collecting dust these days.
Knock on wood, neither one of my rifles has ever malfunctioned at all using brass cased ammunition, including the 1000s of rounds I have loaded myself. I was just out with the RRA yesterday in fact.
Anyway, there are several known potential problems with steel cased ammunition, including what happened to me being 1 of them, and as I have seen for myself X2, they can cause an inoperable rifle condition-not a good situation if your AR is a HD gun like mine is. If your rifle has so far functioned perfectly fine with Wolf or other steel cased stuff, you're lucky, but remember that tomorrow might be your turn.

For a Mini 14 I'd shoot Wolf ammo all year long.

 

[Sparkey]

Redtail,
I have only had a chance to get to the range once with the new rifle I love it so far a big change for me I am a shotgunner and shoot very little rifle other then some 22 here and there. I have tested Amercian Eagle some Federal, Fiocchi, Remington and PMC. The all worke fine no ftf's all 55 grain I am not sure what shots best yet as I was just getting the sights set and getting myself familar with the gun. I am sure the gun can shoot much better groups then I can. I need to get some more ammo and get back out to the range now that I have it sighted in and see what ammo will group the best .