Rounds for AR?

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JRG
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Rounds for AR?

#1

Post by JRG »

Along with my AR mags thread................


How much ammo should I have on hand? What weights? Brands? Where is the best place to purchase?

I am asking because I do not have an AR, but the first of next month I will. Along with the purchase of the AR, I want to get enough mags and ammo rounds at near the same time.

Thanks for the help.
Joe
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Lambda Force
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#2

Post by Lambda Force »

Here's a good starter kit.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#3

Post by bblhd672 »

http://preparedgunowners.com/2016/01/12 ... duty-ammo/


Lots of threads on the forum about where to buy bulk ammo.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#4

Post by Ed4032 »

uh... kind of like I said before. If you know how many you have then you don't have enough.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#5

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Lambda Force wrote:Here's a good starter kit.
That's a good setup right there. I would recommend at least one bulk purchase of 1,000 rounds of "plinking/war" ammo. 55 grain M193 fmj is fine, 62 grain M855 if you can afford it. I also recommend at least 100 rounds of 55 to 65 grain soft points for hunting/home defense. And then depending on the quality of the AR you buy (or build) and its barrel twist, a couple of boxes of either some 68/69 grain or 75/77 grain BTHP match.

After you've had a chance to determine what general kind of ammo shoots best in your particular rifle, then refine your choices according to bullet type for your intended applications. For instance, maybe you want to find out if a A-Max or G-Max Hornady bullet, or a Sierra Gameking shoots better from your barrel than a bulk loaded soft point of near equal weight.

Other good ammo sources:
  • FreedomMunitions.com
  • Stand1Armory.com
  • ammunitiontogo.com
  • Also check out http://www.gunbot.net, where you can set up a free account with your preferences, to find the lowest prices available at any given time.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#6

Post by cyphertext »

Before you purchase any ammo, where are you going to shoot? If you are planning to shoot at the local range, either public or private, check their rules on ammo. A lot of the ranges around me do not allow FMJ, so having 1000 rounds of FMJ plinking ammo would not do me any good if I only had access to those ranges.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#7

Post by Lynyrd »

I've got a neighbor that has 10K rounds of M855 62gr. A friend of mine who has a range on his property has almost as much but in 55gr FMJ. I've got a few thousand rounds of both. If you don't think you have enough, buy more. You can't put a price on piece of mind.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#8

Post by WTR »

Make sure you coordinate bullet weight with barrel twist.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#9

Post by The Annoyed Man »

Lynyrd wrote:I've got a neighbor that has 10K rounds of M855 62gr. A friend of mine who has a range on his property has almost as much but in 55gr FMJ. I've got a few thousand rounds of both. If you don't think you have enough, buy more. You can't put a price on piece of mind.
Reminds me of a post by 03LightingRocks (a member who hasn't been around for a while) in which he said that he had over 60,000 rounds of 5.56 on hand. :thumbs2:

Maybe some day......
http://www.bitethebullet.co/100000-rounds-of-223556
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#10

Post by JRG »

All good info guys!! Thanks!

Joe

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Re: Rounds for AR?

#11

Post by LeonCarr »

99% of what I need to do with an AR I can do with handloaded 55 Grain Hornady Soft Points averaging 3200 fps from a 20 inch barrel. This bullet is also available in factory loaded ammunition from Hornady.

The other 1% of situations that require more penetration can be handled with 62 Grain M855 Green Tips or 77 Grain MK262 BTHPs for two legged varmints or 60-70 Grain controlled expansion soft points for four legged varmints up to about 300 pounds.

Just my .02,
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#12

Post by troglodyte »

Lambda Force wrote:Here's a good starter kit.
Whoops! Not Found.

The deal is gone or moved.
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#13

Post by RPBrown »

The Annoyed Man wrote:
Lynyrd wrote:I've got a neighbor that has 10K rounds of M855 62gr. A friend of mine who has a range on his property has almost as much but in 55gr FMJ. I've got a few thousand rounds of both. If you don't think you have enough, buy more. You can't put a price on piece of mind.
Reminds me of a post by 03LightingRocks (a member who hasn't been around for a while) in which he said that he had over 60,000 rounds of 5.56 on hand. :thumbs2:

Maybe some day......
http://www.bitethebullet.co/100000-rounds-of-223556
I am trying to get to that round count but my AR's keep eating them almost as fast as I buy them :mrgreen:
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#14

Post by C-dub »

As I've mentioned in one or more other threads, I currently have no idea how much I have in a few of my common calibers. In 5.56/.223, I began buying up whatever was in stock at wallyworld a few years ago at a pace of about 300-500 rounds a month, while only shooting about 100 rounds a month. Some months I'd shoot a couple hundred and other time I either wouldn't get to the range or only shoot handgun or shotgun. I'd guess that I have somewhere between 3k-5k of a mix of 55gr and 62gr, with a sprinkling of 45gr for some reason.

I mainly bought it when I did because the prices were low and it was only a matter of time before something happened prices would skyrocket again and all the stores would be out of stock. When I wanted to get started in 3-gun I thought the toughest part would be getting a decent shotgun, but no. The most difficult part turned out to be ammunition for carbine. So much so that, IIRC, most places that held 3-gun events stopped for several months because no one or not enough people were signing up for the matches due to ammunition availability.

My new job also cut into my shooting time. So, I think how much ammunition you need to keep on hand will depend greatly on how much you plan to shoot and whether or not you can get it at an acceptable price for you. Like TAM, if money were not the issue I think I would closing in on if not already to the 100k round count for at least three different calibers. My problem right now, though, is that I don't have enough time to even shoot what I have. I don't think I've purchased anything other than 12 and 20 gauge ammo in over 6 months and barely shot anything else in that same time.

That will be rectified this weekend. My gun club is collecting toys for the Marine's Toys-for-Tots and I'll be shooting 5-stand and Sporting Clays at the event. I'll also take my carbine and Glock and maybe to Colt GC. I'm sure I won't have time to shoot everything. I never do. However, the carbing will get shot first after I'm done with the shotgun. Hmmm, I think I need to get some 12ga. Off to wallyworld!
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Re: Rounds for AR?

#15

Post by Soccerdad1995 »

I try to keep 5% of my net worth invested in physical gold and silver, and another 5% invested in guns and ammo. These are minimums. During times of potential unrest, the percentages go up.
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