What is the best ammo for CQB with a AR-15?

Answer 1

A lot of funny answers seem to keep popping up. My two cents worth: First off, there are more differences in 5.56 and .223 than just a slightly higher pressure. Fact is, military cases are a little thicker, primers are seated a little deeper and are seated tighter. This is done so that you do not get "slam fire" which occurs in a semi auto military rifle when the firing pin contacts the primer when the bolt slams forward with sufficient force to detonate a high, or commercial primer whis is made softer than military. To see what I mean, take a round and chamber it into your ar15. Then clear the round and take a look at the primer. I guarantee you will see a mark on the primer from the firing pin. This is sometimes enough to set off a commercial rifle primer that is not designed for semi auto or military use. All primer manufacturers list two different primers for bolt guns and for military use. Next, forget about using soft point ammo in a semi auto military style rifle. This is because each time the rifle fires, it forces all the rounds in the magazine to slam against the front of the magazine, which in turn deforms the soft lead tip. This can not only affect the trajectory of the round, but I have seen at least twice, where the deformed lead tip caught on the top of the magazine and failed to feed into the chamber. Not good under fire!!
The original AR15 designed by Eugene Stoner was in .308 caliber and was called by another model and number. But the firearm was rechambered to the smaller .22 caliber bullet at the military's insistance and called the ar-15 ( renamed the m-16), it was shipped with a twist rate of 1 in 14 and used a 55 grain projectile. This round left the barrel in a very unstable flight and at the slightest impact, the bullet began to tumble violently. This resulted in catastrophic wounds. The first "improvement" of the weapon resulted in a barrel with a twist rate of 1 in 12 and still used the 55 grain bullet with similar results, but slightly more down range accuracy. Next came the 1 in 10 twist rate which with the 55 grain bullet, was, in my opinion, the best version. This gave a similar wound result, but was more accurate down range. Then the military decided to try to make the little .22 caliber bullet perform better and give better down range penetration so they went to a 62 grain projectile and a 1 in 9 twist. This increased accuracy, but made the heavier bullet so stable that it does not tumble and thus, resulted in less trauma to the bad guy. The story continues from there with the shorter barreled m4 version and different bullet weights and consideration of going to a 1 in 8 twist. I could write a book on why these changes are bad and give a simple cure, but that is not your question. Lastly, I say this, a good hollow point 55 grain bullet is going to give the best results against a human BUT, penetration thru glass or other material is compromised. I like the results of the new Hornady T.A.P. defense ammo for the .223 but again, it is designed for stopping a human, not shooting thru a car door etc. But it is one of the best compromises out there. We should take a lesson from the Russian ammunition, they use a hollow point bullet but with a steel penetrater core. This gives very good results on tissue as well as penetrating harder material better. But, this is for battle conditions where civilian and innocent bystanders are not a factor. I may have caused more questions than I did give answers, but using a .223 for CQB isn't the best choice unless it is in battlefield conditions and then, it is not the optimal choice either. If I had to revert to my AR I would have it loaded with TAP hollow points, but have a magazine of fmj and one of AP close at hand to try to cover all the bases. Or, I'd use the proper weapon to begin with.

Answer 2

Hello! A question you must answer, is how satisfied will you be with a stock rifle? Very little can be done by the owner to improve the mechanical accuracy of the Mini ... there are bells and whistle toys you can add, but virtually everything that is accuracy oriented requires a gunsmith. On the flip side ... with a little patience and some skill, the owner of an AR can virtually rebuild or rebarrel his AR ... without outside assistance. That being said, I am building a space gun for match rifle competition using a Bushmaster lower. Triggers are easy to replace and with a little skill, to adjust. Upper units can be swapped out without much hassel, you can change receiver style, barrel length, category (Service rifle vs. Match rifle), or caliber (from .223 to 6.8 to .50 Beowolf). The only fault I have with the Bushmasters is the barrel twist ... way too slow for the heavier bullets used to reach out beyond 250 to 300 yards. If you plan on shooting anything heavier than 69 grains, you will need a barrel with a 1 in 8 or a 1 in 7 twist ... 1 in 9 is just too slow to stabilize these bullets! Push come to shove, I would take an AR over a Mini 14 anyday ... only because the AR platform offers the shooter much more flexibility! Good luck and good shooting!

Answer 3

There aren't a lot of different types of ammo available for the M16. I'd say stick with a bullet weight appropriate to your barrel twist rate, though maybe go a little heavier than you would for longer range applications, as this may encourage tumbling bullets. If you have the older 1:11 or 1:14 twist barrel then the 62 grain green tips will be just the ticket, as they're less likely to stabilize and will tumble when they hit a soft target. This also makes them far less accurate over long distances. If you have a newer 1:7 or 1:9 twist barrel, you should get some Hornady 75grain HPBTs, as they're less stable in that twist rate and wouldn't need a match throated barrel like the 80grain bullets would

A hollow point round would also help, but isn't going to add much to lethality if it's the narrow tipped ones normally loaded into the .223 designed to feed in AR rifles.

Answer 4

Dr Gary Roberts , the expert ballistics analyst who works with the FBI has
the answer. 75 grain Hornady and 77 grain Nosler bullets are recommended when barriers are not an issue. If however you need to
shoot through metal , auto glass , or sheetrock the "barrier blind" soft points made by Winchester and Federal are recommended. These are
what the FBI uses. He says "dont discount the value of barrier blind bullets
in home defense situations". Its not often that you have a clear shot. The
hollow point will begin to expend its energy even with contact to a common wall in the home. The danger with the soft point is over penetration and continuing into another room or even your neighbors house if you miss. The selection should be based on your living situation.

Answer 5

If your ar is capable of it, use the 5.56 round. Yes I know this is the same caliber as the .223 but the nato 5.56 has a higher head pressure and not all ar style rifles are designed to shoot this round. You can chamber and fire it just like a .223 but you can risk damage to the barrel, bolt, and gas tube. I bought the Armalite M-15 instead of the AR-15 beacuse of this reason. The best 5.56 for the money is the Winchester ammo.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

As heavy as you can get within your rifleing and hollow point. no need for boat tail. your options are pretty limited, just get the most lethal round you can. There's no need for extreme accuracy, just take down power.

Answer 8

Try Hornady T.A.P - works good and looks nice in the mags.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/Ammo_TAPFPD_popup.htm