Looking for good, cheap FMJ

[Jericho_223 0]

Hey all! I'm looking to stock up on some accurate 55gr. FMJ stuff that won't break the bank! Anybody have some suggestions? I know that I can get Federal XM193 for less than $6 a box, does anybody have experience with this ammo? Again, my two chief concerns are accuracy and price, so whatever provides the best combination of those factors if what I want. Saiga .223, 16 inch barrel, 1:9. Thanks!

Edited December 11, 2011 by Jericho_223

[dayofruin 425]

For brass case, that's probably about your best price. If you want to go with steel case, Tulammo is ~$5 per box of 20 at walmart. Most of them, at least around here, carry it. Or you can order online from cheaperthandirt.com.

[mancat 2,368]

I had a real crap experience with Tulammo .223 recently. Just try a few different brands/types before you buy anything in bulk.

 

XM193 and Wolf MC are the two best plinking loads I've shot through the Saiga recently.

 

[Vais01 3]

Well for 55gr in steel try WOLF PERFORMANCE AMMO the new stuff though and Barnaul. Both are very good quality. For brass try some Previ Partizan it is Serbian made and is very high quality. The other option for brass is some of the Federal American Eagle which is some good ammo as well.

Be experimental and try lots of different stuff some ammos will flat out shock you with their performance.

 

For me XM193 is ok but not amazing. Lots of flame and inconsistent powder charges.

XM855 by WCC(Winchester) is absolute crap IN MY RIFLE. Shot it today and it locked the bolt back after it shot flames from almost every place you can think of on a Saiga. The shot sounded more like an explosion happened and the range went quiet for a few minutes. It was way over charged. Managed to find the brass from it and I about wanted to call Winchester and tell them to pull it off the shelf. The brass was stretched on the case body and the shoulder and the primer had fully ejected out of the primer pocket. The case head was so severely smeared that markings(WCC and 11) were completely gone and the rim was bent from the hard extraction. The rifle held together just as I would expect it to. I threw the remaining ammo in the dud can.

Edited December 12, 2011 by 7.62x39mm

[renegadebuck 16]

Well for 55gr in steel try WOLF PERFORMANCE AMMO the new stuff though and Barnaul. Both are very good quality. For brass try some Previ Partizan it is Serbian made and is very high quality. The other option for brass is some of the Federal American Eagle which is some good ammo as well.

Be experimental and try lots of different stuff some ammos will flat out shock you with their performance.

 

For me XM193 is ok but not amazing. Lots of flame and inconsistent powder charges.

XM855 by WCC(Winchester) is absolute crap IN MY RIFLE. Shot it today and it locked the bolt back after it shot flames from almost every place you can think of on a Saiga. The shot sounded more like an explosion happened and the range went quiet for a few minutes. It was way over charged. Managed to find the brass from it and I about wanted to call Winchester and tell them to pull it off the shelf. The brass was stretched on the case body and the shoulder and the primer had fully ejected out of the primer pocket. The case head was so severely smeared that markings(WCC and 11) were completely gone and the rim was bent from the hard extraction. The rifle held together just as I would expect it to. I threw the remaining ammo in the dud can.

 

 

 

If you are close to NC, I have Golden Tiger by the 1k=$205

[Vais01 3]

Well for 55gr in steel try WOLF PERFORMANCE AMMO the new stuff though and Barnaul. Both are very good quality. For brass try some Previ Partizan it is Serbian made and is very high quality. The other option for brass is some of the Federal American Eagle which is some good ammo as well.

Be experimental and try lots of different stuff some ammos will flat out shock you with their performance.

 

For me XM193 is ok but not amazing. Lots of flame and inconsistent powder charges.

XM855 by WCC(Winchester) is absolute crap IN MY RIFLE. Shot it today and it locked the bolt back after it shot flames from almost every place you can think of on a Saiga. The shot sounded more like an explosion happened and the range went quiet for a few minutes. It was way over charged. Managed to find the brass from it and I about wanted to call Winchester and tell them to pull it off the shelf. The brass was stretched on the case body and the shoulder and the primer had fully ejected out of the primer pocket. The case head was so severely smeared that markings(WCC and 11) were completely gone and the rim was bent from the hard extraction. The rifle held together just as I would expect it to. I threw the remaining ammo in the dud can.

 

 

 

If you are close to NC, I have Golden Tiger by the 1k=$205

 

renegadebuck I have plenty of ammo in my small stock pile and I am in Texas. My rifle seems to do very well with Previ Partizan 55gr SP ammo. I am very impressed with the results plus it cleans very easy. Thanks for the offer though. If you ever stop near the Houston area drop me a PM.

[Jericho_223 0]

Yeah I've used Prvi 5.56 before, and it seemed like pretty good ammo. Seemed to be a bit hotter and a little more accurate than the Wolf 55.gr JHP or Remington UMC 55gr. FMJ I had used. I've got a decent store of Silver Bear 62gr. JHP, and just wanted a nice, inexpensive FMJ load as well. My local shop carries the Prvi 5.56 stuff, but it's a lot pricier than online.

[sndman762 0]

american eagle tactical 6-7 dollars a box

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

You may want to start reloading. It's been the least expensive route for me to buy once fired brass and reload it myself. I'm using Varget powder which is not the cheapest, but I get great results using it.

 

Once fired brass: $60.00-$70.00 per 1000

55gr bullets: $75.00-$80.00 per 1000

Primers: $28.00-$32.00 per 1000

Varget 8lbs keg: $160.00 does over 2000 loads

 

You could go with surplus powders like 844 to cut powder to cut powder cost to around $85.00-$90.00 for an 8 lbs keg.

 

If you buy in bulk you save a few bucks more, but not everyone can afford that.

[Jericho_223 0]

You may want to start reloading. It's been the least expensive route for me to buy once fired brass and reload it myself. I'm using Varget powder which is not the cheapest, but I get great results using it.

 

Once fired brass: $60.00-$70.00 per 1000

55gr bullets: $75.00-$80.00 per 1000

Primers: $28.00-$32.00 per 1000

Varget 8lbs keg: $160.00 does over 2000 loads

 

You could go with surplus powders like 844 to cut powder to cut powder cost to around $85.00-$90.00 for an 8 lbs keg.

 

If you buy in bulk you save a few bucks more, but not everyone can afford that.

 

I've been tentatively considering this option as well, though I'd need to buy a press in addition to this, right? Also, do you reuse your brass once you've fired it? Or do you just use it once?

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

You may want to start reloading. It's been the least expensive route for me to buy once fired brass and reload it myself. I'm using Varget powder which is not the cheapest, but I get great results using it.

 

Once fired brass: $60.00-$70.00 per 1000

55gr bullets: $75.00-$80.00 per 1000

Primers: $28.00-$32.00 per 1000

Varget 8lbs keg: $160.00 does over 2000 loads

 

You could go with surplus powders like 844 to cut powder to cut powder cost to around $85.00-$90.00 for an 8 lbs keg.

 

If you buy in bulk you save a few bucks more, but not everyone can afford that.

 

I've been tentatively considering this option as well, though I'd need to buy a press in addition to this, right? Also, do you reuse your brass once you've fired it? Or do you just use it once?

 

You can but a set of dies and a single stage press to reload and get into them for around $30.00 for the dies and $40.00 for a LEE press. You can reuse you're brass, but you'll have to measure it and possibly trim it because brass cases stretch each time they are fired. Most guys can get 4-8 reloads on good brass. If you get mil surp brass it will be more than likely crimped and the primer pocket will have to be reamed to get rid of the crimp. Not an issue with commercial brass.

 

If you look into the LEE PRO 1000 it goes for $150.00 on sale several places, times through out the year. You do need to have some basic mechanical skills to set it up and get it running, but the time they save can be huge. I use one for my 9mm and can crank out 250rnds an hour with it. My .223 on my single stage press takes me much longer since each process is done one stage at time. There are several videos on you tube that you can learn more about both styles of reloading. I'm getting ready to get the PRO 1000 in 223. mainly just to save time. I'm not sure what I'll do with the time I save, but I'm sure my wife can come up with something.

 

To reload brass out the AK you'll want to put a lip on the dust cover to reduce the AK kiss. Mine puts a pretty could crease in the case so I never reuse my brass because I fear case failure on the reload. My brass ends up going to scrap guy so I can recoup some of my money.

[Vais01 3]

Reloading primarily is not for cost effectiveness. It's mainly for higher quality and consistency. You don't need to reload .223 if you find something inexpensive that works. For me Prvi Partizan 55gr SP works wonders so reloding is more for consistency rather than cost.

Also you can create loads that are much hotter and create much more velocity with reloding. I have a load in 7.62x39 that is very hot and can be even hotter safely. Current load is over 2390fps and I have the ability to get 2400+ gpa from my mini 30 with no failures.

 

Just my .02 on reloding.

[renegadebuck 16]

Well for 55gr in steel try WOLF PERFORMANCE AMMO the new stuff though and Barnaul. Both are very good quality. For brass try some Previ Partizan it is Serbian made and is very high quality. The other option for brass is some of the Federal American Eagle which is some good ammo as well.

Be experimental and try lots of different stuff some ammos will flat out shock you with their performance.

 

For me XM193 is ok but not amazing. Lots of flame and inconsistent powder charges.

XM855 by WCC(Winchester) is absolute crap IN MY RIFLE. Shot it today and it locked the bolt back after it shot flames from almost every place you can think of on a Saiga. The shot sounded more like an explosion happened and the range went quiet for a few minutes. It was way over charged. Managed to find the brass from it and I about wanted to call Winchester and tell them to pull it off the shelf. The brass was stretched on the case body and the shoulder and the primer had fully ejected out of the primer pocket. The case head was so severely smeared that markings(WCC and 11) were completely gone and the rim was bent from the hard extraction. The rifle held together just as I would expect it to. I threw the remaining ammo in the dud can.

 

 

 

If you are close to NC, I have Golden Tiger by the 1k=$205

 

renegadebuck I have plenty of ammo in my small stock pile and I am in Texas. My rifle seems to do very well with Previ Partizan 55gr SP ammo. I am very impressed with the results plus it cleans very easy. Thanks for the offer though. If you ever stop near the Houston area drop me a PM.

 

The reason I replied is I bought for a group buy and not many picked up what they wanted, so I ended up with about 60k extra. Shipping will kill you though!

[Vais01 3]

Well for 55gr in steel try WOLF PERFORMANCE AMMO the new stuff though and Barnaul. Both are very good quality. For brass try some Previ Partizan it is Serbian made and is very high quality. The other option for brass is some of the Federal American Eagle which is some good ammo as well.

Be experimental and try lots of different stuff some ammos will flat out shock you with their performance.

 

For me XM193 is ok but not amazing. Lots of flame and inconsistent powder charges.

XM855 by WCC(Winchester) is absolute crap IN MY RIFLE. Shot it today and it locked the bolt back after it shot flames from almost every place you can think of on a Saiga. The shot sounded more like an explosion happened and the range went quiet for a few minutes. It was way over charged. Managed to find the brass from it and I about wanted to call Winchester and tell them to pull it off the shelf. The brass was stretched on the case body and the shoulder and the primer had fully ejected out of the primer pocket. The case head was so severely smeared that markings(WCC and 11) were completely gone and the rim was bent from the hard extraction. The rifle held together just as I would expect it to. I threw the remaining ammo in the dud can.

 

 

 

If you are close to NC, I have Golden Tiger by the 1k=$205

 

renegadebuck I have plenty of ammo in my small stock pile and I am in Texas. My rifle seems to do very well with Previ Partizan 55gr SP ammo. I am very impressed with the results plus it cleans very easy. Thanks for the offer though. If you ever stop near the Houston area drop me a PM.

 

The reason I replied is I bought for a group buy and not many picked up what they wanted, so I ended up with about 60k extra. Shipping will kill you though!

 

Yes it would hazmat shipping for loaded ammo is about $50. I am happy with the 55gr SP ammo though. My loads currently are very hot and are for close range defense from a 55gr bullet 16" barrel and over 2900fps with one and the other a smoldering +3000fps. Both not that accurate but will hit a man sized target out to 150yds.

[kenjoe45 0]

Palmetto State Armory has Federal XM193F ammo for $5.49 per box, $137.25 for 500 rds and $286.50 (includes shipping) for 1,000 rds. I have purchased 2,500 rds this month from them.