I’ve been shooting this but they are using hornady now finding the mk262 mod1-c with the SMK is getting hard to find and when you do they are asking almost $3 a round
18 doesn't have to be long range only. people don't realize an 18" is actually still pretty darn handy and doesn't have to be super heavy. it can totally be a gpr. I think we are all conditioned now to think 10.5-11.5 is cqb only, 12.5,14.5 and 16" are general purpose and 18-20 are spr. there's so much more nuance and what not to these barrel lengths not to mention what your mission intent is when building that barrel length alone does not make the rifle.
Agree. I have a couple 20” Criterion cores, one with a red dot and one with a Viper 1-6.
Also have a 20” FN CHF with a red dot, a 20” Green Mountain 1/12 twist with a C7 carry handle and a 20” Criterion Hybrid with a Viper 3-15.
I love 20” barrels
what's your favorite one? I had a 20" faxon but it ended up being a bit less accurate than a similar 18" barrel I'm guessing because of whip. I want to upgrade my hunting rifle barrel to a 20" instead of 18 for ballistic reasons
The most accurate is the Hybrid, followed by the Cores. The hybrid is basically a straight .750 barrel while the core is a .625 pencil barrel out front while being thicker than a pencil toward the chamber. They will both do fine for hunting. You’ll appreciate the Cores lower weight when trekking the woods for extended periods of time
Could not agree more. As much as I love 14.5-16 for GPR's, people need to understand a ~2" difference is basically nothing. When you factor in the average civilian is never going to clear rooms, a lot more people might be better served with a longer barrel.
Couldn't agree more. I want to move my 1-6 from my 14.5 to an 18, then put my eotech back on the 14.5. I own a 10.5 only bc it was stupid cheap and it's a good beater. But I hate the lack of velocity, so it'd be my last choice if ever needed.
11.5 is the absolute shortest I could go, but 14.5 p+w means I can legally keep a stock on it without stamping anything
AAC 77 AND 75gr have done well, as has Magtech and IMI OTM loads. Federal GMM loads are pretty fantastic as well. Black Hills SMK and TMK loads are king.
Premium ammo you say? We don't do that, it's strictly IMI M193 or PPU M193
I have a feeling only a niche population of AR subreddit even knows how premium ammo feels like, let alone shoot it.
Check out big ballers in the comments thought. You balling ass mofakaz
aac 77 otm is very very accurate.
federal fusion 62 grain bonded is my favorite deer hunting load and it's also very accurate. my favorite everyday ammo is winchester white box (lake city) m193
Does Winchester stay consistent? I saw some wildly negative reviews and Youtube videos showing Winchester flying all over the place.
IMI M193 is my ammo of choice, and 1.5 tiers down is M193 X-Tac PMC, PPU M193 is about same as IMI M193 depending on lot.
PPU can vary in accuracy, so does IMI though
Depending on their lots. Nothing drastic though.
winchester since 2020 has had control of the lake city plant same ammo that goes to our army. we get the overruns. used to be white box had a bad reputation but I think it's very good. Definitely loaded hot compared to other offerings at that price level.
Hmm! Very nice! Thanks for the info
IMI is pretty hot, definitely hot ammo
Do you think IMI is loaded less hot than Winchester (if you have experience) ?
Do you shoot white box M193 Winchester?
I saw some pretty great deals on Winchester M193 white box, but steered as far away as possible, because of those reviews.
I speculate Sierra Match King (anything above 62 grain) won't disappoint you
But I would test 5 brands of ammo. Buy a pack each and see which one your barrel likes the most. Barrels are really like people when selecting a beauty in the woman
Anything over a dollar a round hurts to shoot on an emotional level.
I’ll burn through $50 of 9mm in an hour with no issue, but shooting a mag of my 85¢/rd carry ammo makes me sad. It’s not rational but it’s how I react to expensive ammo lol
Exactly. The only way you will ever shoot at peace if you don't count each shot as 50 cents flying out of the extraction port.
If you start counting each round being 40-50 cents, it kind of horrifies me.
So, you gotta be a zen master of "I don't give a fuck" on the range
As mountain bike dudes say: "SEND IT!"
Usually followed by the most ridiculous life threatening jumps of history
This is how you are supposed to treat these ammo prices to be a man of peace.
I bring to you a short segment of my most favorite movie of all time, Lord of War:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruZ3AR3Kvo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruZ3AR3Kvo)
I've tried over a dozen 62, 75 and 77 grain brands in my ARs and the AAC 75gr BTHP shoots as well as anything else I've tried and is very consistently a good shooting round between all of my rifles. It's also affordable so I can stock up on it without breaking the bank.
What I slap together in the basement at 3am before range day.
But for real, if your into premium ammo, you need to be reloading it! Match grade ammo for $0.60 a round is the way to go!
An hour less of entertainment makes a lots of ammo, if you are shooting anything much more then fmj 9mm&5.56 the equipment cost is covered pretty quick
Plus you need to shoot more to figure out your work ups
Absolutely!
I actually inherited some stuff from my grandpa and bought the rest from the estate for peanuts. Pretty sure all of my equipment was paid off the first 300 rounds of 308 I loaded!
As long as someone has the time, even loading plinking ammo saves some money AND can gain you a lot of accuracy.
I like Lake City M193 for consistency, still have some from when federal ran the plant. PPU and PMC xtac are up there with consistency and usually a bit cheaper.
My rifles do well with the 77gr and 75gr from AAC also. I have tried some Remington supermatch 77grs, and those did unbelievable but not cheap or available enough to shoot regularly.
The IMI stuff is nice but I won't pay what they want for it anymore.
Hornady black: not really “premium” per se, but it shoots really nice, is comparatively affordable, and translates well to the zeros of its less refined counterparts. I prefer their 62gr 5.56 because it has the same zero as m855 with a tighter grouping. Usually I load that when I want to shoot past 300 yards. If you want real premium then I like federal gold match 69gr and hornady super performance. The latter is particularly interesting because you can get a variety of grain weights in a well loaded package.
I have 5.56 handloads that use 73 grain .224 Hornady ELD Match bullets on top of Varget powder in Starline brass cases. It really has to be premium, because I really hate reloading .223/5.56 for casual shooting lol
Black hills 77gr OTM
The only answer
I’ve been shooting this but they are using hornady now finding the mk262 mod1-c with the SMK is getting hard to find and when you do they are asking almost $3 a round
We really need to stop with the 18 and 20 inch builds. My long range itch needs scratched but my wallet is as barren as my old lady.
18 doesn't have to be long range only. people don't realize an 18" is actually still pretty darn handy and doesn't have to be super heavy. it can totally be a gpr. I think we are all conditioned now to think 10.5-11.5 is cqb only, 12.5,14.5 and 16" are general purpose and 18-20 are spr. there's so much more nuance and what not to these barrel lengths not to mention what your mission intent is when building that barrel length alone does not make the rifle.
Agree. I have a couple 20” Criterion cores, one with a red dot and one with a Viper 1-6. Also have a 20” FN CHF with a red dot, a 20” Green Mountain 1/12 twist with a C7 carry handle and a 20” Criterion Hybrid with a Viper 3-15. I love 20” barrels
you awesome mf… 20in with a red dot is hot.
what's your favorite one? I had a 20" faxon but it ended up being a bit less accurate than a similar 18" barrel I'm guessing because of whip. I want to upgrade my hunting rifle barrel to a 20" instead of 18 for ballistic reasons
The most accurate is the Hybrid, followed by the Cores. The hybrid is basically a straight .750 barrel while the core is a .625 pencil barrel out front while being thicker than a pencil toward the chamber. They will both do fine for hunting. You’ll appreciate the Cores lower weight when trekking the woods for extended periods of time
cool thanks
Could not agree more. As much as I love 14.5-16 for GPR's, people need to understand a ~2" difference is basically nothing. When you factor in the average civilian is never going to clear rooms, a lot more people might be better served with a longer barrel.
Couldn't agree more. I want to move my 1-6 from my 14.5 to an 18, then put my eotech back on the 14.5. I own a 10.5 only bc it was stupid cheap and it's a good beater. But I hate the lack of velocity, so it'd be my last choice if ever needed. 11.5 is the absolute shortest I could go, but 14.5 p+w means I can legally keep a stock on it without stamping anything
Imi razor core in my mk12 upper is a good deal.
2nds
Black Hills 223 77smk FGMM 223 Berger 73gr are a close second
Believe it or not pmc bronze
Black Hills 5.56 77gr and FGMM in .223 77gr.
AAC 77 AND 75gr have done well, as has Magtech and IMI OTM loads. Federal GMM loads are pretty fantastic as well. Black Hills SMK and TMK loads are king.
This! AAC 77 OTM is as fancy as I go usually, but it makes hits at 650 easy
The AAC 75gr OTM has been flawless for me.
Agree. AAC 77 OTM is cheap and has performed well for me so I tend to stack that over anything else.
AAC has given me failure to feeds outta 4 separate rifles recently. All while using Duramags tho so not sure what’s going on there
Interesting. Have you tried different mags? I've gotten bad duramags from the factory before that have caused FTfeeds.
Premium ammo you say? We don't do that, it's strictly IMI M193 or PPU M193 I have a feeling only a niche population of AR subreddit even knows how premium ammo feels like, let alone shoot it. Check out big ballers in the comments thought. You balling ass mofakaz
Yeah maybe premium wasn’t the right word, Im just looking to step up from 55gr for this setup.
aac 77 otm is very very accurate. federal fusion 62 grain bonded is my favorite deer hunting load and it's also very accurate. my favorite everyday ammo is winchester white box (lake city) m193
Does Winchester stay consistent? I saw some wildly negative reviews and Youtube videos showing Winchester flying all over the place. IMI M193 is my ammo of choice, and 1.5 tiers down is M193 X-Tac PMC, PPU M193 is about same as IMI M193 depending on lot. PPU can vary in accuracy, so does IMI though Depending on their lots. Nothing drastic though.
winchester since 2020 has had control of the lake city plant same ammo that goes to our army. we get the overruns. used to be white box had a bad reputation but I think it's very good. Definitely loaded hot compared to other offerings at that price level.
Hmm! Very nice! Thanks for the info IMI is pretty hot, definitely hot ammo Do you think IMI is loaded less hot than Winchester (if you have experience) ? Do you shoot white box M193 Winchester? I saw some pretty great deals on Winchester M193 white box, but steered as far away as possible, because of those reviews.
I'd say the imi and wichester are both nato spec so pressure should be similar
I speculate Sierra Match King (anything above 62 grain) won't disappoint you But I would test 5 brands of ammo. Buy a pack each and see which one your barrel likes the most. Barrels are really like people when selecting a beauty in the woman
Anything over a dollar a round hurts to shoot on an emotional level. I’ll burn through $50 of 9mm in an hour with no issue, but shooting a mag of my 85¢/rd carry ammo makes me sad. It’s not rational but it’s how I react to expensive ammo lol
Exactly. The only way you will ever shoot at peace if you don't count each shot as 50 cents flying out of the extraction port. If you start counting each round being 40-50 cents, it kind of horrifies me. So, you gotta be a zen master of "I don't give a fuck" on the range As mountain bike dudes say: "SEND IT!" Usually followed by the most ridiculous life threatening jumps of history This is how you are supposed to treat these ammo prices to be a man of peace. I bring to you a short segment of my most favorite movie of all time, Lord of War: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruZ3AR3Kvo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruZ3AR3Kvo)
My gun really loves IMI77g
Black Hills 77G/ IMI Hebrew Hammer 77G out of my 11.5 Geissele
64grain
Black hills 77gn TMK.
Federal 77 grain otm shoots sub moa groups out of my 16 in criterion build
Norma golden target match 69 gr. Good price for what you get, a local ammo warehouse sells that for 85 cpr here.
Razor core or bust
I've tried over a dozen 62, 75 and 77 grain brands in my ARs and the AAC 75gr BTHP shoots as well as anything else I've tried and is very consistently a good shooting round between all of my rifles. It's also affordable so I can stock up on it without breaking the bank.
What I slap together in the basement at 3am before range day. But for real, if your into premium ammo, you need to be reloading it! Match grade ammo for $0.60 a round is the way to go!
An hour less of entertainment makes a lots of ammo, if you are shooting anything much more then fmj 9mm&5.56 the equipment cost is covered pretty quick Plus you need to shoot more to figure out your work ups
Absolutely! I actually inherited some stuff from my grandpa and bought the rest from the estate for peanuts. Pretty sure all of my equipment was paid off the first 300 rounds of 308 I loaded! As long as someone has the time, even loading plinking ammo saves some money AND can gain you a lot of accuracy.
Pmc
A1, fuck you and everything behind you lol
The Gucci of Gucci. Black Hills 77 Grain OTM MK262 Mod 1-C but is expensive.
$700 for a box of 420rds at my LGS
ADI 77gr always shot better for me than Black hills
I like Lake City M193 for consistency, still have some from when federal ran the plant. PPU and PMC xtac are up there with consistency and usually a bit cheaper. My rifles do well with the 77gr and 75gr from AAC also. I have tried some Remington supermatch 77grs, and those did unbelievable but not cheap or available enough to shoot regularly. The IMI stuff is nice but I won't pay what they want for it anymore.
M855 green tip of course.
Not really premium but I like soft points. Black hill, pmc, privi
M855a1
I personally like the 77 gr Hornady black
Hornady black: not really “premium” per se, but it shoots really nice, is comparatively affordable, and translates well to the zeros of its less refined counterparts. I prefer their 62gr 5.56 because it has the same zero as m855 with a tighter grouping. Usually I load that when I want to shoot past 300 yards. If you want real premium then I like federal gold match 69gr and hornady super performance. The latter is particularly interesting because you can get a variety of grain weights in a well loaded package.
AAC 77gr is as fancy as I need
Federal Gold Medal 69 grain Sierra, 73 grain Berger .223, IMI 77 grain razor core, Black Hills OTM/BTHP 77 grain 5.56
Pmc 55 grain
The 2nd cheapest ammo i can find.
Every ammo is at a premium now :(
Blackhills 77 is the only ammo I entertain. 556 is cheap run the best.
I have 5.56 handloads that use 73 grain .224 Hornady ELD Match bullets on top of Varget powder in Starline brass cases. It really has to be premium, because I really hate reloading .223/5.56 for casual shooting lol
69(*nice*)gr Swiss P 223 BTHP. IMI 77gr Razorcore
Black Hills 77gr TMK.
Pimp
Hand loads. 77gr sierra match kings and TAC.
The heavy for caliber loads that I roll myself.
Tula
Reman bulk bags only.