Cheap bulk fmj bullet accuracy question

[beex215]

i want to mass produce for the ar15 and im thinking i wont get the best possible accuracy with bulk fmj's such as armscor, hornady, win 1000 packs. i understand that there are powder differences and loads, with that noted, what could you typically expect with these types of bullets in moa at 100 yards? what do you get? which brand is the best performing while still being under 10 cents a piece?

[Greg S]

Of the four I've tried, Hornady, Speer, PPU and IMI, Hornady and IMI were the best but IMI availability of components is hit or miss.

[Bohica793]

Funny you should ask. I load the Hornady 55gr bulk packaged rounds on top of 25gr of AA2230 for my AR (which, btw, was built with all the low cost parts / on sale items I could find including a $99 Green Mountain 16" barrel). I put 3 out of 5 rounds through the same hole this past Saturday morning and overall, a <1 inch group at 100 yds.

If you sort the rounds by weight, visually inspect for defects and perform your due diligence with the rest of your loading process, they should perform as well as just about anything for the average to above average shooter. No, they will not be suited for the professional snipers out there, but they are "good enough".

[Bonz]

I prefer the Hornady 55grain FMJ-BT with cannelure

[goryshaw]

Go to Nosler's Shootersproshop site and get factory overruns or blems for a couple pennies more and you'll have something that will definitely shoot as well as your rifle. I just picked up 1k 52 gr Custom Competition for $141 shipped a couple weeks ago. You need to check in often as selection varies on a daily basis.

(Edit - they have 55 gr Ballistic Tips 16.45 / 100, 55 gr SP 9.99 / 100, 40 gr Varmageddon HP 12.95 / 100 and 52 gr Custom Comps 12.95 / 100 currently available in blems; 69 gr and 77 gr Custom Comps 39.95 / 250 and 50 gr Ballistic Tips 170.95 / 1000 in factory overruns)

http://www.shootersproshop.com/

Greg Shaw

[runfiverun]

hornady 55 gr bt's with cannelure and 24.5 grs of the aa-2230 here.
it's a 2" round out of the plain jane ar's bout the same as my cast loads are, only a little faster.
the hornady's shoot better than most of the other fmj's.
the mid-way dog town bullets are also a good bulk choice.

[mongoose33]

I think you can expect a couple MOA, maybe up to three MOA. If you take the time to sort through them by weight and such, you might do better (see Bohica's post above). I was able to do quarter-sized groups at 100 yards through my M4, but that was using VMax bullets, not the generic FMJ 55gr you can buy in bulk.

[osteodoc08]

2-3 MOA has been my experience and for blasting ammo, that's just fine.

For my "accurate" loads, I use bulk pack Hornady V-Max bullets. Using care and good technique they average well under 1 MOA

[dudel]

I've had zero problems and good accuracy from the Hornady bulk 55gr FMJBT with cannelure. 1-2 inch groups at 100 yrds depending on how I'm doing that particular day.

Midsouth sells them in 250 round bags, Midway breaks them down 100/plastic box (Dogtown?). I get them whenever they are on sale. They also do very well in my 223 Handi and Contender.

Why would you expect Hornady, Win or Armscor to put their name on a bad bullet?

How good is the AR you plan on putting these through?

[Big Boomer]

I have an early Ruger Mini-14 and as most know, it is not what is known as a "tack driver." Using Win. 55 gr. fmjbt, it has never produced bragging groups. Usually about 3 to 4" off sandbags at 100 yds. However, I tried a 52 gr. Nosler soft point (exposed lead) flat-based bullet and for 3-shot groups, it would do less than 1" at the same distance with a 4X12 scope on 12X. 5-shot groups would heat up the barrel and groups would spread to almost 3". I've about given up on fmj bullets in the Mini, though I have a bunch loaded and plenty on hand "just in case." Big Boomer

[beex215]

good to know guys. hornady seems to get alot of praise. maybe that will be my next buy. i also never said that they had bad bullets, its just that most companies produce an "economy line" of product. i just wasnt expecting these to be on the same level as a/v max, vld, smk bullets that are fairly price adjusted. the more premium stuff or match.

i have a psa 16in carbine 1/7 twist fyi.

[plainsman456]

I did this same thing but with rem.fmj and some managed to hit the target sideways.

Some not at all.

Although not all of them were junk some did a good job on targets at 100 yds.

[Landshark9025]

The Midway USA Dogtown are actually Nosler Varmegeddon. Likely seconds I assume. I have used them with good success for sub 1" @100 yards with Varget.
I did get better results with Varmegeddon tipped, but not much. 3/4" is about all I am good for.
For blasting, I prefer the Hornady 55g SP. I have gotten better results from the SP than FMJ-BT. A little more difficult to load as the base is flat, but that is ok. I can get consistent 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 with these with Varget also.
$.10 a piece here http://www.natchezss.com/phtradvar-22-cal-224-dia-55-gr-sp-cann-100-ct-134174.html

The above is with a bone stock LE6920 and Nikon Buckmaster 3-9x40 with middle aged eyes.

[runfiverun]

measure the diameter on those remingtons.
I got a 'good buy' on a thousand 500-plus of them...... once.
I give them to the kids when they are just gonna blow through 20 magazines of ammo in 5 minutes.

[David2011]

The bargain basement generic and allegedly mil-spec bullets have performed as Dudel and Osteodoc8 said; 2-3 moa at 100 yd. I just loaded up a test run of Vietnam era M93 bullets last week and tested them. The boxes are marked M193 Winchester-Olin. The same AR-15 rifle with the same LC brass, same Win748 powder charge, same CCI primer and a premium SMK bullet, don't even change the seating die, will make connected holes at 100 yd. For plinking or insurrection type emergencies, 3" groups are plenty good. I'll load every last one of 'em and put 'em on stripper clips.

David

[rockshooter]

I've managed 3/4" at 200 yds with the Horn 55-gr softpoint flat base and 748. I've never been impressed with any of the fmjbt, and the armscor are the worse.
Loren

[LynC2]

The Hornady FMJ's will clean the 100 yd high power target all day long with a high x count from my experience in my AR-15 match rifle. I would say that qualifies as good enough accuracy for a lot of us. Of course for more serious applications I prefer the match grade bullets. :-)

[yovinny]

i have a psa 16in carbine 1/7 twist fyi.

You really need to try them out for yourself, as every barrel is different.
That said, I never found 'good' accuracy with the light (sub 60gr) bullets in either of the fast 1:7 twist barreled rifles I had. (Eagle AR-a2 & Win 70 VHB) About 2.5-3moa was tops, though they both shot sub moa with the heavier 68-69gr bullets.

Cheers, YV

[Digital Dan]

Beex216, try doing a google search for Everglades Ammo.

[leadman]

I tried the fmj hornady and the hornady SP, both 55 gr. The SP is definitely more accurate. In my Contender 23" bull barrel they shoot less than moa all the time. In my AR they run about 1 1/2".
The FMJ run about 2" to 3". For a little more money than the fmj I can also use the SP for varmint hunting.
The Armscor were not very accurate at all.

[Love Life]

They (hornady FMJ) do 2-3 MOA in my 2-3 MOA AR.

They do 1 MOA or under in my Remington 700. I used to turn jack rabbits inside out with them.

[Cherokee]

Hornady, I prefer the 55 JSP but the FMJ is almost as good in my Mini14 and AR's. Did I mention that everything else inbulk (not match stuff) was poor, Hornady is the way to go.

[trixter]

I prefer the Hornady 55grain FMJ-BT with cannelure

Yup, me too. Still figuring scope position and getting good results, These bullets are very easy to load too. My Pro 2000 loves them.

[Shiloh]

It's a **** shoot.

Ive had bulk bullets that shot acceptably, and others that weren't. I was told of a batch of dirt cheap bullerts back in the 90's
that were one rejected by commercial military ammo manufacturers.

The commercial name brand bullets are a safe bet. I have had great success with Hornady bulk FMJ with and without cannelure.

Shiloh

[Artful]

I've never had a FMJ outshoot a SP or HP design - bulk or not

[W.R.Buchanan]

I bought one of the 6000 round boxes of Hornady 55gr FMJBT's. They shoot as well as anything in my carbines. I don't expect MOA accuracy from these guns as all of them have Red Dot Sights on them and nonce of them are noted for being super accurate rifles. However for some reason I pretty much always seem to hit what I'm shooting at.

I also shoot 147gr pulled bullets exclusively in my Ruger Scout and other .30cal rifles. These bullets are consistently inside 1" at 100 yards. For my target usage I see no reason to search for other projectiles since the accuracy is there with this one.

I had one 500 meter Ram (Painted Pink) at the Piru Gun Range that I got 3 hits in a triangle pattern at 4.5"

These bullets cost me exactly 10 cents each.

What you need understand is the fact that bulk bullets are made exactly like every other bullet. They just made more of them, and rather than pay inventory tax the companies just dump them before Feb of each year packaged in bulk.

As I said earlier I got 6000 of the 55gr bullets (actually about 6050) in one large box which was shipped by USPS priority mail and weighed 55 lbs! About killed my Post Office guy when he brought it to the front door.

these bullets were .07 each, and the last recycled ones I bought were .09!

I see no reason to spend more on bullets you are going to shoot at paper or steel targets .

YMMV

Randy

[trixter]

I prefer the Hornady 55grain FMJ-BT with cannelure

That is what I've been using and love them.