223 Ballistic tip 40 gr shot only 20rds back in 2002
Shot in a 20 HBAR Bushmaster 1/9 twist
Ammo Seems well made and accurate

However I dont buy it and use mostly Black Hills Blue Box Now

ULTRAMAX has been around for a LONG TIME
I found that guys BLAME the AMMO
its the year 2007 COME ON

I've shot the 62 gr. Ultramax in:

a mid-length Armalite 1/9-  a couple hundred rounds without any significant issues

a carbine length Bushmaster barreled (RR lower) 1/7 - 100 rounds no problems

a rifle length gas system 16" Colt barreled (Bushmaster lower) - 50 rounds no problem

decent accuracy, certainly doesn't have the oomph of mil-spec loads...

300 rounds of 55 gr FMJ from my Bushmaster A2.
shoots ok, but I can by new ammo for about the same, or less, than these reloads.

It's all I ever used before I got BRD.  I shot a few thousand rounds back when I had mini 14 syndrome and it worked well in them but never shot any in a AR.

55 gr 150-round (?) pack from Dick's Sporting Goods.
RRA Entry Tactical.
Ammo seems to be clean and accurate.
However, I had total of 5 failures to fire. In all cases, primer had a normal deep strike.
The only reason I got that box - it was on sale, otherwise it costs almost as much as factory ammo.
Will not use it from now on, unless it will cost < 10 cents / round

I tried 1 box each of .45ACP, .44 Mag, and .223. All were very dirty and loaded very light/slow. Didn’t have any accuracy or function issues with the stuff I shot, but I was not happy enough with it to purchase anymore. They were fired from a Kimber TLE, S&W 629 Mountain Backpacker, and one of the original Carbon 15 rifles.
At our local range we have seen several issues and no longer allow it for class use. Twice I have seen squibs with the handgun ammo, and once with a .223, that required us to pound the bullets out with a cleaning rod. At this time I can't recall the make and model of the firearms.
On top of that Ultramax ammo was responsible for a kaboom in James Yeager’s personal rifle. He lent out his custom built SLR15 to one of his students not knowing that he was using Ultramax ammo. The student needed to borrow the rifle due to a stuck case in his own rifle (also Ultramax).
Ultramax did take responsibility and settle up with him. But I still can’t bring myself to use it or recommend it to anyone.
I know you are looking for firsthand accounts, and I was not personally present for the incident with Yeager’s rifle, but I was helping out at SLR15 rifles during that time period.

I have fired a fair amount of it in my AR, mini-14, and handguns.  I like it real well for the price.  

I've shot a little over 150 rounds of it so far (the Dick's SG 150-rd 55gr value packs for $30 each - a little over 20 cents/rd after tax), and it performs exactly the same for me as the Winchester value packs from Wal-mart.  I get about 1 MOA or better from my 20" 1/9 twist DPMS chrome-lined upper.  Also works fine in my 16" CAR, but I haven't taken the time to shoot at paper with it yet to see how well it works - just cans and fun targets.  I have had no failures of any kind with this ammo (55-gr, 150-rd value packs).  I recently bought another 300 rounds and have it loaded in mags ready to go.

Side note: I joined Dick's "Score Card" program, and I've almost got enough points to get a $10 gift certificate for more ammo.  

Why is it that of the 9 people who have posted, all have great reports, only two have had even minor problems (dirty, slow complaint and a few failures to fire), but 8 people have voted that they had MAJOR problems with NO comments posted?  Me thinks we have some trolls aboard this ship, mateys.  


ETA:
I just sighted in my new 3-12X Barska scope with Ultramax 55-gr FMJ rounds from a Dick's Sporting Goods 150-rd bulk pack.  I achieve 2 MOA grouping (two inch diameter pattern with absolutely no "flyers" at 100 yards) consistently with 10 shots and better than 1 MOA (about a 1/2" group) with 3-shot patterns (usually three holes almost touching).  I had previously thought this was the defacto method of finding out how precise your shooting was, then I read the stickied post about 10-shot groups.    I did this with my DPMS 20" chrome-lined barrel, lying prone, and using my Harris bipod.  I have standard handguards (no free float), and a heavy, fluted barrel that was cryoaccurized by DPMS, by the way.

To see if it was better or worse than other brands, I bought two 20-rd boxes of Remington 55-gr FMJ .223 from Walmart ($5/20) and shot at a target placed beside my Ultramax bullet-riddled target.  The point of impact was shifted 2 inches high and 2 inches to the left from the Ultramax zero, but it grouped almost exactly the same as the Ultramax (a little under 2 inches diameter pattern for 10 shots at 100 yards).  I would have tried my WWB (Walmart Winchester white box value pack) ammo as well, but I am hoarding it until I can find more, and I'm down to 90 rounds.  

Given that I can get 5 Ultramax rounds for the price of 4 Remington rounds (20 cents versus 25 cents per round), I am going to keep using the Ultramax that I get in 150-rd value packs.  It's certainly not the highest quality ammo there is, but I have now run through about 300 rounds of it with zero problems and get better than decent accuracy from my rifle with it.  Keeping all 10 shots in the 2" black square in my sight-in target at 100 yards and all 10 in one tight quarter-sized hole centered on the bulls-eye at 50 yards every time is about all I could ask for in precision with my non-precision build and my non-precise shooting method.

I've got to read more about sighting-in, though, to figure out why my zero point goes UP about 2.5 inches from 50 to 100 yards.  The 5.56mm trajectory is weird, to say the least.

I have not had any problems with it.  I probably ran about 1000 rounds of 55gr FMJ total.

It was kind of expensive though, and I personally think there are better options for the price.

I have used this ammo many times. Not the best accuracy wise but hey, its cheap and I dont feel that it is underpowered like wolf. As mentioned earlier, you definetly have to inspect all of the rounds before shooting. I have had a few peculiar cartridges (flat spots, shallow seating) where I was puzzled that they made them through QC.

.223 55gr soft point had failure to extract due to case head seperation

I've shot 100 of the 52 gr. hollow point and it was very accurate.  I achieved 1 inch groups out of my LMT 16 incher. The brass was in great shape and has seen several reloads from myself as well.  ETA:  It was Lake City brass

I'm not buying it now because Sportsman's Warehouse thinks it is worth more than Black Hills bluebox.  

My department uses Ultramax for practice ammo.  I have gone about 1K of the stuff with no problems.  I have heard some bad about it, but nothing first hand.

I've shot Ultramax .308 168grn BTHP with a Savage 12FVSS and it was driving tacks. Very consistant loads and dependable accuracy.

I have gone through one box of 50 and another 10 rounds of UM 75 Heavy Match in a comparison between the heavier bullets comercially available.

As fasr as my gun is concerned, this is good stuff. It grouped better then 69g Black Hills Blue Box, 73g Black Hills Blue box Berger, and 77g Black Hills Red box. This cartriage produced 3 ten shot groups equal to the best 10 shots groups with 55 g Black Hills Blue Box (and significantly better than the average 55g BH BB 10 shot groups).

It went back on sale again at Dick's and I just got my Dick's SG Platinum rewards Mastercard too ($10 off first purchase and $10 gift certificates for every $300 spent anywhere).  I just bought 150 rounds for $20.  Looks better (by a long shot) than my Rem UMC I just bought at Walmart - OAL is very consistent and no dings at all, whereas the REM UMC 55-gr FMJ/MC is always a crap shoot as far as bullet seating (sometimes you can see the cannelure well above the top of the case, and sometimes it's set so deeply that you see none of it at all on Rem UMC 55-gr).  I guess thanks to my rewards card and the sale prices on again, I'm back on the Ultramax wagon.  

I already have enough reward points to get another $10 gift certificate from previous "score card" purchases, but I have to wait up to 60 days for the cxertificate to show up in the mail (that's what their site says anyway - 60 days  ).

This new box has all LC brass w/dates from 01 to 04 and a single LC 95 in there.  Usually they are mostly LC 0-something and have a few Federal brass thrown in too, but this is all LC.

I just purchased from Dick's Sporting goods 9mm 125 gr Nose Lead, 45 ACP 230 Gr NL, .223 rem 55Gr FMJ JKT.

The 45 ACP fired perfectly with no failures and with good "plinking" accuracy out of my Kimber tactical Pro II ( @+ inches) and XD 45 ACP service model (3.5+ Inches).  It did not feed well in my Wilson combat CQB at all.  This gun does not like cheap ammo of any kind.

My Beretta Elite II had no problems and the accuracy was great, similar to the Federal Hydra shock at 15 yards (sub 2 inches).  The Bersa thunder had no failures but the accuracy was 5+" inches at 15 yards and many flyer's.

My S&W M&PT AR (1-9 chrome twist 16" Barrel) had no failures of any kind with 1 moa at 100 yards (EOTech 551 with Aimpoint 3 Magnifier.  Overall, a great value so far, I will be putting 150 rounds of each caliber tomorrow at the range, before I start loading my mags.

Stag Lefty 20" 1 in 9
55gr SP
500 rounds
no ftf
no squibs
no problems
Works great for killing pigs

What are these places you are talking about that give you points for buying ammo and reward you for that.  I want some rewards for buying ammo.

www.dickssportinggoods.com

www.mydickssportinggoods.com

Once you get past the name, it's mostly a yuppie place for kayakking/hiking and baseball/basketball, but they do have a semi-decent (think somewhere about the level of Wal-mart) shooting/hunting section too.  They have .223 hunting ammo (expensive) and Ultramax .223 55-gr FMJ blasting ammo plus all kinds of shotgun shells and pistol ammo too.  They have decent prices, but they usually only get worth the trip there when the ammo goes on sale.  I see sales about one to two times per month that last about a week.

Once you apply for the Platinum Rewards Mastercard (in the store is the only place to apply) and get approved instantly, they print you out a receipt with a temporary account number on it to buy stuff right then until your real card comes in the mail.  You get $10 off your first purchase using the paper receipt card thingy.  THEN, you get another $10 off in the form of a certificate in with your card when it comes, but it's only good for about a month.  Both $10 off rewards have no minimum to spend listed on them, so I guess you can get $10 worth of ammo and get it totally free.  After that point, whatever you spend in the store gets you 2 points per dollar.  Putting anything else on the card at anywhere that accepts Mastercard gets you 1 point per dollar.  300 points at the end of the month gets you another $10 certificate.  

Spend $600-900 per month on gasoline and groceries and put it on the card like I plan to start doing (just got the card and am switching it out for my main spending card), and you get $20-30 free in the store per month.  That's about 150 rounds of Ultramax .223 55-gr FMJ in one bulk box for $30 that I get totally free each month.  When I get more .223 stocked up than I care to shoot or want to store, or if I get tired of Ultramax, I'll start buying other kinds of ammo or gun accessories (scopes, flip-up scope covers, rings, gun safes, etc.) with the rewards.

Sorry to put this in the review thread, but I was just answering the Q posed above.  

ETA: There was nowhere on the credit application to say I wanted a card for my wife too, so I called GE World Bank (card issuer) and asked to get her a card as well.  When they sent her card, it came with ANOTHER $10 off coupon with her name on it.  We each just went through the checkout at Dick's and got a box of pistol ammo (her .38 special for her revolver and my 9mm - both Rem UMC) for free!

I shot around 200 rounds but I have a bunch more and plan to buy alot more so I will update as I shoot more of it.

I bought .223 55gr FMJ which I shot out of a Bushy M4 14.5" 1/9 twist.

The rounds worked flawlessly, every round went bang, no FTE, FTF or any problems at all.

Ultramax uses pretty much all Nato brass and most of it being Lake City which makes me happy.

It's not the most accurate ammo in the world but for range work it is more than good enough for me.  I don't shoot for groups anyway.


UPDATE: 1/18/07
I have shot about another 500rds of the 55gr Ultramax  through my Bushy 14.5" 1/9 and again every round went bang without a single problem.  So total I have shot just under a 1,000rds of it and not one failure.  I'm very happy so far with the ammo and will definetly continue to use it.

This brand gets some bad things repeated about it, but it is always "heard" not experienced.    The owner is a former Black Hills person and does pretty much a copy cat operation.  I have shot 1000's of rounds in .223 and 9mm since I discovered the brand in the early 90's.  I have found it to be clean and accurate.

One thing that is true, ammo loaded in like 02 or 03 had some bad primers (fail to fire). Due to this they switched to CCI primers and have been very good since.  The brass colored primers are the old ones, silver are CCI and very relaible..... How do I know?  I asked them!

Shot about 150 rounds of Ultramax 55gr. FMJ out of my DPMS 16". Slow fire, started with a clean gun.

Towards the end of the 3rd box I had a failure to extract due to case head separation. Case broke in a clean circle about 1/2 inch up from the rim. It was Lake City brass.

Other than that it seemed consistantly (if a bit light) powered across 3 boxes of ammo and as accurate as anything else i've shot. (still working with the iron sights here. saving up for a Leupold Mk 4.)

All in all I think I would not buy this ammo again unless the price was very good. I think with a little research its easy enough to get better quality ammo at an equal or better price.

Shot 300 rounds of UltraMax 52 grain HP for 100 yd target shooting.
Not a single problem and comparing with BlackHills blue box 52 grain HP, I didn't see any difference in accuracy or overall performance.

If price is right, I would buy again for practices.

Originally Posted By cckw: One thing that is true, ammo loaded in like 02 or 03 had some bad primers (fail to fire). Due to this they switched to CCI primers and have been very good since.  The brass colored primers are the old ones, silver are CCI and very relaible..... How do I know?  I asked them!

By the way, the guy behind the counter at Dick's Sporting Goods just tried to sell me a box with the brass-colored primers (it's on sale again for $29.95/150, and I had $20 in reward certificates, so it cost me $9.95/150).  I asked for a different box instead, and it had the silver CCI primers.  It seems they don't rotate their stock, and they still have a few boxes of the old stuff on the shelf with the new.

If this shoots as well as the last three 150-rd boxes, I'll be very happy.

Has anyone chronoed the 55 gr .223 ammo out of a 16" barrel?

Thanks

NMS

Originally Posted By NMS: Has anyone chronoed the 55 gr .223 ammo out of a 16" barrel? Thanks NMS

Sportsman's Guide has the following (no mention of barrel length, so I assume it's a 20"er):

Muzzle Velocity is 3060 F.P.S., Muzzle Energy is 1144 Ft.-Lbs

www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=738

I have shot the Ultramax 55g from my RRA 16" moly. I'm going to say it's been approximately 400 or so rounds, without one hiccup or problem. I pull the trigger, it goes bang, repeat process.

Shot about 450 rounds today, 16" DPMS M4gery with no hiccups or failures.  Thumbs up.

                           It  has  been  several  months  since  I  shot  a  couple  boxes(100  rds)  of  UltraMax  55  grain. Shot  sitting  rapid  fire  with  my  Olympic  2005  shorty. Was  Impressed  with  tight  groups  and  NO  porbles  at  all  with   this  ammo. Good  to   get  that  info  about  using  white  CCI  primered  Ultramax  ammo  just  in  case! Would  buy  this  ammo a gain.

I recently bought a 150 round box on sale just to try out, these are the results:

Accuracy: shot about 2-3 MOA out of a RRA 16" 1/9 M4 cut barrelled carbine.

Reliability: every round fired and extracted perfectly and they were bright and shiny all going into the rifle.

Overall:  I'd rate it highly for practice M193 (but probably at a low velocity) and it could be used dependly for SHTF in the same class as Wolf

Back before I reloaded I bought about 300 rounds of 55 gr FMJ Ultramax for 100 yard Highpower practice and it worked very well.  About 1.5 MOA out of a NM RRA and no function problems at all.

Bought 2 150 round boxes on sale Friday after Thanksgiving at Dick's. Noticed that all of the primers were silver as apposed to the brass colored ones that engineer2001 mentioned. No problems and it work well in my Bushy M4gery. I will only buy again when it is on sale though. The regular price at Dick's is around 26 cents each.

I've only fired approx. 500 rounds of Ultramax .223 55g FMJ through my 16" AR, but I haven't experienced anything that I felt was overwhelmingly negative about the ammo.  It's no dirtier than Wolf and seemed as accurate as I can be, which isn't saying much.

The only bad thing I can think of is that it's not as cheap as I would expect considering that it's reloaded and loosely packed.  Mabye the stores are jacking the price up to maximize their profits, however.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it again if the price was right.  I certainly wouldn't tell someone else to not buy a pack.

Originally Posted By 1badf350: I have shot the Ultramax 55g from my RRA 16" moly. I'm going to say it's been approximately 400 or so rounds, without one hiccup or problem. I pull the trigger, it goes bang, repeat process.

Same gun and round count for me too.  No problems.  

Savage 10 fp .308.  168 match. Sorry no .223.

Grouped better @ 500 yds than fgmm. 4" or better.

Seemed fine for me & can't beat the price

2k rounds downrange in the last 3 months, no hiccups.  Does its job better than I do mine, on the same equipment.  h.gif

copy/paste from another thread since this is the official Ultramax thread...

Their QC is pretty bad. Just make sure you have a bullet puller if you buy a box. I bought 250 rounds on a lark one day and then searched the Web for reviews... I saw that some people had problems with it. I got my scale out and individually weighed each round. I have probably 35 rejects for weighing a bit too much. I'll just pull them down and use them for other ammo when I get around to it. I've shot some of the regular stuff that passed the weigh-in and it's been fine.

I bought 4 150 round value packs (55gr FMJ). I've shot about 400 rounds through my RRA Middy with no problems at all. My buddy shot around 300 rounds through his BM CAR with no problems at all either. I need to go and buy Dick's out!

This is from the Ultramax website.  Also stated on all of the boxes of .223 55gr I have bought states that they use Winchester bullets, Accurate powder and I forget the primer but it is a top name company.  Also all most all of the .223 brass is 5.56 NATO such as LC and Winchester.  So they do use very good componets and as I posted earlier I have recently been shooting a good bit of it without a single failure


Ultramax 10 Step Quality Assurance System

1. Ultramax machine inspects all previously fired cartridge cases for flaws. Case inspection machines are fully automatic and perform several critical functions. All cases are probed for any foreign objects and pressure tested for cracks or dents. Spent primers are removed, flash holes are cleared of any foreign material, primer pockets are probed for flaws, and finally, primer pockets are reamed to insure compatibility with any new commercial primer.

2. Ultramax liquid washes all previously fired cartridge cases after they have been processed through the case inspection machines to insure the cases, primer pockets and flash holes are clean and devoid of any foreign material. All cases are then tumble dried to a high-luster finish.

3. Ultramax roll sizes all previously fired cartridge cases to meet S.A.A.M.I. specification on new cartridge cases. Roll Sizing is the only method available to insure that the previously fired cartridge cases are sized down to the rim of the case. This results in flawless functioning in semiautomatics and perfect chambering in revolvers.

4. Ultramax selects the optimum powder charges for each caliber and bullet type of ammunition after testing hundreds of loads for accuracy, velocity and pressure.

5. Ultramax selects powders for each type of ammunition that fill cartridge cases as close to capacity as possible. This step makes double or over-charges impossible.

6. Ultramax loads all ammunition on fully automatic loading machines which are preset to S.A.A.M.I. specifications for priming depth, pressure and overall cartridge length.

7. All loading machines are equipped with state of the art electronic safety switches to insure powder charge accuracy to within a half grain of powder. If the powder charge is not within specifications, the switch will automatically shut off the loading machine and will indicate a powder charge problem has occurred. We check all safety switches three times per day for switch failure.

8. Ultramax has our own indoor underground range for testing. We test fire samples prior to starting a production run of ammunition, and every run is tested daily. Any change in powder lot numbers or primer type is tested before continuing the production run. Random samples are tested with the targets, chronograph and pressure gauge results retained as permanent records.

9. We require that all ammunition pass a thorough visual inspection process, which includes 100% chamber size testing to ensure proper chambering.

10. Finally, lot numbers are assigned to each production run to identify the following: date ammunition was loaded, person who loaded the ammunition, machine used to load the ammunition, powder type, primer type, bullet loaded and inspector who approved the ammunition. This lot number appears on each individual box of ammunition and the case pack.

Bought a box of 52 gr .233 JHP ultramax. Fired a few rounds from a bolt action rifle. One case separated in two in the chamber upon firing. Another round from the same box of ammo hung up in the breech while feeding, and the bullet pushed all the way into the case. This allowed powder to spill out around the bullet and made a mess in my chamber and breech. I will not use this brand again.

Have steered clear of this ammo in the past, but for the most part first hand experence seems to make this ammo out to be a good deal, especially when on sale. Will get a couple of boxes and try it myself. Thanks.

Bought 1 box of 55 grn fmj when it was $11.38 for a box of 50,had the brass looking rem primers and it gave no malfunctions in a Mini14 but was very dirty,just resized the cases lastnight and some had problems in the shoulders as being weak and buckled,lots had big dents which i was hoping would come out during the process but didnt so,I just threw it all in the i dont care scrap bucket.Doubt i will use it for reloading brass.

I've shot ~60 rounds of their 223 50GR Nosler B-Tips through my 20" WOA upper with out any problems. Last weekend I fired six, 5 shot groups and one, 10 shot group all at 100 yards. Four of the 5 shot groups went into the 5's and one into the 6's. The 10 shot group was under 3/4". This has been the most accutate factory ammo I've shot yet.

John

Well, I just bought two cases. So that should answer the question as to whether or not I like it. No problems, and decent accuracy. As I recall I've shot some 1.25" groups at 100yd. Regardless, it's consistent and I don't think it ever shot larger than a 2" group.

Most of the time I'm shooting out of a RRA 16". I suppose I have bought about 400 rounds of this particular ammo in the past few years. And as I recall, mostly 55gr SP. But some FMJ too. And that's what I bought again. 1k 55gr FMJ, 1k 55gr SP.

It was the only cheap stuff I could find in town. Two cases for $265 each. WWB is outrageous around here. Average around $10 for a box of twenty.

I don't know how it looks on the chrony, next time I'm out on the farm I'll try to remember to take my chronograph and post the data here. I know Ultramax's website says 3000fps.

I'm posting this again in the proper place for it.  And yes I've already had people offer to take it off my hands...

After reading the other posts here I will identify my batch as having brass colored primers, and *most* of the brass is Lake City 01-04, mixed in are some wcc 04 and also some more that have only the nato circle-cross head stamp marked 04.



I've got about 140 of 150 rounds left of a box of Ultramax .223 FMJ 55 grain I purchased last year at Dick's. I pretty much refuse to shoot the rest of what I have...

MOST of the cratridges are dinged in one way or another. Half of the cases show some sort of crimp mark on the neck right around where it meets the actual bullet. Also consider that the standard deviation for the bullet seating is roughly .5mm. That is to say that some bullets are seated in their case past the cannelure, and some have the cannelure sitting above the neck of the casing. EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM is loaded HALF full of powder. When I shake one round at a time there is an obviously large dead space in there and I can hear and feel the powder bouncing back and forth (compared to Federal, Radway SS-109, and Remington I've never felt a round with so little powder in it...). This resulted in a brief full auto operation of my M17S as the hammer was not being driven back far enough to lock in the sear. Despite the laughs, I almost got kicked off of a county owned range when it happened so it wasn't actually all that funny... True quote from a guy 9 lanes down: "Hey Bob, it sounds like he's got an Uzi down there!"

I sent Ultramax an email about it and to their credit I got this response:
************
I apologize that you have experienced this incident. We take great
measures to produce quality ammunition. We do load to SAMMI specs, but
to the lower end of the spectrum because it is remanufactured
ammunition. We would like to get the ammunition back and do testing on
the ammunition. We could replace the ammunition with new ammunition.
If the range officer you are referring to could contact us as well, we
would be happy to exchange his ammunition as well. If you elect to
swap out the ammunition, please let me know your name and address so
that I may issue a call tag for the return.

Thank you,
(name withheld out of politeness),
Manager
************

While I appreciate the offer to replace, I don't feel like wasting my time to send back what I have, only to get some more half loaded ammo seated too deeply in the case. My advice to you would be to avoid this stuff as it's either an accident or kablammo waiting to happen.

*edit:
I guess now that I think about it, the deeply seated rounds probably aren't a problem considering the lack of powder, either way I still don't trust it...

I've never had a single problem 55gr, fmj, 62 gr hollow point in my AR180 I dont know why but the 62 shoots as good as the 55. Also use their 44 mag reloads never a problem. 1000 rds 223, 500 rds 44 mag.

My Local Dick's just got some in for $40 for the 150 pack......What does eveyone think about this price now?  

Originally Posted By fighter443: My Local Dick's just got some in for $40 for the 150 pack......What does eveyone think about this price now?

It stinks (the price).  However, I get the stuff for free.  I use the Dick's Sporting Goods Platinum Rewards Mastercard, and I get about $40 free (a points certificate good at any Dick's SG) each month.  I rarely have time to shoot 150 rounds each month, so I've branched out into getting scopes and other stuff free too.  That way, the ammo doesn't pile up too deeply.  

I've now shot over 1500 rounds of the 150-rd 55grn FMJ bulk packs.  Not one dud or malfunction in my DPMS 20" rifle or my home-grown franken-carbines.  It all went boom, and it all went downrange.  With the DPMS, I get as good of accuracy as I do with any other ammo I have tried (~3-4 MOA 10-shot groups), and better than with Remington ammo from Walmart.  I think it's good stuff, but I'd probably look elsewhere for plinking ammo if I had to actually pay $40 plus tax for 150 rounds.