Update 5/26/17:  Added data for 223 Speer GD 64 grain.

- 10.5" barrel:  Green Mountain 1:7, chrome lined.
- 16" barrel:  BCM 1:7 CHF, chrome lined.
- Chronograph:  CED M2 with start sensor 10' from the muzzle.  No problems with muzzle blast.
- Weather/location:  70 - 78 degrees temperature, clear, sunny day with a slight breeze, elevation of 457' ASL. 
- Etc:  All equipment and shooter under canopy with no direct sunshine on them.  Each ammunition string supplied by a 20 round magazine with seven shots per string to minimize barrel heating and ~ five seconds per shot per string.  All numbers provided by the chrono except energy, which was computed by an Excel tabulated data column referencing the chrono supplied data.

                                                                   -------- 10.5" --------- | --------- 16" ----------
                                                                                        Kinetic|                        Kinetic
                                                                  Avg Vel  SD     Energy | Avg Vel  SD     Energy

- Black Hills(new) 223 68 gr. hvy match HP---- 2253.1   25.2   766.4  |  2569    16.4   996.3
- Black Hills(reman) 223 75 gr. match HP------ 2250.3   16.8   843.2  |  2534    11.2   1069.2
- Speer 223 Gold Dot HP 55 grain--------------- 2612.7   14.9   833.5  |  2953.1  13.8   1064.8
- Speer 223 Gold Dot HP 64 grain--------------- 2297.3    23.6  747.5  |  2623.6  23.1    978.0
- Speer 223 Gold Dot HP 75 grain--------------- 2213.7   12.2   816.0  |  2504.7  10.7   1044.6
- GECO 556 55 gr. FMJ---------------------------- 2702.2   29     891.6  |  3053.6  20.9   1138.6
- Fed AE 556 XM 855 62 gr. penetrator-------- 2657.7   16.5   972.2  |  3021.4  15.8   1256.5
- IMI 556 55 gr.M193FMJ------------------------- 2672.7   25.3   872.2  |  3049.4  28.9   1135.4
- IMI 556 62 gr. M855 62 gr. penetrator------- 2637.3   18.5   957.4  |  2980.9  27.8   1223.1
- IMI 556 77 gr, OTM LR Mod 1------------------2448.9   18     1025.2 |  2729.4  10.7   1273.5

Thanks for doing this!

Also, really wish Speer loaded their 75gr Gold Dot to the same velocity as IWI loads their 77gr.

Agree and exactly what I said to myself after reviewing everything in a spreadsheet.  The good part is that Gold Dots are designed to expand in barrels down to 10", according to Speer (no FPS mentioned) and fragmentation of the 77 grain OTM may not happen at any kind of distance out of a short barrel and could act like a M855 and just make a tiny .22 caliber hole.  Sure does present a quandry for short barrels and the suspected reason I did not go less than 10.5" on my build.  I will most likely punt with the 55 grain GD for the pistol.  May get a bunch of GD 64 grain and test, although previously I did not see a need for an intermediate weight between 55 and 75.  Thinking...

Well, I just could not let the 10.5" barrel performance alone and ordered a bunch of 64 gr. GD.  Will test in a few weeks, as time permits, and add to this thread.

Awesome, asnI have a bunch of 64gr and so I look forward to your testing.

In terms of SBR performance, the 62gr Fusion apparently expands down to 1700fps, per testing from The Chopping Block.

Nice to know about Fusion.  I have read several places Fusion and GD use the same technology.  Do not know how accurate this statement is as I have not examined both together.  But the web sites allude to similar processes.  Fusion is marketed for hunting and GD for law enforcement.  Since Speer says the Gold Dot expands out of a 10" barrel to 200 yards, that seems pretty good to me.  My guess is expansion can happen below 1700 FPS if a GD out of a 10" barrel can still expand to some extend at 200 yards.  Pretty darn good performance.

Fusion MSR is one of my go to's for short barrels. I got 2515fps over 20 shots from a 10.5" Noveske CHF barrel. The MSR version IS faster than Fusion.

I recently chrono'd some 64gr gold dot out of that Noveske barrel and was a bit disappointed that a 10 shot string gave me a 2344fps average. Not horrible but I'm not sure I'd rely on a 200yd shot expanding.

Your IMI 77gr is right in line with what I've gotten in the past in that same 10.5" Noveske.

Thanks for the tip.  I have seen quite a few folks on AR15.com recommend Fusion.  If MSR would give me another 150 FPS and held a tight group like GDs, I would stock up on it when on sale for the pistol.  Federal's on-line data I found does not stipulate barrel length with all of the very useful data they publish and specify MSR for use in 16" - 20" barrels.  Speer lists their GD data fired from a 24" barrel.

I pay $10 delivered + tax for 223 GDs in any weight and like them a lot in my carbines.  All of my ARs shoot any quality cartridges I have tried, 223 or 556, in relatively small, consistent groups.  If I could get good, flashed suppressed pistol powder (ball preferably), I would just load my own cartridges for the pistol.

I traveled out of town all day today in my truck and stopped at a Cabela's (web site showed 223 Fusion MSR on sale), Gander Mountain (going out of business but still well stocked) and Wal-mart (web site states item no longer stocked) to no avail.  So it appears I will not be testing 223 Fusion MSR this weekend when I do the 64 grain GDs.

I'm retesting MSR soon, along with 37-38 other loads that I've been stocking up on...including 3 flavors of GD's. The tests will be from 10.5, 11.5, 12.5 and 14.5 barrels. --All results will be posted to the ammo forum of course!

I was going to do all the 10.5 testing last weekend but it was cold and rainy in my AO. I'm shooting for temps around 70 and not too humid. This weekend looks better so I've got a decent chance of getting it all in.

ETA: 64gr GD's relatively weak fps didn't stop me from putting back a couple cases, with more in the future I'm sure! $500 a case shipped (from PSA) is a killer deal for top shelf bonded defensive ammo.

Looked up my Fusion vs Fusion MSR numbers.

Fusion: 2355fps (10 shot avg)
MSR: 2515fps (20 shot avg)

In my barrel, fusion was pretty darn close to 64gr GD. MSR appears to be better than both (by a long shot) in the velocity department.

I looked at two more sporting goods stores yesterday and have yet to find Fusion MSR in 223 so did not chrono it.  I did find Fusion in 223 and Fed AE MSR (probably just marketing is my guess but did not purchase and chrono).  Chronoed the Speer 64 Gold Dot today and was disappointed.  Both the Speer GD 55 grain and 75 grain have better energy through the chrono in the 10.5" barrel and 16" barrel.  Edited my original post and added the GD 64.

Wow, you got even less velocity than I did with the 64gr GD.

Still planning on doing my tests from a 10.5" barrel on Sunday and will have the thread up on either Sunday night or Monday with all my results.

In the meantime, I found a link to the official test data for the GD rounds. Hit this link, select rifle and scroll down a bit. There's links to FBI protocol testing and ballistics charts for all three GD loadings. Click to compare them all and you'll get side by side results.

Of particular note to me are the velocity discrepancies. They list a 24" barrel used for the tests but velocities are well below their published numbers. Also through safety glass, the 55 & 64gr don't do so hot.

Yep, I am familiar with their web site.  Excellent data.  I have two boxes of these- one for my 10.5" truck gun and one for the carbine:  [url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVDFSQ0?tag=arfcom00-20]MTM box.  Three rows of five each Magpul G3-20 magazines.  Includes one row of Speer GD-75 (primary), one row of IMI OTM LR Mod 1 (secondary) and one row of IMI M855 (just in case).  Have been rethinking[/url] the IMI M855 with my chrono results and intended usage and think I will replace with IMI M193 in both boxes.

Edit:  Darn link stuff.  I have more trouble on this web site...  Still learning I guess.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVDFSQ0?tag=vglnk-c102-20

Good idea on the MTM ammo can for organization. I keep a bunch of BH 77gr TMK and 62gr MSR loaded up and stashed in my 1st line gear, assault pack and gunsafe. Last count it was twenty 30 rounders. I also have a couple combat loads of Federal M855 loaded up for the longer guns.

One thing to note though is that both M855 and M193 should really be last ditch rounds to use out of a 10.5" barrel for self defense. You'll most likely be doing nothing but drilling .223 sized holes through your target, even at 20 feet. It's MUCH better than nothing, but worse than pretty much any round designed to expand.

Agree and this has been my conundrum since the chrono tests.  With a short barrelled AR especially, either the 77 grain OTM which will fragment at a much slower velocity or an expanding bullet doing the same.  M855 is out completely for the pistol and I am thinking M193 instead of M855 due to velocity increase and as the final option in the box for the carbine.  I am not a long range shooter and can't see much usage over 100 yards.  I have to wonder if the folks using 7.5" barrelled AR pistols have tested their ammunition through a chrono and what they might be comfortable with.

My handguns are short barrelled also, up to .44 magnum.  There is an older thread here concerning short barrelled 357/38 revolvers.  Anecdotally, Speer GD 135 gr. is supposed to be pretty good in short barrelled revolvers.  So I bought a box recently to test and was disappointed with it also vs. other offerings I have.  I like the GD bullet a lot but not in this Speer offering.  Scroll down to the last post which has my chrono data:  https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_20/173203_2-barrel----38-Special-vs-9mm-.html

Was that regular Fusion or the MSR load? They have different powder charges.

Eagle_19er:  Please let me know in some manner when you have posted your new chrono data.  I don't live on these forums and do not want to miss your new data, especially the Fusion MSR if you do it again.  Thanks in advance.

Pretty good energy from the 10.5.

Thanks, OP

@CountryGuy

The test is up. Hit this link.

@Eagle_19er

Is there a reason you chose the 64 over the 55 GD when you were getting higher velocities (thus expansion at further distances???) with the 55?

Eagle, with the velocity of the Barnes TSX-BT 62gr from a short barrel (10.5-11.5) in your tests, it looks like it would be a great all around round for defense and hunting.

Sure is, it was cheaper when I was buying . (I reserve it for my longer barrels, where its performance is much better. It would be a last resort from my short barrels). When the 55gr & 75gr goes back on the type of sale the 64gr has been I'll be picking so of that up too.