What ammo can I shoot in my rifle?

Author: Zhukov

Last Updated :: 7/14/2010 3:05:13 PM EDT

WHAT AMMO CAN I SHOOT IN MY RIFLE?

One of the most common questions is "What ammo is OK to shoot shoot in my XYZ AR-15?" Well, the answer is, we don't know. What do you want the ammo to do exactly? How much are you willing to pay for it? There are too many variables to take into consideration, and there's no way to answer that question without more info. In general, your Colt won't have any different ammo requirements than a Bushmaster or whatever; brand doesn't really matter.

I suggest the following guidelines for looking at ammo:

Good - the ammo generally works well across many rifles
Marginal - the ammo usually works, but has some problems with feeding/extracting (Wolf, for example)
Dangerous - this ammo could damage my rifle (AMERC, for example)

Use the Ammunition Review and Reference post to see a comparative ranking of many different kinds of ammunition. Clink on each link for ammo you're interested in to read people's comments. You may decide that you'd like to have "good" ammo, but you've decided that you're willing to take a chance with the occasional stoppage by buying "marginal" ammo and save money. If in doubt, buy a small amount of ammo and run it in your rifle to make sure it works before buying a whole case.

Next you'll have to ask yourself about the intended use. Plinking? I'd suggest the cheapest ammo that runs reliably in your rifle. Informal target shooting? Maybe something a little more expensive. Nothing but the best accuracy? Federal Gold Medal Match or similar high-quality (and expensive) ammo. Self defense? Refer to Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo. Then you have to take into consideration the price of the ammo involved. You may have started out wanting premium match ammo, but decided that $0.50/round is too much. Every person is different.

If you feel like this doesn't answer your question, feel free to post in the ammo forum, but BE SPECIFIC about explaining your requirements.

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