(Disclaimer:  I am in no way connected with Freedom Munitions and do not make any money off of this.  I'm just showing an alternative to scouring the internet for days looking for match ammo)

I've always been very impressed with Freedom Munitions' standard blinking ammo. In fact, I have a couple of 1000 rounds of 9 mill 45 and 223 saved up in my mancave.  But when I got into the world of precision shooting, costs went up.   Now with all of the shortages of ammunition, the cost of match .223 and 5.56 have skyrocketed.   While looking for alternatives to Hornady and Norma (the two brands i shoot in it) since they're so hard to find on the Internet, I found Freedom Munitions makes a Mk262 cartridge and they have lots of it in stock. I picked up 100 rounds just to try it, and this is how it shoots.  The link for it is right below.

Freedom's Mk 262

Before I get really far into this, I tried Federal, Hornady, IWI, Norma, and PMC Xtac to see what my rifle preferred.  After a long period of inquiry, my go-to ammunition for this rifle is match Norma 77gr .223.     I won't waste your time giving you every single component on my rifle.  My barrel is a 20" ballistic advantage SPR. The scope I'm using is a Vortex Diamondbacktactical, 4-16 power with 1st focal plane, and i have a Geissele 2 stage trigger. The first pics I took were 5 round shot groups just to see how well it groups. The one pic with the two fliers was where I got stung by a yellow jacket.   Other than that, you can see that it'll hold sub MOA at a 100 yd with no problem.




Continued next post...

These pics are the ones where I shot ten-round groups with enough time in between to get the reticle back on target and fire off a shot.





When everything was finished, I have to admit that I'm really impressed with how well Freedom Munition's Mk262 ammunition shoots.  It actually held a tighter group than the Hornady when it was over.  I used up the last rounds on steel and I never had a single problem with the ammunition.  So if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to $50 for 20 rounds, take a look at Freedom...

Attached File

Reload!  

+1........  Freedom Munitions has a VERY poor record of crappy ammo.  


OP:
Glad you found some ammo you like.
Be cautious though...... it has blown up some rifles......  

Between the perpetual cycle of panic buying and shortages combined with the astronomical price of match ammo I stopped buying commercial ammo 35 years ago. I can reload Sierra Match Kings for less than surplus M80/M193 ball.

I usually dedicate a couple of months (Jan/Feb) to reloading in bulk. It gives me a project in the dead of winter and keeps me supplied year round.

I have total control over the process, can experiment with new products and can easily manufacturer sub moa ammo. At a leisurely pace I can load prepped brass at around 300 +/- rounds an hour inspecting each case visually for a powder charge. I can go much faster if I don't visually inspect each case.

I have avoided the last three election based component shortages by purchasing anything on sale in bulk during the salad days. I probably have enough supplies to get me through the next ten years shooting every other weekend. That's my usual shooting schedule.

Handgun ammo really requires a progressive press, loading rifle ammo on a single stage isn't anywhere near as bad.  

That sounds nice in theory but for the rest of us: where do we get replenishment of primers? Powder? I have both but I am and starting to now only look at RELOADING. Buying factory ammo to preserve my stock of primers (<800). We are living in a different market now…

What kind of worthless test is this if you don’t measure ES and SD?

check out the imi razor core 77gr

i picked up a bunch from midway for 18/box with birthday pricing iirc.

I keep IMI Razorcore and Norma stocked in my man-cave.  Apparently, I missed all the info about Freedom's crappy match ammo.

IMI “Razor Core” 77 Grain OTM, LR, Mod 1







This load is topped with a 77 grain OTM bullet with a cannelure.  The case mouth is sealed and the primers are crimped and sealed.  When chronographed from the 20” Colt barrel, the load had a muzzle velocity of 2866 FPS with a standard deviation of 21 FPS.

A 10-shot group group fired off the bench from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 0.95”.








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