American Eagle 55 gr. FMJ Boat Tail

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - American Eagle 55 gr. FMJ Boat Tail

Posted: 1/10/2006 8:15:53 PM EDT

Picked up a couple of boxes of this today because it was pretty cheap ($4/20). The box says "AE223" on the end, and the shell casings all have "LC" "04" and the NATO cross on them. Is this stuff worth a darn? I didn't know that even the budget Federal stuff was made at LC and got Nato crosses. Any comments?

Posted: 1/10/2006 8:21:10 PM EDT

[#1]

Let me elaborate...I read the ammo FAQ section about the AE ammo, but what about mine having the LC and Nato markings on them? Is it better than the older stuff?

Posted: 1/10/2006 8:22:00 PM EDT

[#2]

I bought 2 cases of it in 2004 when Natchez had it on sale. The brass was standard Federal brass though and not the military brass you have. It all shot great and was accurate for what it was used for.

Posted: 1/10/2006 9:11:04 PM EDT

[#3]

American Eagle with Lake City Brass is very good ammo

I had about 3 cases of it it in 2004, not one single problem

Posted: 1/10/2006 9:20:58 PM EDT

[#4]

I just finished up about 500rds that LC05 on it, no problems at all

Posted: 1/11/2006 5:02:29 PM EDT

[#5]

AE 55 grain is my favorite ammo

Posted: 1/11/2006 6:13:02 PM EDT

[#6]

I suspect the LC cases are simply production overruns, factory seconds, or once fired.

If they were mil-spec, they would be in a .mil box.

Posted: 1/11/2006 6:19:06 PM EDT

[#7]

Is not AE also made by Federal which is LC????
Joe

Posted: 1/11/2006 6:20:42 PM EDT

[#8]

I have a case of the stuff coming in on friday. I have been on backorder since November with The Sportsmans Guide, but at $144, it was worth the wait.

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:18:12 PM EDT

[#9]

Yes, AE is made by Federal and no, it's not "once fired" or "over runs". Per Federals product manager, they have started using the LC brass to keep production costs down. One less part to inventory. AE 223 is one of my favs also. Always good groups and looks good out of the box. Hope this helps.

FFF

Posted: 1/11/2006 8:51:34 PM EDT

[#10]

Lake City brass is virtually always top-of-the-line (with the occasional bad lot as an exception).

Federal AE brass is total crap.

Since Federal (through parent corp ATK) got the contract to operate LC for the military, they wisely started using LC brass for their AE loads. LC brass is cheaper due to the much higher production volume than Federal's own brass, and it's higher quality, so it is a WIN-WIN for Federal and us.

The only thing "bad" (if you consider it so) about AE is that it is a .223 load, which means about 200 fps lower in velocity than a 5.56 load. This means a significant reduction in fragmentation range (if you were planning on using the ammo for duty/defensive use), and a less-flat trajectory.

-Troy

Posted: 1/11/2006 10:02:49 PM EDT

[#11]

Seems to me that it's good ammo - and I've never had problems with it - but I can get cheaper ammo in 5.56mm - either XM-193 or Q3131. If not cheaper, it's around the same, but usually the 5.56 is cheaper.

-K

Posted: 1/12/2006 9:22:03 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Seems to me that it's good ammo - and I've never had problems with it - but I can get cheaper ammo in 5.56mm - either XM-193 or Q3131. If not cheaper, it's around the same, but usually the 5.56 is cheaper.

-K

Which 193 are you finding cheaper?

Posted: 1/12/2006 10:35:38 AM EDT

[#13]

Does it have the military crimp on the primer? m_s

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - American Eagle 55 gr. FMJ Boat Tail

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