AR Sponsor
Posted: 2/27/2008 6:39:42 PM EDT
|
I compiled this data from various guns and weapons for law enforcement magazines Brand Grain Type FPS MOA Yrds Black Hills 60 V-Max 2694 0.36 100 Winchester 50 Ballistic AgTip 2983 0.72 100 Black Hills 68 Max 2689 0.90 50 Black Hills 68 Heavy Match 2465 0.90 100 Black Hills 50 V-Max 3051 0.95 50 Black Hills 62 FMJ 2948 0.97 100 Black Hills 69 HPBT 2770 1.14 100 CorBon 55 BlitzKing 2781 1.19 100 Black Hills 69 MatchKing 2415 1.25 100 Hornady 55 TAP 2820 1.43 100 Federal 55 Ballistic Tip 3019 1.55 50 Black Hills 55 FMJ 3061 1.60 100 Black Hills 77 MHP 2762 1.74 100 Winchester 69 Ranger Match 2805 1.83 50 Hornady 60 TAP 2891 1.91 50 CorBon 53 DPX 2749 2.21 100 Black Hills 77 HPBT 2732 2.29 50 Remington 69 HPBT 2890 2.39 50 Winchester 55 FMJ 3033 2.58 50 Black Hills 60 JSP 2936 2.86 50 Hornady 75 TAP 2664 2.86 50 UMC 55 FMC 3046 2.86 50 Black Hills 77 HPBT 2900 3.06 50 Black Hills 55 FMJ 2988 3.34 50 UMC 55 MC 2812 3.57 50 BEST DEALS Brand Grain Type FPS MOA Yrds QTY/BOX BOX EACH Black Hills 68 Heavy Match 2465 0.90 100 50 33.49 0.6698 www.midwayusa.com Black Hills 50 V-Max 3051 0.95 50 50 32.49 0.6498 www.midwayusa.com Black Hills 69 HPBT 2770 1.14 100 50 37.99 0.7598 www.cabelas.com Black Hills 69 MatchKing 2415 1.25 100 50 40.49 0.8098 www.midwayusa.com Hornady 55 TAP 2820 1.43 100 20 16.99 0.8495 www.ableammo.com |
|
Interesting stuff, but just a bunch of numbers. What length barrels and twist rates? What type of day (windy, hot, cold, humid, altitude, etc?). What type of controlled bench rest positions? Dozens of other testing and sampling variables. I assume that these are average readings, but then again they can be skewed based on some of the aforementioned variables. No Q3131A or XM193? Nice effort though, thanks for the info. |
|
There's nary a 5.56 load in the entire list. Where those groups 10-shot groups, or just 5-shot or 3-shot groups? Where are the control groups? What barrels were used? Click here to see how an accuracy report should be done. (about half way down the page) |
|
Hey, I just went through several magazines and took their data which is usually stated in group inches, and converted them over to MOA measurements. So if you copy and paste the data to an excel spreadsheet, the columns will line up nicely. I took these from several different rifles, but all essentially an AR-15 with either 14" or 16" barrels. As you can see, the reporters used more Black Hills than any other brand cartridge, which is interesting in itself. I was pricing the lot, and for the best performance for the money, I found the Federal 55 Ballistic Tip is the best value. I will amend the list and shop the various websites for the best value and report it today. Thanks for your input, everyone! |
Wow, take a look at all that crappy heavy match ammo that people have been saying was so good.
|
Wow, take a look at the "crappy" gun rags the reports came from and the "crappy" "gunwriters" that performed the tests. 
|
| I purchased the Black Hills 223 Remington 50 Grain Hornady V-Max Box of 50 for $36.49 from MidwayUSA. I'll take the rounds out to the range and test from 50 to 100 yrds and report the results. I just purchased a new Stag-15 with a 16" barrel; it has a 1/9 twist. I won't have a result in FPS, but I will report the accuracy results. |
Much to learn jedi. 
|
I love 60 V-max. Super accurate and good hunting round. But don't get your hopes up for .36 unless you shoot 2 round groups. I agree with others who say magazines are not trustworthy. A few years ago I bought a bass boat and subscribed to several fishing mags. a year later it was clear that the crap in the mags were making me catch fewer fish, not more. So I never spent another dime on a magazine of any type. After all, every 30 days they have to fill all of those pages with words again. |
| The .36 MOA was achieved shooting at 50 yards, so it isn't inconceivable if the shooter takes their time and squeezes the trigger. The data is probably very accurate; they do ignore the usual "flyer" but if the analyst uses a statistical approach, you can eliminate those mathematically even when they are included in the raw data. The fact is, the more data the better. |
Just checking, you realize that one MOA at 50 yards is 1/2 the size of 1 MOA at 100 yards, right? Just for anyone reading who does not know the actual meaning here it is: MOA stands for "minute of angle". Remember in grade school with a protractor and measuring 90 degrees and all of that. I don't remember ever dealing with less then one degree in school, but a fractions of one degree is..? Just like an hour of time, one degree is divided into 60 segments known as minutes. So 60 divisions of one degree called minutes of angle. So if you imagine lines of your bullet paths and a giant protractor and measure the difference, you read it in MOA. At 100 yards 1 MOA is about 1". Not exactly but close enough. at 50 yards 1/2 inch, 200 yards 2", and so on. |
magazine writer have the job of writing stories to fill pages. Commonly there are advertising dollars and free gear that come with items to be reviewed (wether guns or fishing gear) So they can't tell a negative truth and keep the goods flowing. Also, whether shooting of fishing, you aren't going to write an article that lowers your stature from super-god to so-so fisherman/rifleman. Plus you have to write another one every month. That is wher box-of-truth comes in. He posts stuff whe nhe has stuff to post and isn't taking money or goods from manufacturers. Watch guns & ammo TV, and some of the fishing shows and you will see there in no real deep subject matter. However, your chart is a good start. It showed the 60Vmax to be very good and I have also found that to be true. |
AR Sponsor