I am new AR owner and am looking for the best performing ammo for my Bushy 14.5 M4 1x9. What grain should I be using to maximize bullet performance. I know that bullet speed is greatly reduced from the shorter barrel. What can I do to increase bullet speed? I have also read that for CQB application, most outfits use higher grains. And the lighter the bullet the faster it travels. Is this correct? What would be a good balance to maximize enery from the short barrel?

[url]http://www.ammo-oracle.com/[/url]

OK, so not M855 then, but what???

Qutoe from the Ammo Oracle: "Though early M855 experiments showed the round fragments well in the lab, out of M4s M855 has been showing inconsistent fragmentation and occasional serious stoppage issues. Partially because of the complex construction of the round, from batch to batch M855 has variable yaw performance, often not yawing at all through 7-8 or even 10" of tissue. This is complicated by the low velocity implicit in using M855 out of the short barrelled M4 platform."

CT, would I be wrong to think that M855 is too heavy at 61.7 grains???

Ideally the 75gr BTHP from Hornady loaded by BlackHills to MIL velo's which run a little hotter that the SAAMI stuff.

But you will no be hurt by the normal loads.

Check that these loads will stabilize in your 1:9 bbl.

If you want beter than 3-4 MOA froups use the 69 grain ammo for a 1/9 twist barrel.

Assuming you are looking for a good round for defensive applications, you need the heavier BTHP Match type loads. If you have a 1 in 7 twist barrel, get the 75 gr BTHP from Black Hills at [url]www.georgiaprecision.com[/url]. If you have an M4 with a 1 in 9 twist, go with the Black Hills 68 or 69 gr BTHP loads. And my next choice would probably be M193. But the Black Hills Blue Box loads are really pretty cheap considering their quality.

Remember that you don't have to have thousands upon thousands of rounds of this ammo for self defense. You can always buy M193 or equivalent loads in quantity if long term storage or plenty of extra ammo is needed. You can always later re-zero your carbine if you need to. Get some of the good stuff though for defensive use.