Thread: what kind of ammo should use for ar15? 223 or 5.56?

looking to buy an daniel defence ar15, want to get the ammo first, which round i should buy, the 5.56 or the 223? which round would be better for hunting? the soft point or the ballastic point? does the soft point make the accuracy surffer a bit? any advice please

Does it have a wylde chamber? If not then get the ammo for the chamber.

In my very limited experience with other calibers soft points have never made a difference to accuracy. Probably would for long range shooting but normal hunting ranges nope

Somebodys going to come on here and throw around technical details between the two but in my experience its not going to matter what you feed it. If you can get 556 then feed it that and vice versa.

You will be hard pressed to find true 5.56 ammunition so the answer is 223.

223 is 5.56 its just 5.56 NATO that is more powerful round. NZ army might of once sold some


Not sure if this was NATO rounds that was sold to the public
Army buys $590,000 of useless bullets - National - NZ Herald News

Originally Posted by polarbear

looking to buy an daniel defence ar15, want to get the ammo first, which round i should buy, the 5.56 or the 223? which round would be better for hunting? the soft point or the ballastic point? does the soft point make the accuracy surffer a bit? any advice please

5.56 is a military calibre and loaded to higher pressures and generally designed with a different distance to the barrel rifling.
You won't find 5.56 in hunting soft points, only FMJs, which are designed for putting small holes in humans and body armour. Not recommended for shooting animals humanely.

No, generally soft points won't make accuracy suffer (relative to what can I ask?, Ballistic points?), but it depends on other factors, not just the projectile.

PB, please note my earlier advice when you were asking what rifle to buy.
Given that you are new to firearms, please get someone experienced to show you the ropes.

Where are you? In Auckland?

DD are chambered in 5.56mm, so you can shoot 5.56 or .223 safely.

If a rifle is chambered in .223 Remington it is recommended that you do not shoot 5.56mm as they are not rated for the increased pressure of the 5.56 round.

5.56mm is produced for Military and Law Enforcement and is generally only found in FMJ (Full Metal Jacket), but is also produced in HP (Hollow Point), AP (Armor Piercing), Tracer and some specialist ballistic tips like TAP.

.223 REMINGTON is produced for target shootting and hunting.

5.56mm can often be found cheaper than .223 Remington. So practice with the 5.56mm and hunt with the. 223 Remington.

Test any ammunition that you intend to use for hunting to ensure that it is sufficiently accurate and is zeroed for your rifle prior to shooting at any animal. Seek advice on selecting the correct bullet weight and type for your intended game.

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I have a AR chambered in 5.56 and have always run .223. I would get a box of 50 Hornady 55gr SP. Good ammo that is accurate and does the job. The DD rifles are 1 in 7 just like mine and I'm still getting sub MOA 10 shot groups with the stuff