Ammo for ar-15 defence

[Plisken]

Would you use fmj or hp for defence and general shooting. Are there any pros or cons for either round. Thanks for any input.

 

[Iroquois]

As long as your weapon is 100% reliable with hollow points or soft points I'd use them.
I would think the FMJs would penetrate more walls and endanger bystanders.
The reason the Army uses FMJs is the Geneva convention rules that they adhere to.

 

[melensdad]

I would not use a FMJ for home defense as penetration will be an issue.

Try the Hornady TAP or similar ammo for home/self-defense rounds in the AR15.

 

[stlaser]

My opinion if it fires reliably when you pull the trigger then it's good for home defense. Then practice enough you hit what your aiming at.......

 

[cosermann]

Yes, I would use M193 or M855 for defensive purposes and they'll work fine. However, there's is a move toward barrier blind loads in some circles (i.e. the FMJ loads are not what you might call the "best," although they are cost effective).

See the following:

==>> :: Ammo Oracle

==>> Best Choices for Self Defense Ammo

 

[ckcollins2003]

Would you use fmj or hp for defence and general shooting. Are there any pros or cons for either round. Thanks for any input.

Depending on where you live is whether or not I'd choose an AR-15 for home defense at all. If you live in an apartment or a neighborhood where houses are close together and people may be outside, I wouldn't use the rifle for home defense at all. If you live in the country, it doesn't matter. Even with hp's it's most likely going to be a through and through.

General shooting... whatever is on sale or the cheapest to buy.

 

[sloughfoot]

55 Grain FMJ is an excellent close range round. It is designed to tumble and break into several pieces at the cannulare. It rarely penetrates more than 14 inches and it causes a devastating wound channel at close range

I would not hesitate to use 55 FMJ ammo for close range HD or SD, either inside the home or outside.

I don't have any idea why folks think that FMJ will over penetrate at close range....

 

[downzero]

Depending on where you live is whether or not I'd choose an AR-15 for home defense at all. If you live in an apartment or a neighborhood where houses are close together and people may be outside, I wouldn't use the rifle for home defense at all. If you live in the country, it doesn't matter. Even with hp's it's most likely going to be a through and through.

General shooting... whatever is on sale or the cheapest to buy.

A 55 grain bullet is far less likely to exit your house and still have deadly energy/velocity compared to a shotgun or handgun. In other words, your statement makes almost no sense, as in this case, a rifle is a far safer alternative compared to what you might otherwise use. 55 grains of bullet just isn't enough mass to retain energy after hitting something (even if something is drywall, a couch, etc.).

If your life is on the line, it's probably not going to matter anyway, but a stray bullet from an AR is not going to go through as many walls as a stray 124 grain 9mm or 230 grain .45.

I also don't think ammunition selection is all that important with .223, just to answer the initial question. Anything an AR will fire would turn (at least the portion where the bullet strikes and its immediate surrounding area) a chest cavity into ground beef and probably put the bad guy down quicker than an entire magazine from a handgun.

I use M193 bullets for this task and I'm sure they'd do just fine. I've seen pictures of what 55 grain 5.56 does to one's thigh, and it ain't pretty.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Truthfully, whatever you can get your hands on. Persoanlly, an AR would be the last gun I would use for home defense. Especially in my case, as I live in an apartment.

 

[PGRChaplain]

Nightstand Pistol until I reach the Shotgun.

 

[WyldeShot]

There has been several articles recently about using an AR for home defense. I believe Gun & Ammo had one of the articles. Depending on the ammo you use an AR is less likely to penetrate outside your house than other calibers. Take a look at the TAP rounds and Winchester PDX1. I am sure that any HP will work well though.

 

[teddy12b]

Generally speaking FMJ's penetrate, Soft points mushroom, and Hollowpoints break apart. Whatever comes out of the barrel of an AR-15 inside a house will destroy what it hits and also blow your ears out along with everyone else in the house. You may want to take that into consideration as well. It's all fun and games until you're the deaf guy wondering around saying "huh, what'd you say".

 

[ckcollins2003]

A 55 grain bullet is far less likely to exit your house and still have deadly energy/velocity compared to a shotgun or handgun. In other words, your statement makes almost no sense, as in this case, a rifle is a far safer alternative compared to what you might otherwise use. 55 grains of bullet just isn't enough mass to retain energy after hitting something (even if something is drywall, a couch, etc.).

If your life is on the line, it's probably not going to matter anyway, but a stray bullet from an AR is not going to go through as many walls as a stray 124 grain 9mm or 230 grain .45.

I also don't think ammunition selection is all that important with .223, just to answer the initial question. Anything an AR will fire would turn (at least the portion where the bullet strikes and its immediate surrounding area) a chest cavity into ground beef and probably put the bad guy down quicker than an entire magazine from a handgun.

I use M193 bullets for this task and I'm sure they'd do just fine. I've seen pictures of what 55 grain 5.56 does to one's thigh, and it ain't pretty.

Edited, don't want to start an arguement. Here's M193 with drywall. If you hit your intruder, things will change because of soft tissue and bone, but if you miss, you could be in legal trouble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZPGSiDs5_k

 

[U.S. Patriot]

But, the 5.56 is weak and useless.

 

[Indy Wing Chun]

As long as your weapon is 100% reliable with hollow points or soft points I'd use them.
I would think the FMJs would penetrate more walls and endanger bystanders.
The reason the Army uses FMJs is the [STRIKE]Geneva[/STRIKE] Hague convention rules that they adhere to.

1) FIFY

2) I believe it is more of a cost and reliability issue why the military uses FMJs. I think certain special operation groups use other ammunition.

 

[MtnBiker6510]

I'm personally a fan of the Speer Gold Dot 5.56 Soft points. I think they are a better stopper than m193 or m855 or even the TAP or VMAX

 

[Theox]

why has nobody mentioned frangibles yet?

 

[teddy12b]

why has nobody mentioned frangibles yet?

From what I understand aren't frangible rounds meant to be used on steel at close ranges and are designed so that no schrapnel will come back and hit the shooter?

 

[downzero]

Edited, don't want to start an arguement. Here's M193 with drywall. If you hit your intruder, things will change because of soft tissue and bone, but if you miss, you could be in legal trouble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZPGSiDs5_k

Compared to what? Any self defense shooting is going to involve misses (less so with rifle than a pistol). A 55 grain 5.56 FMJ isn't going to penetrate as many walls as a pistol round, even a JHP.

If you're suggesting that a stray round is dangerous, you won't find any disagreement from me there. Any bullet going fast enough and with enough energy to take down the bad guy is also capable of going through walls and hitting something beyond your intended target. There's no way around that or the bullet wouldn't have enough energy to take down the bad guy in the first place.

The difference is that when a light weight, high speed bullet hits random objects like couches and walls, it slows down quicker than a heavier bullet. There's certainly no utopia on this issue, however, as simple physics will prevent that every time.

 

[fastang50]

Things would have had to get pretty ugly to break out the AR for home defense. That said, I could see situations you might use it. I think the std M193 type load would be about ideal, realistically ranges would be relatively short so velocity would still be high and it would do it's dirty work well.

That said, I'm a "handguns for the house" type guy.

eta: figured I'd say, I like the handgun because I can use the phone or a flashlight with the other. I don't want to have to point a muzzle a bad direction just to put a light in a dark corner that my kid might be in.