Many of us have one or more 5.56mm carbines at the ready for home defense. There are many bullet styles in use, and many weights. I'm interested in which bullet weight is preferred by GT shooters. So, what's in your home defense carbine right now?
Which weight 5.56x45mm bullet do you use in your home defense carbine?
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fortyofforty
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Added "Other" for those of you with a proclivity to make my life difficult. :flag::cheers:
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9mm pistol is primary HD. If I get to the safe then
Speer Gold Dot LE Duty Ammo 223 Remington 62 Grain Soft Point
Speer Gold Dot LE Duty Ammo 223 Remington 62 Grain Soft Point
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The AR isn't necessarily my go-to home defense weapon. That being said, I have my defensive AR's loaded with m193. It has a decent track record, a reduced risk of over-penetration, and it's cheap so I can train with the same ammo I use for defense.
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64 grain Winchester Power Point.
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Have 53 grain 5.45 7n6 ready to go. This way I know it will go thru the perp, the wall, the neighbors walls and then the neighbors engine block in '68 Grand Torino.
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Looks like it's the traditional 55 grainers, for the win!
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My home defense ammo in my carbines is what I've bought for work:
The Speer Gold Dot LE 55-gr .223 #24446 for non-barrier jobs I know ahead of time I will go into and can switch to.
For all those work hours where I don't get to "predict ahead of time" my carbine always had Barnes 62-gr TSX rounds but I recently switched to Hornady 55-gr 5.56 NATO TAP GMX Barrier all copper #81255
So lots of time at home my off-duty carbine has the GMX Barrier 55 in it and I'm OK with that.
To me copper is a great way to go, as it is barrier blind and has great weight retention and expansion. But it is REALLY spendy.
The Speer Gold Dot LE 55-gr .223 #24446 for non-barrier jobs I know ahead of time I will go into and can switch to.
For all those work hours where I don't get to "predict ahead of time" my carbine always had Barnes 62-gr TSX rounds but I recently switched to Hornady 55-gr 5.56 NATO TAP GMX Barrier all copper #81255
So lots of time at home my off-duty carbine has the GMX Barrier 55 in it and I'm OK with that.
To me copper is a great way to go, as it is barrier blind and has great weight retention and expansion. But it is REALLY spendy.
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I use 60 grain PSP rounds for my defensive ammo. But only because that's the heaviest I can get. I'd go with 70+grain rounds if I can get them. But I have a Tavor X95 with a 1/7 twist rate, which I understand is better for heavier bullets.
But I don't use it for HD. I have a Beretta CX4 Storm, plus several pistols that I use for HD. The Tavor is my SHTF rifle.
But I don't use it for HD. I have a Beretta CX4 Storm, plus several pistols that I use for HD. The Tavor is my SHTF rifle.
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3,492 Posts
Federal XM193 ball. Fragments easily, and tends to not be overpenetrative. While I know lots of folks like soft tip or plastic tip rounds for the AR just to be safe, it is not needed. The main wounding mechanism for the 5.56 cartridge is velocity, and when you use a shorter barrel then 20", you lose the original 3200 FPS. Carbines w/ the 16"barrel(or14" GI) suffer roughly a 400 to 600 FPS drop in speed w/ XM855 ball ammo. That combination can and does create wounding problems. Case in point, Battle of the Black Sea(Mogadishu fight). W/ an M4 and M855 ball, the round tends to ice pick human targets w/ little to no serious wounding happening.
The M193 round that was fielded w/ the original M16 in Vietnam proved to be a serious anti personnel round, but showed poor penetration thru barriers. The Viet Cong called the M16 the "Poison" rifle, as personnel shot with it were seriously wounded and often succumbed to their wounds at a later time. IIRC. This was due to the M193 round moving at high velocity and fragmenting quickly upon impact.
If you use a 16" carbine, use of XM193 ball will bring your velocity back up somewhat(2800+ FPS), and due to bullet design, give you a round that tends to fragment easily upon contact w/ targets. Downside is most 16" carbine's have the 1 in 7" rifling twist designed for the M855 ball round, and sometimes accuracy suffers when using XM193 rounds.
The difference between the M16A1 and A2 rifle(and susequent M4) and required ammunition for both has created a holy mess as to what ammo to use with what rifle.
When I was at Benning working Range detail, I could see where the KD range Plastic pop up targets had been hit with a M855 ball round, fired by an M16A1(I was there during the transition of rifles). Due to the 1/12" rifling twist not stabilizing the M855 ball round, you could see where the longer 62 gr bullet had slapped thru the plastic sideways, due to instability. And this was at 100yds. Thank You, my beloved US ARMY. What a Charlie Foxtrot!
Sorry for the long missive. It is a subject in which I have always had a great interest in. As always, YMMV. :supergrin:
The M193 round that was fielded w/ the original M16 in Vietnam proved to be a serious anti personnel round, but showed poor penetration thru barriers. The Viet Cong called the M16 the "Poison" rifle, as personnel shot with it were seriously wounded and often succumbed to their wounds at a later time. IIRC. This was due to the M193 round moving at high velocity and fragmenting quickly upon impact.
If you use a 16" carbine, use of XM193 ball will bring your velocity back up somewhat(2800+ FPS), and due to bullet design, give you a round that tends to fragment easily upon contact w/ targets. Downside is most 16" carbine's have the 1 in 7" rifling twist designed for the M855 ball round, and sometimes accuracy suffers when using XM193 rounds.
The difference between the M16A1 and A2 rifle(and susequent M4) and required ammunition for both has created a holy mess as to what ammo to use with what rifle.
When I was at Benning working Range detail, I could see where the KD range Plastic pop up targets had been hit with a M855 ball round, fired by an M16A1(I was there during the transition of rifles). Due to the 1/12" rifling twist not stabilizing the M855 ball round, you could see where the longer 62 gr bullet had slapped thru the plastic sideways, due to instability. And this was at 100yds. Thank You, my beloved US ARMY. What a Charlie Foxtrot!
Sorry for the long missive. It is a subject in which I have always had a great interest in. As always, YMMV. :supergrin:
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Ditto on M193 Ball Ammo. American Eagle(i.e. Federal) in both the Carbine and AR Pistol with a Magpul 40 round magazine(loaded down to 39 rounds) because if I get up at night in my underwear I may not have a place to carry a spare mag so I want all the rounds I can get with the gun. That being said my M&P9 is and 45 Shield are closer to me and will probably be my "go to" over the ARs. Of course a 870 Remington 18" with Mini-Buck, 6 pellets of 00 in the crapper because if I'm there I want all the firepower I can get. JMHO, YMMV.
P.S.
Check out my vid on Carbine vs AR Pistol over on my original channel.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTF9y8AuCkM
P.S.
Check out my vid on Carbine vs AR Pistol over on my original channel.
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Wolf Gold 223 Remington Ammo 55 Grain Full Metal Jacket
Free shipping on this one, $0.29 Per Round
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http://www.sgammo.com/product/223-5...o/1000-round-case-223-rem-55-grain-fmj-brass-case-non-magnetic-wolf-gold-ar-15-
M193 jacket comparison: Wolf Gold, IMI, and XM193
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_16/673607_.html&page=1
Free shipping on this one, $0.29 Per Round
https://www.targetsportsusa.com/wolf-gold-223-remington-ammo-55-grain-fmj-wg59-p-4316.aspx
http://www.sgammo.com/product/223-5...o/1000-round-case-223-rem-55-grain-fmj-brass-case-non-magnetic-wolf-gold-ar-15-
M193 jacket comparison: Wolf Gold, IMI, and XM193
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_16/673607_.html&page=1
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