I recall reading about something with frontier ammo issues like Kabooms. Do some searches on the different AR forums just to be safe before firing

 

I heard about the kb issue from a while back as well. I may be wrong but I think Hornady made some changes.

Either way I bought some last month but haven't tried it yet.

 

I tried some of that Frontier ammo. Worst junk I ever put in a rifle. Numerous failures to fire. When I could get it to go off, accuracy wasn't bad, but I’ll never touch the stuff again.

here’s what I thought back then and posted on another forum.


Hate to say it, but this stuff is junk. Not only is it the worst looking ammo I have seen, with tarnished cases and oil dents in the shoulder area, but it’s not very accurate, either. Out of fifteen rounds, I had one failure to fire, and it would not fire after three attempts. Your mileage may vary, of course, but a word to the wise.....

A friend had the same experience, and he bought 1,000 of them! Thank goodness I only bought 100 to try.

 

How long ago did you have the problem?

 

If you gave me that ammo, I'd pull the bullets and reload my own.

 

I have shot between 1000 and 2000 rounds of Hornady Frontier center-fire cartridges in my ARs. This has included some .223 Rem 55 grain spire point, both .223 Rem and 5.56 55 grain FMJ, and 5.56 55 grain hollow point "match".

I have not shot the 62 grain spire point. So far as I can tell, the cartridges loaded with FMJ projectiles of the same mass are identical whether labelled .223 Rem or 5.56 NATO.

I have been pretty pleased with it. I have had maybe one misfire with a rather light primer strike. I have had a few misfeeds in one of my three ARs but I think those were due to a buffer weight that was too light. Overall, I would say my experience with it has been as good as that with Federal Lake City FMJ 55 grain ammo with sometimes a bit better accuracy, especially with the "HP Match" projectiles. Two of my ARs seem to shoot the .223 Rem and 5.56 NATO 55 grain FMJ with a little better accuracy than the average lot of Federal XM193.

Accuracy has been decent and I have held reasonable groups shooting out to 400-500 yards. It is not the cleanest. Based on my experience, I would have no hesitation to try the 62 grain SP if I could get it at a decent price. I still regard Hornady Frontier as a "budget ammo" and only buy it when I can get it at a price comparable the Federal XM193.

 

Edited :
I new I wont 100% about this stuff.

Ok. A guy over at AR15.COM had a case rupture and it mucked up his bolt and extractor.

He called Hornady and sent them e-mailed pictures and they blew him off and blamed it on a outta battery ignition. Looked to me like a overcharge case and BOOM!!!

Like I said, I still have not shot this ammo, I probably want. The only problem I have had with Hornaday was not getting the Velocity outta there handgun ammo.

I will happily pay a buck a round for Self Defense Rifle Ammo if I have ran it through the firearm before, I am strange like that.


Good luck. :cheers:

 

I found way to many complaints with the stuff. I wont even look at it let alone buy any of it.

And i did read somewhere, that its NOT made by Hornady either.

Here ya go... gooberment owned! No wonder why their ammo sucks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City_Army_Ammunition_Plant

Anytime the gooberment is invloved, it doesnt work... thats nothing new.

 

The projectiles are supposedly made by Hornady. The cartridges are loaded at the Lake City munitions plant.

 

Don't know but I bought 500 rounds of the 75 grain HPBT and read good things.
I have not fired any yet. Will let you know how it goes.
Paid about $0.31 per round.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I read a few reviews before I hit place order- more good than bad - which is typical. I have shot a few hundred rounds from the Lake City plant and never had a problem.

I like to shoot my SD ammo on a regular basis-

I have figured out I am more willing to do that when it is not $1 a round.

I will burn a few mags of it when I get it and post the results- assuming I live to tell about multiple kabooms!

:headscratch:

 

Sure hope our combat troops are getting better ammo than this.

 

How long ago did you have the problem?

It was back in January. Since that time, just to get rid of it, I have shot some. I have had several failures to fire, some as many as three tries. One memorable round survived ten(!) strikes and still did not fire.

 

Uh oh. I bought a few boxes to try a couple months ago. I will use caution.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I read a few reviews before I hit place order- more good than bad - which is typical. I have shot a few hundred rounds from the Lake City plant and never had a problem.

I like to shoot my SD ammo on a regular basis-

I have figured out I am more willing to do that when it is not $1 a round.

I will burn a few mags of it when I get it and post the results- assuming I live to tell about multiple kabooms!

:headscratch:

Let us know how it works out for you.

 

Well Academy just informed me my order has been cancelled -

Ammo is out of stock -

So I will be missing out on blowing up my AR15s and maybe losing an eye and a few fingers -

I am still left with a desire to have some soft point type bullets heavier than 55 grain for HD/shtf purposes.

What options should I be considering?

 

Gold Dot LE Soft Points

Well Academy just informed me my order has been cancelled -

Ammo is out of stock -

So I will be missing out on blowing up my AR15s and maybe losing an eye and a few fingers -

I am still left with a desire to have some soft point type bullets heavier than 55 grain for HD/shtf purposes.

What options should I be considering?

 

I bought 500 rounds of the Frontier 62 gr spire points from SG Ammo earlier this year. It was just slightly more than my full metal jacket target bullets. I'll have to shoot some to see how it does for me.

 

Most of the soft point ammo is made for hunting or LE, so it will be in the .223 flavor.

For 5.56, Hornady makes a 75gr in their Black line, SSA has a 63gr and Federal has a 62gr.

For .223, Speer, Federal, Armscor, Jessie James and others all make 62gr and heavier loads.

 

I have been wanting some soft point ammo for my ARs for HD -- but refuse to pay $1 a round -

I saw this at Academy Sports - $55 for 150 rounds + I had a $20 off if you spend $100.

Academy has free online shipping over $49 - so even with sales tax it is costing me under $.33 a round - or $6.50 for a "20 round box" -

If you know of a better deal on a soft point with a bullet heavier than 55 grains please post it.

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/ho...5-nato-62-grain-spire-point-rifle-ammunition-117625602#repChildCatSku=117625611

I figure I will test it out -

Hornady bullets manufactured at the Lake City plant should be a good combo - not super premium - but quality at a great price -

Passing on the deal - I got the $20 off thing in the mail - because I have an online account.

Anyone have any experience with this ammo?

I've shot a lot of the 55gr fodder - good stuff. I'd definitely give their 62gr stuff a try - I don't pay any attention to 3rd hand horror stories.

 

I thought the - discoloration / tarnish - whatever you want to call it - on 5.56x45 brass was a normal thing - because they heat treat or heat test or something - the brass before loading it -

Is this a feature or a bug?

 

It is normal. The bottleneck brass cases are annealed:

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/annealing/

 

Gold Dot LE Soft Points

$1.05 a round is the best I can find -

Not sure my life is worth the premium.

:animlol:

 

I put some Gold Dot back from these guys.
https://www.bonefroggunclub.com/collections/ammunition/223-5-56?sort_by=manual
Some Fusion
https://carolinamunitions.com/feder...r1-fusion-msr-223-remington-5-56-nato-62-gr-fusion-200-rounds.html?asaid=as0004
and some Power point
https://www.officerstore.com/store/product.aspx/productid/37697
For $1+ per round, I would go with something like this.
https://www.sportsmansguide.com/pro...premium-trophy-copper-223-remington-polymer-tip-bt-55-grain-20-rounds?a=2206233

 

I’ve shot thousands of Lake City rounds. Never a problem. I can’t comment on Frontier, but the Federal bulk that comes out if Lake City has always been great, for me, and everyone I know to shoot it. LC sourced ammunition is the most common I see at LE training.

 

Well since I have not found the right .223 SD load - I may switch things up and use my KS47 from Palmetto State Armory as my HD rifle instead of an AR. Although I am only using Pmags with it now (the steel mags were not 100% reliable)

I was looking over my ammo inventory and discovered 1,000 rounds of 7.62x39 Barnaul 125 grain soft point, purchased in 2008 - that I had sort of forgotten about. :fred:

Here is a video of a gel test on the 125 GR Barnaul SP I found - damn that slow motion shot into the gel looks wicked. Go to about 55 seconds to see it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3-ot0PBT-E

 

Well since I have not found the right .223 SD load - I may switch things up and use my KS47 from Palmetto State Armory as my HD rifle instead of an AR. Although I am only using Pmags with it now (the steel mags were not 100% reliable)

I was looking over my ammo inventory and discovered 1,000 rounds of 7.62x39 Barnaul 125 grain soft point, purchased in 2008 - that I had sort of forgotten about. :fred:

Here is a video of a gel test on the 125 GR Barnaul SP I found - damn that slow motion shot into the gel looks wicked. Go to about 55 seconds to see it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3-ot0PBT-E

If you can't find the right self defense load for .223, you didn't look.

 

Well if you're willing to stake everything on nearly 12 year old Barnaul in a PSA AR47, then Wolf and Barnaul both make .223 62gr soft point loads that can be found for $220/case.

 

I have Barnaul way older than this in FMJ and it goes bang every time.

I store my ammo in a climate controlled area - I always thought it was good for 50 years at least -

I have shot 7.62x54R that was around 75 years old and did not have one failure.

The KS47 has been 100% reliable with Pmags and steel case - which is all I ever shoot in 7.62x39 --



But I would still rather use brass in my AR15 for HD - I have shot some steel case - no jams - but I am for some reason just not as confident with steel case in an AR -

 

Gold Dot LE Soft Points

Yep, one of the best for the .223. Can be had for 60-65 cents per round.

 

@Z71bill

Have you checked out Black Hills 60-gr PSP Ammunition? Even their reman stuff is better than almost anything else.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1002005383?pid=662754

There may be cheaper sources than Midway.

Brownell's has a $10 coupon for signing up for their newsletter and this ammo before discount is $0.61 per round)

https://www.brownells.com/ammunitio...2.aspx?avs|Special-Filters_1=In+Stock&avs|Manufacturer_1=BLACK+HILLS+AMMUNITION

 

@Z71bill

Have you checked out Black Hills 60-gr PSP Ammunition? Even their reman stuff is better than almost anything else.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1002005383?pid=662754

There may be cheaper sources than Midway.

Brownell's has a $10 coupon for signing up for their newsletter and this ammo before discount is $0.61 per round)

https://www.brownells.com/ammunition/rifle-ammo/remanufactured-ammo-223-remington-60gr-soft-point-prod103302.aspx?avs|Special-Filters_1=In+Stock&avs|Manufacturer_1=BLACK+HILLS+AMMUNITION

Yes I just saw this yesterday - I have some BH in 69 grain and 74 grain -

I use to use BH 115 & 124 GR +P as my 9MM SD round.

I was born in South Dakota and that is the reason I started buying from them.


Brownells runs some pretty good sales from time to time - spend $XXX and get $XX off with free shipping. I was thinking test a bunch of the reloads - but spring for new stuff to use as the SD round.