Sterling 5.56 - Outdoor Limited

[daddoz777]

I bought 360 rounds of Sterling 5.56 ammo from Outdoor Limited in February. Shame on me for not testing the ammo and for trusting Outdoor Limited's posted reviews of the ammo.

Nearly every round fails to drive the bolt back far enough to properly cycle. I'm using a standard 3 oz. buffer, carbine spring and mid-length non-adjustable gas system. Short of reaming out the gas port on my barrel or taking one of the weights out of the buffer there's nothing else I can do to dumb-down my rifle to accommodate this soft ammo.

Apart from 3 "anonymous" reviews, they have not posted anybody's review for this ammo more recently than a year ago. And the reviews they do have are VERY positive (nearly a perfect 5). Not only that, but several weeks ago I submitted an unhappy camper review but they did not post it. Contrast that with the reviews from another web site (Palmetto), I see that users gave the ammo a 2 out of 5 rating and related failure feed, jamming and popped out primers. The general consensus is the ammo is junk.

While I've had a very good experience with Outdoor Limited in nearly every other regard, I have a strong suspicion they're being intentionally misleading in order to promote sales of otherwise less than desirable products. I know I feel I've been mislead and it is my belief and opinion it was intentional.

Read More

 

[daddoz777]

Welp, good news! Following a hunch I read about on some post somewhere (okay, I have no idea where it was), I removed one of the three weights from my buffer and like a miracle the Sterling ammo feeds perfectly. No jams. Magazine locks back when empty. And brass is ejected at a perfect 4:00. So...I'm getting a second, backup buffer. One will be my "go-to" for normal ammo and the second will be my emasculated 2-weight buffer for the Sterling ammo. Easy as pie to swap out for whatever ammo I'm using at the time. By spending $10 on a sacrificial buffer the money I spent on the reluctant ammo will not be wasted and neither will the ammo itself.

Hope this helps and take care!

Dan

 

[Koda]

while your post may have not got any replies this week Ive added Sterling to my do not buy list. Nobody should have to work around bad ammo. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Greenbug]

You totally wasted that opportunity to go buy a bolt action .223 rifle!

 

[daddoz777]

You totally wasted that opportunity to go buy a bolt action .223 rifle!

LOL!!! I've already got a Remington 700 Tactical bolt gun with a 20" heavy barrel in .223. That's something my little pea-brain didn't consider: just run the Sterling shat through the Rem! Good point!

 

[Koda]

Nah, save it for the AR. You dont really want to run 556 in your nice 223 anyways, though watered down rounds might be ok.