What's a Good Price on AR Ammo?

[etrain16]

I'm not a noob to guns, but I'm new to the AR platform. I'm going to be getting my first soon and I've been keeping my eyes on ammo prices. Unfortunately, they seem to vary somewhat widely, not something I'm quite used to with other types of ammo.

So, I'm wondering, what's a good price per round for AR ammo. I'm talking about your standard plinking/target ammo - FMJ type like XM193. I've seen prices from a low for Federal Xm193 at around .25 a round (on sale) to over .50 a round for similar, sometimes even the exact same ammo.

What you consider the 'average' for .223/5.56 rounds like this?

Thanks in advance for your wise insight I know I'm asking the right folks here.

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[parallax]

Bimart has good, honest, prices and always seems to have mucho .223 ammo available. you probably want to stay away from russian steel case because the bullets and primers are sealed with laquer which some people have reported it gums up the action on ar-15 platforms after extended shooting without cleaning. i think bimart is less than .50 cents a round brass case

 

[Classic]

Check out Wideners...
https://www.wideners.com/

 

[etrain16]

I've heard that Curt's has good day to day prices on .223/5.56.

I'm seeing a lot of the Federal XM193 out there. Is that decent stuff for bulk ammo?

 

[IronMonster]

If you can buy Xm193 for $.25 a round I would be jumping on it. That is a good deal. The range of prices seems to be something like .21-.24 cents for steel case imported stuff and .25-.35 cents for brass cased stuff. And those are good prices. Any time you can get brass cased stuff for less than .30/rd that is a deal.

Personally I would stay away from tula ammo and to a lesser extent wolf. Its not bad to feed your guns a bit of it but it is much harder on your gun than other stuff (I'll post a link to a test showing what I mean)

I buy quite bit of 5.56, easily over 20,000 rds in the last few years. If I could buy brass cased 5.56 (not .223, but honest to goodness 5.56) shipped in for $250/1000 I would be a happy camper. Its more likely to run you $300-$330 so your $.25 is pretty attractive.

Another thing to think about is what you intend to shoot, I prefer to shoot 62gr stuff. If your hopping from 55gr to 62gr plinking your POI can change dramatically. 55gr is typically cheaper. Same thing with .223 VS 5.56, if you bounce around with different ammo all the time so will your POI

You dont have to worry about sales tax which adds dang near 10% for me but you do need to be aware of shipping costs if your buying online. I have found the cheapest price is often not the cheapest once you figure in shipping. I have bought quite a bit from SGAmmo.com, there prices are good and the shipping dirt cheap compared to most.

 

[etrain16]

Bimart has good, honest, prices and always seems to have mucho .223 ammo available. you probably want to stay away from russian steel case because the bullets and primers are sealed with laquer which some people have reported it gums up the action on ar-15 platforms after extended shooting without cleaning. i think bimart is less than .50 cents a round brass case

Check out Wideners...
https://www.wideners.com/

I'll check out both of those suggestions - thanks guys!

 

[IronMonster]

Here is that link, Well worth the time to read and watch. Changed my shooting habits ( I quite buying Tula ammo immediately)

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

EDIT: Oops, Wrong link. Here is the one you want.

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

 

[etrain16]

If you can buy Xm193 for $.25 a round I would be jumping on it. That is a good deal. The range of prices seems to be something like .21-.24 cents for steel case imported stuff and .25-.35 cents for brass cased stuff. And those are good prices. Any time you can get brass cased stuff for less than .30/rd that is a deal.

Personally I would stay away from tula ammo and to a lesser extent wolf. Its not bad to feed your guns a bit of it but it is much harder on your gun than other stuff (I'll post a link to a test showing what I mean)

I buy quite bit of 5.56, easily over 20,000 rds in the last few years. If I could buy brass cased 5.56 (not .223, but honest to goodness 5.56) shipped in for $250/1000 I would be a happy camper. Its more likely to run you $300-$330 so your $.25 is pretty attractive.

Another thing to think about is what you intend to shoot, I prefer to shoot 62gr stuff. If your hopping from 55gr to 62gr plinking your POI can change dramatically. 55gr is typically cheaper. Same thing with .223 VS 5.56, if you bounce around with different ammo all the time so will your POI

You dont have to worry about sales tax which adds dang near 10% for me but you do need to be aware of shipping costs if your buying online. I have found the cheapest price is often not the cheapest once you figure in shipping. I have bought quite a bit from SGAmmo.com, there prices are good and the shipping dirt cheap compared to most.

Thanks for the feedback. I suspected that price was good, even with shipping, it seemed competitive. I have bought from SGAmmo before, but it's been a while since I've been there, I'll check them out too.

 

[Classic]

Personally both my AR's eat "home grown" ammo that using my own brass cost me less than $200 per K to reload. So if you like to shoot, learn to reload! I have many guns that have never seen a factory round!!!
You're welcome

 

[IronMonster]

I posted the wrong link, here is the right one, I went back and added it to the post as well

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/brass-vs-steel-cased-ammo/

 

[IronMonster]

Personally both my AR's eat "home grown" ammo that using my own brass cost me less than $200 per K to reload. So if you like to shoot, learn to reload! I have many guns that have never seen a factory round!!!
You're welcome

I am assuming that at $200/1000 you are figuring your time is worth nothing?

 

[Classic]

I am assuming that at $200/1000 you are figuring your time is worth nothing?

3 hours of my time to enjoy a sport that I love is worth nothing! Hell I could have spent that time drinking on a couch! I also reload 9mm for $130 per K and 45acp for $180. I also work on my own car to save the mechanics bill and my Goldwing. My time spent saves me ALLOT!

 

[etrain16]

Personally both my AR's eat "home grown" ammo that using my own brass cost me less than $200 per K to reload. So if you like to shoot, learn to reload! I have many guns that have never seen a factory round!!!
You're welcome

I do see reloading in my future. Not quite yet, but it's definitely on the radar. I am a member at Douglas Ridge and I'm thinking of taking their reloading class sometime this year.

 

[Classic]

I do see reloading in my future. Not quite yet, but it's definitely on the radar. I am a member at Douglas Ridge and I'm thinking of taking their reloading class sometime this year.

Do it! I paid for my reloading setup in less than a year (4 years ago) I still have primers that I spent $23 per K for and pistol powder that cost me $22 per pound. I find it very Zen like, almost as fun as shooting it!
My wife knows netter than trying to give me a honey-do list because I disappear into the garage to reload!
Do I save money? Hell no but I shoot twice as much for the same amount! Ya don't learn anything from 100 rounds when ya go to the range but you will see marked improvement from 250 rounds that cost the same!

 

[jbett98]

Right now is a good time to start stockpiling ammo & reloading items.
It's on the shelves and if stored correctly will be waiting for you when you decide to start learning.
Don't wait for the next mad run on ammunition and all that's left is empty shelves.
Buy a little at a time as money allows.

 

[etrain16]

Do it!
I paid for my reloading setup in less than a year (4 years ago) I still have primers that I spent $23 per K for and pistol powder that cost me $22 per pound. I find it very Zen like, almost as fun as shooting it!
My wife knows netter than trying to give me a honey-do list because I disappear into the garage to reload!
Do I save money? Hell no but I shoot twice as much for the same amount! Ya don't learn anything from 100 rounds when ya go to the range but you will see marked improvement from 250 rounds that cost the same!

Years ago, I did shotgun shell reloading for my father. I would sit there for hours loading shells for him. It's been a while, and I'd need to get up to speed, but I do think it's important to do it.

Do you use a progressive setup?

Right now is a good time to start stockpiling ammo & reloading items.
It's on the shelves and if stored correctly will be waiting for you when you decide to start learning.
Don't wait for the next mad run on ammunition and all there is empty shelves.
Buy a little at a time as money allows.

Already started on a few things. I'm trying to get what I can afford as things have come back into stock. I managed to get almost 1,000 rounds of .22lr recently for just about .06 a round. One of the best prices I've seen in a while. I do agree, it's time to stock up while the stuff is out there.

 

[jbett98]

I go to a lot of estate sales and every once in awhile, there is a bunch of reloading equipment and other gun related items for very reasonable prices.
It's usually older name brands, but if you're just starting up you can't beat the prices.
The estate sales folks generally don't know what things are worth and one sale netted me a bunch of rare caliber bullet molds for $4.00 each and 25 lb lead ingots for only $2.00 each.
I sold the molds on eBay for over $85.00 each.

 

[Classic]

I use a Dillon 550B which is in my garage (cold). I have never like the priming portion of the press because the feeling (or lack of it) when crunching the primer into the pocket made me decide to hand prime in the warmth of my living room while spending quality time with my wife watching TV - right, it was warm in the house!.
I hand prime everything and can knock out 400 rounds an hour.
Worth every cent and a big time money saver!!!

 

[U8395279]

I'm talking about your standard plinking/target ammo - FMJ type like XM193. I've seen prices from a low for Federal Xm193 at around .25 a round (on sale) to over .50 a round for similar, sometimes even the exact same ammo.

I've never seen that ammo available anywhere for .25 cents a round. If you saw a deal that good, you should have jumped on it.

If you want to look for good ammo prices online, gunbot.net can be very helpful:

http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/rifle/556/

Like IronMonster, I also prefer the 62 gr XM855 myself, as I consider it to be a better self-defense round, and it is only a couple of pennies more expensive. Also means I don't have to adjust my scope between practice and having the rifle ready to use for protection.
.

 

[etrain16]

I've never seen that ammo available anywhere for .25 cents a round. If you saw a deal that good, you should have jumped on it.

If you want to look for good ammo prices online, gunbot.net can be very helpful:

http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/rifle/556/

Like IronMonster, I also prefer the 62 gr XM855 myself, as I consider it to be a better self-defense round, and it is only a couple of pennies more expensive. Also means I don't have to adjust my scope between practice and having the rifle ready to use for protection.
.

It was an email ad I received and it was on 90 round boxes. I suspected it was a good deal - biggest problem was that I didn't have the cash to buy it at that moment, and we don't put purchases on credit cards - no exceptions. It did hurt to let that deal go, but I guess the time just wasn't right yet. At least with the info on this thread, I can now have a better feel for ammo prices for the AR in the future.