When do you shoot through random rifle ammo?

[skvnk]

I have a decent stockpile of my chosen 5.56 ammo thay all my guns are zeroed to. I have plenty and I use it for training. However, like many of us, I also have boxes of boxes of random 223/5.56; a couple boxes of this, a couple boxes of that, some of which perform differently in my guns (off by, like, several MOA.)

With pistol ammo I know exactly what I would do with it; I can train with it and at the distances I tend to do pistol drills the poi shift will not be noticable.

With rifle ammo, however, when would you shoot it? I don't really mag dump into trash, and I don't want to have to recheck my zero every 40 rounds. And I want to hit what I am shooting at.

My first thought was use it when I have friends shooting, but most of them don't shoot much, and I want them to be able to hit their target and have fun.

Am I overthinking this? Should I just go blast it into a hillside? Should I let my friends shoot it and let them blame it on the ammo when they miss?

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[osprey]

I use random ammo to foul the bore of my rifles after a good cleaning. Most of my rifles shoot more accurately and to a true point of aim after several fouling shots.

 

[Bobbygun]

I would use it on one of those reactive targets you throw on the ground at a gravel pit somewhere. It's fun to see if you can hit the rolling block/ball/whatever before it stops moving. If you miss, so what?

I've found a couple of my pistols really don't like the Winchester white box training ammo. That's what I did to use it up. I reload most of my rifle ammo, so I don't have any oddball stuff hanging out for many of my rifles. I do have some older stuff that my dad loaded for my grandad's .30-06. I use it shooting at random rocks/branches/whatever at long range, just to see how close I can come.

 

[Koda]

It depends on how much of it you have...
If its an overwhelmingly large amount that would wear out your barrel, sell it. cheap if you have to but just get rid of it.
If not, just have fun mag dumping it or let friends shoot it up.

 

[Camelfilter]

Practical drills.

Ready ups.

Failure.

Transition.

Multiple targets.

Etc etc.

On the short bus practical range...

 

[Koda]

On the short bus practical range...

This.
At least for AR15s I find that different ammo brands that are off zero isnt really noticeable at 50yds or less on any practical target.
I have an AR zeroed at 100 for predator hunting, but with bulk training ammo it shoots left a few inches but at 50yds its only maybe an inch left and with its poor group size it doesnt matter.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Get a frt trigger?

 

[MikeInOr]

I have a decent stockpile of my chosen 5.56 ammo thay all my guns are zeroed to. I have plenty and I use it for training. However, like many of us, I also have boxes of boxes of random 223/5.56; a couple boxes of this, a couple boxes of that, some of which perform differently in my guns (off by, like, several MOA.)

With pistol ammo I know exactly what I would do with it; I can train with it and at the distances I tend to do pistol drills the poi shift will not be noticable.

With rifle ammo, however, when would you shoot it? I don't really mag dump into trash, and I don't want to have to recheck my zero every 40 rounds. And I want to hit what I am shooting at.

My first thought was use it when I have friends shooting, but most of them don't shoot much, and I want them to be able to hit their target and have fun.

Am I overthinking this? Should I just go blast it into a hillside? Should I let my friends shoot it and let them blame it on the ammo when they miss?

When shooting groups it doesn't matter where the scope is zeroed, all that matters is the size of the groups even if they aren't on the bullseye. A 1" group is a 1" group where ever it lands on the paper.

 

[Deavis]

Practical drills.

Ready ups.

Failure.

Transition.

Multiple targets.

Etc etc.

On the short bus practical range...

This is about exactly what I was going to post.

Purposeful practice.

Learn about mechanical offset in the short range.

Get a shot timer and work reloads and malfs.

There is great opportunity and value here you can realize.

If you cant realize it someone else can, trade it for what you like.

I keep stocks of various rounds so I can shoot test groups in new barrels, etc.

All those cool close AR drills can, and should be done with your bolt guns, single shots, whatever. Why? Because it really sucks trying to learn something new when you need it!

Invest in yourself.

 

[Camelfilter]

..:All those cool close AR drills can, and should be done with your bolt guns, single shots, whatever. Why? Because it really sucks trying to learn something new when you need it!

Invest in yourself.

Hmmm. Interesting. Very interesting…

 

[Stomper]

Since it's all random ammo that can't be batch-lot number matched to your cache and MOA accuracy isn't critical .... use it to clear out all those disgusting "homeless" camps, or use it to rob a bunch of banks and credit unions!














Not really, don't to that.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Way over thinking this....just shoot the ammo.
Not everything needs to be a drill or the like....just shoot for the fun of it.
Andy

 

[Mikej]

Way over thinking this....just shoot the ammo.
Not everything needs to be a drill or the like....just shoot for the fun of it.
Andy

What a concept!

 

[titsonritz]

What a concept!

Indeed

 

[CountryGent]

Should I just go blast it into a hillside?

Why not? (Not completely academic either. For reasons I cannot recall, years ago I bought up a quantity of random 5.56㎜ ammo I have no real use for, that sits in a storage shed. On occasion I'll blast away with it at random targets on home range. Any real purpose? Nope. But there are plenty of less fun ways to spend part of an afternoon.)

Get a frt trigger?

Good call. Well, before 9/5/25, if one is in the state.

Way over thinking this....just shoot the ammo.
Not everything needs to be a drill or the like....just shoot for the fun of it.

Exactly.

 

[WAYNO]

Bullseye shooting or ammo dumping. Any or all of my 40-year old ammo I will continue to count on and trust for 100% function. None of my ammo has ever gone bad.
In fact, when I'm struggling to zero a firearm, I often pull out some of my old reloads, just because i know they are exceptionally accurate. Much more so than a lot of new factory ammo.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

…

Good call. Well, before 9/5/25, if one is in the state.

I was looking at the date and it's a long session year so I'm thinking (from the other thread):

"Looking at that date again the last session day is July 29 + 91 days would be Oct. 28 as effective date. It's a given that Kotex will sign it."

I could be wrong though. We need to clarify.

 

[CountryGent]

@ilikegunspdx roger that. Thanks.

 

[Mono1]

@ilikegunspdx roger that. Thanks.

Gent, like your signature. 1st John 4:8

 

[Mono1]

I have a decent stockpile of my chosen 5.56 ammo thay all my guns are zeroed to. I have plenty and I use it for training. However, like many of us, I also have boxes of boxes of random 223/5.56; a couple boxes of this, a couple boxes of that, some of which perform differently in my guns (off by, like, several MOA.)

With pistol ammo I know exactly what I would do with it; I can train with it and at the distances I tend to do pistol drills the poi shift will not be noticable.

With rifle ammo, however, when would you shoot it? I don't really mag dump into trash, and I don't want to have to recheck my zero every 40 rounds. And I want to hit what I am shooting at.

My first thought was use it when I have friends shooting, but most of them don't shoot much, and I want them to be able to hit their target and have fun.

Am I overthinking this? Should I just go blast it into a hillside? Should I let my friends shoot it and let them blame it on the ammo when they miss?

Check the Twist Rate on your AR. Modern AR's usually have a barrel Twist of 7,8 or 9 (it should say on the barrel).

Modern Twists are most accurate with 69 grain bullet weights. Or even heavier

People who do not know this (or don't care about accuracy) will buy the 55 gr stuff all day long because it's the cheapest at the store.

But that ammo was designed for the old Viet-Nam era barrel twists that ranged from 12 to 16.

Happy shooting!

PS: I do have some 55 gr but I use it for first-time guests that I take to the range who have never shot an AR before.