Is there a "standard" bullet type and weight for self defense shooting in an AR. I know the answer is what shoots best....but is there a common one like 55 FMJ, or soft pt. that is most used?

Yeah I think 55 FMJ is the old standby, but there are a lot of other specialty projectiles out there for specific applications like those made for minimum penetration/maximum frangibility to avoid collateral damage in populated areas.

So in close quarters AR...like in a building or home you would want the FMJ. I would've thought this might penetrate through more often than not or is it too small and light a bullet to consistently penetrate through a human? I'm new to the AR thing, more used to hunting bullets and before I load up some was curious what most are using.

You're right; the FMJ will over penetrate and potentially harm an innocent bystander. Those have been a standard for a long time, with newer frangible projectiles being developed recently to minimize that problem on airplanes or in urban environments.

So do you know what is favored now, is it a soft point or hollow point? Brand? All copper(barnes)? Thanks for the reply.

This is not correct especially in comparison to pistol cartridges...


The below links are written by Dr. Gary Roberts, one of the foremost terminal ballistics SME's alive.

Home Defense Weapon choice


5.56mm Duty Loads

Law enforcement agencies buy what's on sale. I've seen 64gr SP's. 55gr FMJ, 64gr Speers... It's all preference.

For my AR I bought a 1,000 Hornady 55gr SP's. Shoot great to the five.

55gr's @ 3,100fps is what I consider a "standard" AR load with 16" tube.


Travis

Yep, myths die hard. This is one of the reasons you couldn't convince cops to carry AR's, but they will carry (or used to) carry FMJ 9mm and shotgun slugs, which penetrate like a frickin' spear.

FMJ's are for practice.

When I want to blas holes in papaer I choose FMJ's. If I want to be accurate I go the Hornady V-Max's. 50's, 55's, and 60's. Great bullets. kwg

Whatever is cheap is unfortunately purchased and issued. I was once issued Silver Bear ammunition. Yeah. Wonderful.

For what its worth, I'm allowed to use my own if I choose. After the Silver Bear incident, I went with Black Hills 55 gr soft points. While there are better choices, it was an excellent compromise between performance and cost, since it was on my own dime. I used Dr Robert's research as posted above in my selection.

My preference would be Speer's Gold Dot loads.

Good to know that our local PD buys good ammo for its folks. At least not FMJ... they run TAP pretty much all the time.

Same for duty pistol ammo, Gold Dot last I ordered any for them.