Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Most lethal ammo/bullet for 10.5" AR 15

I just ordered a 10.5" 5.56 pistol kit from PSA and I'm really looking forward to playing with it, I think it will make a neat little truck gun for critters and defense.

My question is what bullet/loadings will give the best terminal performance out of the 10.5" barrel?

I hope it is accurate and powerful enough for 300 yard shooting.

Any info will be appreciated

A 55 or 60gr VMax bullet in .223 has pretty massive expansion, without a requirement of extreme velocities.

Thin jacket and rapid expansion.

There's all sorts of "lethality" though. Depends on the application.

I've got a 10.5" PSA 5.56. It's not bad at all for accuracy. I have irons on mine now, but had a scope on it when I first started shooting it, just to see what was what.

Here are some 50 yard targets,




75gr HPBT, or similar will probably give best results further out. Maybe the Sierra 77gr TMK.

I did some rock plinking with mine out to around 550 yards, with M855 Green Tip. It was consistent, and reasonably accurate.

Thanks guys.

MM, your posts on the above gun are what made me pull the trigger on my own pistol build.

You may want to look into the 77gr TMK. It penetrates very well and causes a lot of destruction/good wound channel..

An old 50 gr Speer TNT bullet ought to do the trick.

Pass the 75 Hornie HPBT and hold the Fluff.

Hint..............

between the 77 Sierra and 77 nosler, the nosler was the more destructive far as fragmenting up. They didn't test the 75hornady, but from online reading it's just as destructive far as fragmenting.

I think it's safe to say you are going to have a lot of fun with it. They are a 'blast'....grin

Thanks guys.

I'm very tempted to put a linear comp on it to try and make it a little less of a "blast"

one shot without ear pro is permanent hearing damage with a 10.5 gun. Want to kill a deer or something to 100 or better?

Hornady TAP 55 gr. GMX.

Lethal for what. Coyotes or 200lb mammals? Barrier penetration a concern?

Form,

Barriers are of minimal concern to me.

Coyotes on down I feel ok with any varmint bullet.

Guess I'm more concerned with the 200lb variety, but if that bullet will still perform on varmints and predators more the better

Thanks

Formidilosis,

1) 200lb mammals w/o barrier?

2) Same with barrier?

Thanks.

I've never zooked a 75 Hornie HPBT at any angle,upon any Critter...no matter the speeds,from 3500fps on down.

Hint................

Zooked?

Stick,

I'm not at all worried about a 75 hornady zooking in the platform, I'm worried about them not expanding at all past really close distances. It's a badass bullet but I dont know what they will do when slowed down that much.

They'll crunch skeletons and what more could a guy WISH for?!?

Hint.................

77gr TMK, Speer Gold Dot 75gr, and probably the easiest Federal fusion 62gr. All will expand/fragment to 350+ meters from a 10.5” while penetrating at least 14”.


Have and do shoot a lot of 75gr Hornady HPBT, but below 2,100-2,200’ish FPS fragmentation/expansion is sporadic.







1) 77gr Sierra TMK

2) 75gr Speer Gold Dot.

62 fusion is a really good bullet, I did not know they would work well out of a pistol barrel. Its not cheap over a $1.00 a round. Anyone know where they might sell bulk bullets (components) of the 62 grain fusion??

Starting velocity,ain't arrival velocity,thus the penchant to add BC to the equation...to retain same.

Hint....................

The 62 grain bonded Nosler can't be all that different from the 62 Fusion, can it?

Thanks guys.

Jimmy, at one time Rocky mountain reloading sold the fusion bullet as a component at a really good price.

Dude, they seem to be out of them now.

When we authorized 10.5” barrels we switched to 75graim Gold Dots to ensure expansion at 300 yards. The Speer loaf is very accurate as well.

They were over runs rather than pulled. I believe that they were selling at 0.13$/bullet. I hope can dig some more up.

several of my 16.5 inch guns are zeroed with the 62 grain fusion, amazing little bullet.

What powder are you using?

At an agency of immediate interest to me, earlier this year, a goblin pointed a pistol at several officers. A SWAT member engaged him with a Colt's Commando 11.5-in. at close range with issued Hornady 5.56 62 gr TAP BARRIER Item #8125C.

The result from a single, high center chest shot was straight down and out bad guy.

Here's Hornady's ballistics with a variety of barrel lengths:

62 gr TAP BARRIER

I buy them preloaded as I cannot find a source for the component, seems like 26-27 grains of TAC, Varget, or RL15 would work if you could find em.

Coldcase, wonder how that bullet performs at 200 yards?? I think most of them close up at 2700 FPS to 100 yards would be fine, but if hunting with an ar pistol and I see a deer at 200 yards, I would want the bullet to expand. 62 fusion will expand down to about 1400 FPS based on what I have learned, this makes a 10.5 inch pistol work a good bit past 200 yards.

Should not one expect to give up something when chopping a 223 to a pistol? Having your cake and eating it toowise?

Not really. Bullets can be, and there are bullets designed to be used from short barrels.

How about the Sig Elite ammo (77grain)?

Those are all good choices &, along with the 75 Hornady, minus the Fusion, are mostly what I use.

But unless one is a LEO or member of some SOG team, I guess I really fail to see the utility of a 10.5" over a 14.7", maybe even for them.

I carry the 14..7" regularly in a vehicle & have no issue at all with handling that length gun in that situation.

What more does the 10.5" really do for me?

MM

fits in a reasonably sized backpack pretty easy.

Not an issue or even a major consideration for me.

Since it's not a gun I'd not need it for a quick-draw encounter & a 14.7" gun breaks down in a matter of seconds, goes together in a matter or seconds & fits in just as small a pack.

For a quick-draw encounter, I carry a pistol or two with extra mags.

MM

its possible though not probable that seconds might count sometime but its just a matter of preference and what your comfortable with, I am not adverse to a 14.7 inch barrel with a fixed flash hider making it 16 inches.

You aren't going to be able to tell the difference in terminal velocity between any of the 75/77gr bullets out of a 10.5" barrel at game ranges. There's likely more difference in velocity between your individual rounds than between bullet types. I've seen ES over 70fps with a SD of about 20.

If seconds count & I need it quickly, nothing that's in backpack is gonna work well....................that's what a G19 or G17 or a Sig 325 or....................is for, IMO.

If I need it that quickly, it's likely to be short range, so no rifle (round) really required. If it doesn't really need to be concealed then the barrel length on a rifle, within all reason, is really a more or less moot point.

That was the original point I was trying to make.

MM

I understand what you are saying MM, but I believe the 5.56 will put someone down a lot more decisively at close range, than a 9mm or similar. It will also defeat most body armor. That's probably why entry teams are using the 10.5" and similar ARs.

I think the 10.5" has advantages over a 14.7" in close quarters, tactical stacks, fighting from inside vehicles, etc. I'm not doing that type of shooting.

I had to have a 10.5 due to the fact PSA nearly gives the uppers away....grin. For me it's a cool play toy more than anything else.

I do have 10.5 and 14.7 ARs, I prefer the 14.7" by a good margin for the type of shooting I generally do. For a home defense, I'd grab the 14.7 every time.

Yeah, I agree for sure, on the rifle round being more effective than a 9mm in the absolute........................but since 99% of those carrying daily are using handguns, I think we can surmise that the handgun round is "sufficient" for the most part, whatever that means, for short term, short range encounters.

If I know or think something more than that is going to be on the menu, then I'm going to pick a longer gun anyway.

So for me, average Joe Schmo, the 10.5" AR just doesn't have much real appeal, other than a novelty, hence the right bullet for it is kind moot.

And so I just use in my 14.7" gun, what I use in my 16 & 18" guns & don't give it much worry.

MM

I've not bought into the AR "pistol" idea and can't see it as something I'm going to do.

If I need a pistol, I need a pistol that is easily concealed under a T-shirt, if I'm in a vehicle, the pistol is still there. If I wanted an SBR, it would be a 10.5-11" SBR with a can. I used to have a 14.5" gun and much prefer the 16" version.

But for fun, it don't matter much what you choose.

If we're only talking about 5.56 in short ARs, I'd agree with you; I don't have much use for a shorty 5.56 myself. But the conversation changes a bit when the other available cartridges are thrown into the mix. With the 300 Blk for example, the question really becomes more about why to use a longer barrel and "what do I gain", to which the answer is "very little"; it just makes more sense to use a short 9"-10.5" barrel. Or with something like my 12.5" 6.5 Grendel, I acknowledge the compromises from a longer barrel, but it still is more effective downrange than my 16" 5.56, and is a lot easier to handle in tight spaces so it really does make a lot of sense.

Obviously you give up some ballistics in most rounds with a shorter barrel, but what you gain in maneuverability, general handiness, and ease of transport can be worth a lot too. Also - don't assume that a short barrel has to be limited to short range. Appropriate optics on something like my Grendel mentioned above make it effective a lot farther out than most people use their 16' carbines.

Yes, I agree on the short barreled 300 BO having more usefulness than the 5.56 & it's most definitely more effective than a handgun.

MM

wish I had held on to some of my evil black guns...

There's still time & prices are pretty good right now, depending on what you want.

MM

Sweetie,

Your inability to grasp the obvious,isn't the affliction of others. Hint. Congratulations?!?

It'll only come as a "surprise" to you,that not all things are "equal". Feel free to cite "game range" and the particulars of the schit ammo you reflect upon.

Bless your heart for trying though.

Hint.....................

Not my jam either,but a 10" Contender twisted right,with a good bullet...will flat FHUQK critters up.

18" is as short as I like to go on a 223 Krunchenticker(less a Loudener) and make mine Rifle Gas,because noise don't horn me up.

The Good Colonel said it best,in that " a pistol is for fighting your way to a rifle".

Hint.....................

Contenders is where my lack of interest comes from on AR pistols. I had a 10" 223 and a Super 14, neither one was fun in an enclosed environment. House gun? I'd rather affix bayonet than touch off a 223 pistol indoors.

It is remarkable what difference an 18" barrel makes, less noise and more velocity.

I put down a cow inside a barn once with a mini 14, dirt fell from the rafters for a day, my ears rang for a week.

I hate Contenders as a fhuqking whole(no matter who built 'em)...but can defer to XP-100 GREATNESS in retrospect,in both Fireball and 223,to account for impact velocities.

There was a goodly run,where all of my newly wed pards got a Mini-14 as a Wedding "Gift",because I had (6) of the fhuqking things to get rid of.(grin)

If I was CONVINCED I needed a 223 "pistol" for a crummy,it'd be a fhuqking side folding piston 18" Krunchenticker,which I HATE!

Laughing!........................

Slow learner.

You assuredly are. Congratulations?!?

Hint.................

What on earth did they do to make you hate them that much?