Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Low Price Ammo Quality?

Anyone here actually used any of the ZSR, Igman, MagTech, or similar low priced 5.56 ammo? Any comments on how it performs and whether it meets your expectations?

In using Federal and IMI M193 stuff side by side, I've found that they shoot almost identically. I don't think I'd notice the difference if I loaded the top of a mag with one and the other in the bottom.
If I found a cut rate ammo that did as well, or even almost as well, I'd likely jump on some

I've heard that the PMC stuff uses powder that produces a significant muzzle flash. Don't know if that meant one type of 5.56 from PMC, or all of their offerings.
Are there any other caveats like this with the lower cost ammo makers?

Don't know anything about their current offerings, but I do know that Igman 5.56 or 223 of 15-20 years ago was loaded in nice, tough brass.

If you end up trying out some Igman, I'd love to buy a couple of hundred pieces of brass off you, to compare to the old stuff.

I shoot quite a bit of bulk ammo in action matches but it's mostly Federal: either American Eagle bulk or XM193 bulk 55 grain. It definitely depends on the rifle, but I have generally gotten about 1.5 MOA from the AE and more like 2+ MOA with the XM193. However I have one rifle with a Daniel Defense 1/7 barrel that gave me sub MOA 5 shot groups with XM193. I found that kind of surprising.

I guess it all depends on what your accuracy requirements are. You probably need to test the ammo in your rifles to see how it shoots. Even with major brands like Federal, there's a lot of difference in accuracy between bulk and match ammo.

Almost always its related to the projectile. I"ve never had a cheap FMJ or maybe even an FMJ for that matter, that could hold consistent MOA.

Whatever ammo it came in, if you made Mexican match out of it with a top line bullet the accuracy almost always settled pretty well.

No experience with todays cheap but if you bought cheap reloads with a decent flat base HP bullet in it I don't recall any brand that would not hold MOA in a good upper

I've only found 2. About 20 years ago I had a very good lot of S&B that would hold MOA, and the early Norma TAC in the black boxes would hold MOA in some, but not all, of my guns.

I recall the Norma did in some folks. By that time I'd learned I could buy cheap accurate bullets in bulk and could load usually better ammo for the same as buying cheap FMJ. Maybe less depending.

There was a lot of something in 223 once. Or 5.56 I"m sure, that was close, it would tend to hold 8 or so of the shots tight enough, but never a full group of 10.