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April 12th, 2021

Bargain Finder 290: AccurateShooter’s Deals of the Week

At the request of our readers, we provide select “Deals of the Week”. Every Sunday afternoon or Monday morning we offer our Best Bargain selections. Here are some of the best deals on firearms, hardware, reloading components, optics, and shooting accessories. Be aware that sale prices are subject to change, and once clearance inventory is sold, it’s gone for good. You snooze you lose.

1. Sportsman’s WHSE — C. Daly 12ga Pump Shotgun, $199.99

⏺ No frills, reliable Self-Defense 12ga Shotgun under $200

If you’ve been searching for a no-nonsense defense shotgun at a bargain price, then check out the Charles Daly 301 Tactical 12 Gauge 3in Black Pump Action Shotgun. It has an aluminum action with a steel barrel and comes with a Beretta/Benelli Modified Choke. It is chambered for 3″ (max) 12 gauge shells. Actual buyers were impressed with this shotgun: “Purchased for value. First day at range fired multiple types of 2 3/4 bird and buck shot with no issues to report.” and “Looks and functions great. Short and handy also.”

2. MidwayUSA — Tipton Ultra Vise + Free Scope Leveler, $129.95

⏺ Sophisticated, sturdy, versatile gun vise great for many tasks

Having a stable rifle vise is critical for doing any kind of work, especially mounting optics. One of our favorites is the Tipton Ultra Vise . It features different modules that can be quickly moved, rearranged or removed anywhere along the rail. Leveling feet are situated on all corners making leveling easier, and dual clamp technology rigidly holds any gun shape into place. The best part of this package is that it comes with a FREE Wheeler Scope Leveling System to help mount your scope properly.

The Tipton Ultra Gun Vise’s modular, interchangeable design can hold nearly any type of long gun. Ball and socket articulating clamp pads adapt to any surface. The front and rear clamps are both height and length adjustable with fast-turn knobs for quick clamping.

3. EuroOptic — Trijicon Tenmile Scope Sale — Huge Savings

⏺ These Trijicon optics compare well with NF for much less

Trijicon Tenmile scopes have quickly become popular with F-Class, PRS, and ELR competitors. Check out the Trijicon Tenmile scope sale where you can pick up any of these innovative scopes that feature lit reticles, large 34mm diameter tubes, and many other good features. These are really good scopes for the money. And now’s the time to buy with massive discounts during this sale. For example the Tenmile 3-18x44mm FFP with MRAD ranging is marked down from $2199.99 to $1475.99 (Save $724). And the Tenmile 5-50x56mm Extreme LR SFP scope is marked down from $2700.99 MSRP to $1810.99 — Save $890!

4. Midsouth — AR-15 30-Rd Steel 5.56 Mags 10-Pack, $139.99

⏺ Strong, well-designed AR 30rd Mags at good price

You can’t watch the news without wondering how long it’ll be before high-capacity magazines are banned nationwide. Avoid price gouging and regret by picking up an AR-15 30-Round Steel 5.56 Magazine 10-Pack. For $139.99 you’ll get TEN 30-round steel 30-Rd magazines with a well-designed anti-tilt follower. The follower is also self-leveling to ensure proper feeding of ammo in your AR15-type firearm.

5. Natchez — 400 Rds Federal XM193 5.56x45mm Ammo, $399.99

⏺ Quality Federal NATO-spec ammo for your AR-15 Platform rifles

Good factory loaded ammo remains hard to find, particularly for popular calibers such .223 Rem (5.56×45). Ammo prices seem to be on a constant rise. One of the best deals we’ve see on in-stock ammo is this Federal XM193 NATO Rifle Ammunition 5.56mm 55gr FMJ, 400/ct. While it’s not the cheapest we’ve seen, it’s good ammo and comes in a military-style ammo box. Nobody has a crystal ball but we may look back and wonder why we didn’t grab more ammo like this before prices rose even higher.

6. Brownells Armory — Everything AR at good prices

⏺ AR-focused product center: Uppers/Lowers/Mags/Triggers and more

More people than ever are looking to pick up some form of an AR-15 and for good reason. If you’re one of those people and don’t know where to look or how to get all the parts you need, check out the Brownells Armory. They’ve made it easy to build one by putting all the categories in an easy-to-navigate menu taking nearly all the guess work out of the process making for a one stop shop.

7. Costco — Cannon Landmark 47-gun Executive Safe, $799.99

⏺ Quality Cannon safe at huge discount right now — Save $200

Cannon makes good safes for the money — and this big 27.8 cubic-foot safe is on sale this week. Save $200 on the Cannon Landmark 27.8 Cubic-Foot Executive Safe with Electronic Lock and 60-minute fire rating. This safe is big, measuring 64.33″ Tall x 35.5″ Wide x 25.33″ Deep. The safe is rated to hold 47 guns (NOTE: This capacity figure is based on thin, unscoped rifles, such as lever guns. Nonetheless this is a very capacious safe.) NOTE: The $799.99 SALE price includes curbside delivery to your location.

8. Amazon — Universal Reloading Tray Blocks, 10-Pack $11.99

⏺ Precision-molded ammo blocks are stackable, versatile, affordable

We’re all probably spending a little more time loading these days, but sometimes prep work can be slowed down when you don’t have anywhere to put your brass. Save money and increase your capacity to load by picking up a Universal Reloading Ammo Tray Loading Blocks 10-Pack for just $11.99. These are universally sized, allowing for just about any type brass. NOTE These blocks are designed to stack securely, so you can use them for both short pistol cases (using one block) and taller rifle cartridges (using two or three blocks). These are cheap enough that you can also use them for general storage in crates or ammo boxes.

9. Amazon — EZ-Aim Bullseye Paper Target, 13-pack $3.90

⏺ Great, high-contrast Bullseye Targets just 30 cents each

Why spend a ton of money on targets that just get shot up and thrown away? Check out these EZ-Aim Paper Shooting Range and Archery Targets. They’re bright white with easy to see aiming points, and numbered Ring values. We like these because they resemble match targets. At $3.90 for 13 targets, your per target cost is just $0.30 (thirty cents)! NOTE: Allen also sells many other paper and reactive shooting targets — everything from sight-in sheets to prairie dog targets and spinners.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Hot Deals, Optics, Tactical No Comments »

October 15th, 2018

.223 Remington vs. 5.56x45mm — Facts vs. Fiction

Probably the most popular centerfire rifle round in the Western Hemisphere is the .223 Remington and its metric match, the 5.56x45mm. Though many folks use “.223 Rem” and “5.56×45″ interchangeably, there are some meaningful differences in specifications for the original .223 Rem and the 5.56x45mm cartridge, as adopted by the U.S. military and NATO armies. The default chamber throats are slightly different and the .223 Rem is rated at 55,000 PSI vs. 62,366 PSI for the 5.56x45mm.*

.223 Rem vs 5.56x45mm — Key Differences
There is a truly outstanding, very thorough article on the subject, published by LuckyGunner.com.** This involved extensive testing, with pressure monitors, of 5.56x45mm ammo in .223 Rem chambers. Those tests revealed the peak pressures. Here is one of the ammo test charts:

NOTE: “The observed chamber pressure for Federal XM855 5.56mm ammunition in a .223 Rem chamber exceeded .223 maximum pressures, but not by a massive amount. The ninth shot (the red line) was an underpowered cartridge which exhibited significantly lower velocity and pressure than the other rounds, so it was excluded from the average velocity and pressure numbers for this chamber.”

And if you’re curious, LuckyGunner also fired .223 Rem ammo in a 5.56x45mm NATO-chambered AR15 rifle. As you would expect, the peak pressures were significantly lower, but the .223 Rem ammo still cycled the semi-auto AR-platform rifle perfectly well:

READ FULL LuckyGunner .223 Rem vs. 5.56x45mm ARTICLE »

UltimateReloader.com Explains .223 Rem vs. 5.56x45mm
To explain the key differences between the .223 Rem and 5.56x45mm cartridges our friend Gavin Gear of UltimateReloader.com has created a very thorough 12-minute video. This covers the cartridge specifications and explains key considerations for hand-loaders. Gavin also addresses the oft-asked question “Can I shoot 5.56x45mm ammo in my .223 Rem chamber?” Gavin’s video is definitely worth watching. In fact, this is one of the most popular videos Gavin has ever created — it has been watched over 300,000 times on YouTube.

What Exactly Is the 5.56x45mm NATO Cartridge?
The 5.56×45mm NATO is a rimless bottle-necked intermediate cartridge family standardized by NATO with development work by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, SS110, and SS111 cartridges. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries.

Bullet diameter: 5.70 mm (0.224 in)
Maximum pressure (EPVAT): 430.00 MPa (62,366 psi)
Maximum pressure (SCATP 5.56): 380.00 MPa (55,114 psi)
Case length: 44.70 mm (1.760 in)
Rifling twist: 178 mm or 229 mm (1 in 7 in)
Parent case: .223 Remington (M193)

Ammo-Maker Federal Premium Compares .223 Rem and 5.56x45mm
Here is a video from ammo-maker Federal Premium explaining the difference between .223 Remington and 5.56x45mm NATO. Federal states that you may experience excessive pressures when firing a 5.56x45mm in a standard .223 Remington chamber:

One leading gunwriter has addressed the question of shooting 5.56x45mm ammo in .223 Rem chambers. He advocates caution (for more info, SEE pressure tests by LuckyGunner.com):

“I have received a slew of questions — many from first time AR-type rifle buyers — about the .223 Rem and the 5.56×45 mm NATO cartridges. Can I shoot 5.56×45 mm NATO in my .223 and vice-versa? Are these the same cartridge?

Externally, the two cartridge cases are identical. The main differences are that 5.56×45 mm NATO operates at a higher chamber pressure (about 60,000 PSI versus 55,000 PSI on the .223 Rem.) and the 5.56’s chamber is slightly larger than that of the .223 Rem. Also, the throat or leade is longer in the 5.56×45 mm chamber. What does this mean? You should not shoot 5.56×45 mm NATO out of a rifle that is chambered in .223 Rem. And be aware that some .223 Rem. ammunition will not reliably cycle through some AR-style .223 Rem. rifles, but it usually does. As a matter of fact, I have not encountered any difficulty with current .223 Rem. loads cycling through a 5.56 mm AR-style rifle.”
– Mark Keefe, Editor, American Rifleman

* According to the official NATO proofing guidelines, the 5.56×45mm NATO case can handle up to 430.0 MPa (62,366 psi) piezo service pressure. The U.S. SAAMI lists Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for the .223 Remington cartridge as 55,000 psi (379.2 MPa) piezo pressure with deviation of up to 58,000 psi (399.9 MPa). The chamber for military 5.56×45mm NATO has a longer throat prior to the bullet contacting the rifling which results in lower pressures when firing 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition. If 5.56×45mm NATO is used in rifles chambered for .223 Remington the bullet will be engraving the rifling when chambered. which can increase pressures past SAAMI Max levels. NOTE: The C.I.P. standards for the C.I.P. civilian .223 Remington chamber are much closer to the military 5.56×45mm NATO chamber.

** The full-length LuckyGunner article is well worth reading. It even provides specifications for a number of .223 Rem reamer types, and compares the original .223 Rem, the 5.56x45mm NATO, and the modern .223 Wylde chamberings.

Permalink - Articles, - Videos, Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Tech Tip 3 Comments »

February 24th, 2015

NSSF Urges Public to Oppose ATF Ban on 5.56 M855 Ammo

BATFE ATF logo The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is seeking to ban commonly-used 5.56 M855 “green tip” ball ammunition as “armor piercing ammunition” and is seeking public comment on the proposal. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) urges target shooters and gun owners to contact ATF to oppose this proposed ban.

For decades, under the “sporting purposes” doctrine, commonly-available “green tip” M855 and SS109 rifle ammunition has been exempt from federal law banning armor-piercing ammunition. There is no question that this 5.56 ball ammo has been widely used by law-abiding American citizens for sporting purposes.

Winchester-brand 5.56X45 62gr NATO M855 FMJ Ammunition

The NSSF has an online form that makes it easy to voice your opinion on the proposed ban on 5.56 ball ammo. This form will direct your comments to Congress and/or the ATF. Click the button at right to navigate to the NSSF online form.

Commentary by Jim Shepherd, The Shooting Wire
Should the ATF reclassify surplus (and widely used) M855 and SS109 ammunition as armor-piercing, it would then be illegal for consumer consumption. This weekend, we received word that apparently many gun owners didn’t find this to be a compelling reason to record their objections with the federal government. With only a few days remaining in the ATF’s solicitation of comments, fewer than 6,000 shooters have registered their displeasure with the proposal.That, as one of my least-favorite instructors used to say, is simply unacceptable.”

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, News 2 Comments »

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