American Eagle 5.56

[740 Turbo Brick]

I was wondering if any of you have used this and what your opinion on it was. They sell these in 100 rd boxes at my local Dunhams, and it seems to be the cheapest way to spend a day at the range/in the woods. It says $49.99 but is marked down to $39.99 "store special". My M&P sport eats these up. They are clean for the most part, and have not had one single problem with any of the 6 or so boxes Ive bought.

If they are out of stock of this, which is rare, I go to walmart and get a few 20 rd boxes of Remington UMC .223. These go for $8 a box, which isnt bad, but Ive had a few that were duds, full primer strike and no fire. On top of that Ive seen more than 10 in probably 8 boxes that had extra material on the primer that apparently wasnt cut off in the casting, and they leave a lot more carbon inside the reciever. Other than that the only visual difference is the .223 has a full shine and brass colored case while the 5.56 has discoloration towards the neck that looks like it was heated. I obviously lean towards the American Eagle, anyone else use either of these?

 

[moxie]

American Eagle is good stuff. You can get it for a lot less at some of the on-line sites like:
Ammunition Rifle-East Coast Gun Sales-Guns for Sale-Firearms for Sale - Page 1
Ammo | Rifle | 223 Remington | FMJ/Target - Natchez Shooters Supplies
Ammo-Rifle - 223/5.56 - Surplus Ammo
That discoloration you see around the neck is from a heating process called "annealing" and is perfetly good and normal. It allows the case neck to be formed properly and hold the bullet in place with sufficient case neck tension.

 

[Wayne M]

Back when 223/5.56 was cheap(like $40 for 500 at one of the big online distributors) I shot tons of the stuff. Good all around ammo.

 

[mwbgtb]

Great ammo, I use it my AR's and 45 ACP's.

 

[rromeo]

Walmart around me usually has Federal .223 for $39.97. I'll grab a box or two when I want to shoot, and I haven't been to a gun show in a while.
In general, I like Federal ammo.

 

[SPEEDGUNNER]

good clean ammo. shoot (and enjoy) with confidence.

 

[jack the toad]

Good to hear. Just got 1K rds of the AE.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

American Eagle ammo is Federal ammo and there's nothing wrong with Federal. Just look at the head stamp, it will be Federal...

 

[BUFF]

My police agency uses Federal American Eagle red box 55 gain FMJ .223 for training in our Colt AR-15, M-16 and M-4 rifles and carbines. Most belong to the department but you can purchase a Colt AR if you would prefer something different. We shoot our rifles twice a year, most years.

I have shot hundreds, possibly thousnds of the department's Federal .223 training rounds and have seen literally thousands more shot by others. The cartridges work. I can't recall witnessing a single cartridge that failed to fire.

I first qualified with and carried my own Colt SP-1 until the department was able to procurr several hundred M-16's from the U.S. Army for department use. A good friend working an assignment as an armorer picked me out a brand spanking new Colt M-16A1, so I put my AR back in my safe and now carry the M-16. I have shot thousands of the Federal American Eagle as well as almost as much Winchester 55 grain FMJ through both guns with no ammo problems at all. It is very good ammunition.