Average AR15 effective range.

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Hey guys so I know wiki and other places says the average range for an AR is around 400m or so but I was wondering what the real world effective range is for an average AR. I know that's vague and theres a ton of variants but I'd like to hear what you think. Thanks.
 
Effective range and effective killing range are two different questions. Barrel length will give you different answers, and of course shot placement is everything. The round is an odd one, requiring higher velocity to fragment, yaw, and create the massive temporary cavity that it's famous for. At lower velocities, ie longer ranges, the round is still very accurate, but requires better shot placement, as it is a small bullet acting like a small bullet. Mystic precision here can attest to the long range accuracy of the calibre, well beyond what it was designed for.
 
It's an ACCURATE round for a long way. I would not hesitate to shoot 600m with a good AR.

But the FRAGMENTATION range is way more limited, if you're talking about effective fighting distance. With a 20" barrel and ideal conditions I would be surprised if you could get many rounds to fragment past 150m at the outside. Note that that is a pure seat of the pants calculation and you might find some rounds that would go that far.

However, if you're the kind of shooter that can hold 1 MOA at 500m, and your gun will play that game as well (and having a gun that will do it is a lot easier than being a shooter who can do it) you are less dependent on the fragmentation to make an effective hit.

But in Canadian civilian terms, where we primarily expect them to be effective on cellulose fiber, they will go pretty damn far and still make a quarter-inch hole in a piece of paper.
 
I just pulled out the log book and on a fig 12 I am running at 94% first round hits at 500m. I will be the first to admit that is on a KD range.

That is using a mix of 20" rifles, C7A1, C7A2 and my Stag 4R. All with C79 Elcans and SS109 ammo.
 
If you use the military's definition of effective:
Canadian army published a document on this and in it the effective of C7 20" barrel with 63gr bullet is 400m.
US Army's 14.5" barrelled M4 has a much shorter effective range with 63gr bullet 200-250m, but the same rifle with 77gr OTM bullet is effective up to 500m (most armies consider this bullet illegal for warfare).
The British army is unsatisfied with the general performance of 5.56mm NATO and consider its effective range to be 300m.

The main problem is that a bullet can't deliver hydrostatic shock or fragment if it doesn't hit a target at 2300fps and 63gr NATO bullets reach that velocity at around 300m when shot from a 20" barrel. Using a shorter barrels means a lower muzzle velocity and a 50-100m shorter effective range.

By comparison, 7.62NATO has an effective range of 600m-800m depending on weapon and bullet used.
 
AlexF said:
If you use the military's definition of effective:
Canadian army published a document on this and in it the effective of C7 20" barrel with 63gr bullet is 400m.
US Army's 14.5" barrelled M4 has a much shorter effective range with 63gr bullet 200-250m, but the same rifle with 77gr OTM bullet is effective up to 500m (most armies consider this bullet illegal for warfare).
The British army is unsatisfied with the general performance of 5.56mm NATO and consider its effective range to be 300m.

The main problem is that a bullet can't deliver hydrostatic shock or fragment if it doesn't hit a target at 2300fps and 63gr NATO bullets reach that velocity at around 300m when shot from a 20" barrel. Using a shorter barrels means a lower muzzle velocity and a 50-100m shorter effective range.

By comparison, 7.62NATO has an effective range of 600m-800m depending on weapon and bullet used.
Click to expand...

SS109 is 62gr.
400m was chosen by Canada because it is between 300 and 500m.
US Army says 500m for both Carbine M4 and M16.
Who considers OTM bullets to be illegal?
 
Having a quick peek at the EE, the average AR up for grabs today is an M-4 based carbine, rather than a 20", and the most predominant bullets on the market are the 55 grain, rather than the 62 grain or heavier.

I would suppose that of the thousands and thousands of civilian owned AR's in Canada today, very few (probably in the hundreds) have been fired at targets in excess of 300 meters. (The last number I saw on Civilian AR ownership was approximately 50,000, a number dating from the early 90's which is now probably doubled.)

I'm not saying the rifles aren't capable of more, I'm saying they aren't used for more.

(Or, equally likely, a longer range is not available for use at the local shooting range.)

The 55 grain rounds typically don't perform as well at longer ranges as compared to heavier rounds, and given the comparative rarity of heavier rounds, I would say that most folks seem to be happy with the adequate performance of the 55's at shorter ranges.

So, it would be my suggestion that MOST shooters using the AR platform will rarely fire past 300 meters, and the average distance MOST shooters will shoot is probably closer to 200 meters, and many small/local ranges don't even have the ability to shoot past 100 meters.

The system is capable of much more, but with the swap and play capability of the AR System, there are so many variables that come into play that it's really hard to give a solid number.

Example: a 7.5" Kitty-Kat upper will be effective at shorter ranges (50-100m) but with two simple push-pins, you can swap on a 14.5" carbine upper that can easily reach out several hundred meters, and with another couple of push-pin, you can swap on a tuned match upper with a fancy scope that could drop 77 SMK's into a little bullseye at 1/3 of a mile or more.

Thinking of the "average" AR with the "average" shooter, using "average" ammo, and I will stand by my 200 meter guestimate.

Honestly, I feel that if you're consistently hitting an 8"x16" bull at 300 meters with an AR Platform, you're above average.

If you're consistently able to hit an 15" bull at 500 meters, then you're probably in the top 10% of civilian AR shooters in Canada.

Anyone shooting beyond that and getting regular hits/good scores is an exceptional shot.

YMMV, but those are my thoughts.

NavyShooter

(Of interest, I had a peek at the first few pages of the Black Rifle EE, and found 37 AR type rifles currently listed for sale, with an average barrel length of 14.9 inches between the 37 rifles. There were only 5 full 20" barrel rifles for sale.)
 
77gr OTM MK262 Mod1 uses a 77gr Sierra Match King bullet, this bullet has been ruled legal for unrestricted land warfare usage. The same rationale has previosuly been used to rule OTM (BTHP) bullets legal previously that they are match bullet that have a hollowpoint by manufacturing process, not to increasing suffering/wounding/lethality.

There is nothing questionable about a BTHP Match bullet.

The only people that ##### and moan are European Ammuntion companies who want to sell ammo.
 
What do you mean by "effective range"?

Effective as in hitting the target somewhere by an average person?

Effective as in penetrating commonly encountered flak vest?

Effective as in putting holes on paper?

Effective as in creating certain terminal ballistic characteristics?

Effective as in hunting certain games?

Different armies have different "effective range" because they probably have different criteria for the word "effective". Effective range for a target shooter is different from that of an average soldier - and the effective range of an average soldier is different from that of a trained marksman. And the effective range for shooting camels is probably different from shooting Russians wearing ballistic protection and spilling out of BMPs.
 
I've read the news about U.S. Army has begun shipping improved 5.56×45 62-grain cartridges (M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round with bismuth-tin alloy core with a steel stacked-cone penetrating tip) to U.S. troops in Afghanistan started in Jun 2010. They claim it has higher velocity (longer range) and more consistent performance at all distances. From the hard target performance chart (shooting 3/8" steel plate) it covers up to 375m out of M4 and 450m out of M16.
 
With respect to all, my M4 is only a 100 yard fun gun. I have no long range aspirations with it. For long range I would use my steven's 200 with the shilen heavy barrel and falcon menace optics. I know I can make hits at 450 with that.

I am not talking precision just hits on a 2x2 ft plate.

For longer range I have better guns and am building a much better gun.
 
On a two way range the accuracy is better than one would be able to actually attain more often than not. The accuracy of the platform has helped on operations from time to time but for the bulk of combat the individual rifle is typically used in the 300M and in range. That is what the rifle was origionally designed for anything more is all a bonus.
 
tbrwlf said:
With respect to all, my M4 is only a 100 yard fun gun. I have no long range aspirations with it. For long range I would use my steven's 200 with the shilen heavy barrel and falcon menace optics. I know I can make hits at 450 with that.

I am not talking precision just hits on a 2x2 ft plate.

For longer range I have better guns and am building a much better gun.
Click to expand...
That's completely up to you, of course. But it's entirely possible to build extremely accurate long-range ARs.

As a matter of fact, this years International Sniper Competition at Ft. Benning was just won by two shooters using Larue OBRs, which are an AR-pattern rifle.

Those are clearly not average AR-15s...but far more importantly, those are not average AR-15 shooters. In most cases, the gun will outperform the owner.
 
Gunnerlove said:
SS109 is 62gr.
400m was chosen by Canada because it is between 300 and 500m.
US Army says 500m for both Carbine M4 and M16.
Who considers OTM bullets to be illegal?
Click to expand...

OTM legality
I'm not a lawyer but OTM did not pass British army legal review.
Also, does anyone know if Canadian army allows use of OTM bullets?

Alex
 
Just a thought - I am sure that any enemy capturing a US soldier carrying hollowpoint ammunition is going to be impressed by the determination that the hollow point is there for manufacturing, rather than lethality purposes.
A well managed AR is certainly capable of producing hits to 500m, and somewhat beyond. It is a bit of a shame if doctrine is to restrict use and training to significantly shorter ranges.
NS - thanks for putting me in the top 10% of civilian AR shooters.
 
I consistantly make hits on a 6x6 steel gong at 500 meters on our range with my KAC SR15 with NXS 2.5x10 scope on it with a variety of ammunition some factory .223 and some pmc 5.56. The AR is certainly capable to 500m and I wouldn't consider myself more than an average shooter.
 
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