Which AR Caliber is more Accurate???

Katana

Katana

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I'm thinking on getting into the AR market but know squat about them. The question I have is what kinda of accuracy could one expect out of an AR15 in .223 or 7.62x39???

I know that the .223 should get about 4MOA but after doing the search there is no info about the other calibers, particularly the 7.62x39 up to about 200m.
 
Many things will influence accuracy : the SHOOTER, barrel quality, ammo quality, the SHOOTER, etc... 4 MOA with a .223 AR15 = there's something wrong...
 
I agree that 4moa is weak and should be closer to 2 maybe even 1moa. Taking the SHOOTER of of the equation and having the same quality barrel on each, would the russian round measure up to the 223???
 
223... The only advantage inherent in 762 Soviet is more stopping power at closer ranges. It is no contest in terms of accuracy. When the Russians came up with 7.62x39 they just cut down a 762 Mosin-Nagant cartridge and left the same projectile = crap ballistics.
 
I'm not limited to those calibers it's just that the Russian is cheaper to shoot as surplus ammo is plentiful. Mind you, it's not that I'm limeted to just that one either.
 
If price is your only object, go with 7.62x39. .223 goes for 50 cents a pop nowadays. If you reload you can shave that down to 30 cents a pop. There are 6.8SPC uppers out there, but they go for double what .223 goes for.

But in terms of accuracy 7.62x39 has a muzzle velocity of 2,300-2,400 FPS at best whereas .223 has a muzzle velocity of 2,800-3,100 FPS depending on bullet recipe and barrel length. 7.62 is slower and consequently slows down a lot faster than .223. A slow bullet is affected by the elements (gravity, wind, etc) more which leads to inferior accuracy.

If plinking at short range is your bag, go with 7.62x39. If you're looking into anything serious go for .223. I hear good things from 6.8 but it sells for as much as .308. And of course there are .308 AR's out there like the AR10.
 
Go with the .223 you will not be disappointed, with the number of options out there triggers, barrels etc... you can create a gun capable of impressive accuracy. Check-out the following link it got me hooked on reloading for my AR and I must say so myself my results have been quite impressive... and you will get much, much better than 4MOA much better.

hxxp://ww w.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/st223_120606/
 
I don't believe the .223 is more accurate at up to 200 yards. The ability to buy match grade or better grade ammo off the shelf and reloading components is however much better for .223. Higher velocity doesn't necessarily mean better accuracy. Most match grade ammo is slower in velocity than hunting or military ammo. This is true from .22LR to .308 (Federal Gold match for example).

That being said, I'd go with a .223 AR just for the amount of choices in ammo, and avoiding other headaches such as using corrosive 7.62mm surplus in a direct impingement system (See above good advice about avoiding avoiding a lot of headaches).

I opted for a CZ-858 to shoot the cheap surplus in. The rifle was designed for it and costs less than an AR upper in 7.62x39.
 
Katana said:
Ahhh.... corrosive ammo. Right, I never thought of that.
Click to expand...

You can get non-corrosive ammo and you can reload for 7.62x39. But ultimately most people go to this round for the cheap and easy to find surplus ammo which is corrosive.
 
I will admit that surplus ammo was what I was thinking of using but my understanding of on how the AR system works (I did some research) it probably isn't the smartest ammo to use.
 
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