223 How far?

I know that the Corps still shoots Qual at 500y and the most recent info i have says 55 out of a 20 inch 1/9 twist is max eff of 800? again I might be crazy and I know that the Corps and the Army and so on do have different number at times.
 
Maximum effective range of the M-16A2 firing the SS109 62 Gr. FMJ round is 550 meters for a point target and 800 meters for an area target. Point target indicated man sized and area indicates automobile sized targets. The maximum effective range for a point target from an M4 is 460 meters using the same ammunition. None of the above is the maximum range of that mentioned round. If you were to incline the barrel to a 45 degree angle the bullet can travel up and possibly exceed 5 miles. Weather conditions, altitude, and relative temperatures will change the actual numbers.

A more realistic gauge of how far the average round will travel would be as follows. We will assume and that the target is at the same elevation and is human sized for simplicty. This target is 300 yards away and stands 6 ft tall. You as the shooter are the same height and are zeroed at 300 yards. If you are aiming at the very top of his head, the bullet would have to fall 72 inches before striking the ground, disregarding the chance of a ricochete, this would be approximately 635 yards.

A 55 grain bullet will be slightly faster, however it will have lower ballistic coeffeicient and therefore will strike the ground at around the same distance. It would be reasonable to expect the round to go not much further the 700 yards if even that due to a shorter barrel, unless you begin aiming high. Regardless to all of the previous statments, it is not a very good idea to shoot without some sort of backstop as bullets can and will do unpredictable things.
 
Hello, just thought i would let everyone know that the 223-5.56mm max range is 3,600 meters, the maximum effective range is 300 meters. The maximum effective range is the range a person can fire the weapon effectively in order to hit the target. The maximum range is that of which the bullet can travel. Hope this helps.

No it doesn't help, because its is incorrect

300 meters may be where the 14.5 inch M4 is getting lame, but the Marine Corp has a significant number of M16A(4?) that is 20 inch. That is effective out much further effective distance (quals at 500 as stated, they do take marksmanship a lot more seriously that does the Army sadly).

The limiting factor becomes optics, hard core (not corp) shooters are reaching out 600-800 yards accurately.

Brits have a BAR type Bullpup that I believe has a 24 inch barrel (sweet backup gun) that reaches out 800 yards.
 
back stop

I've built a backstop for my home range by taking old tires and stacking them, then filling the resulting column(s) with sand.

Staking out each column with a metal fence post along one inside edge seems to help stability. Sand could be bought in bulk, but what I did for easier handling was to buy damaged bags of sand at the building supply (half price) and chunk them in there. Once in a while, I chunk in another bag as needed

Three columns, arranged in a triangular shape, wide side facing shooter. Figure on 12-15 tires, 4-5 tires high per column.
That gives me about 30 inches of sand, per column, quite a bit more a center, with a rubber/belted outer. This is catching handgun rounds and .22 w/ no problem and I feel certain it would catch .223.
 
I was thinking of twenty some grains of titegroup as well.


I’m no expert when it comes to reloading, but I have reloaded 20-30 thousands rounds over the years. Isn’t Titegroup a handgun powder? I don’t think loading handgun powder in a rifle is a very wise decision.
 
Thumbs up to the OP

I think you have shown great judgement in your situational awareness. Your round didn't travel far but why take chances?
I wish I had 2 miles of backstop.:)

Regards,

Hobie
 
A round hay bail has stopped everything I've fired at it. I wouldn't worry about the lead either. The bullets don't deform in hay, so they are still jacketed. We use 5x5 bales.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top