Sub-sonic .223's

Z

zplinker

New member
Had a little fun the other day, playing with the AR and sub-sonic loads. Bullets were Corbin 55 gr., R-P 7 1/2 primer, with 3.1 gr. of Titegroup. Fired through a silencer, it sounded like a cap gun, and grouped under 3/4" at 40 yards. According to the data I used, they should be about 1000 fps, which will closely duplicate a 22 LR for energy. I'll have to chronograph them when it warms up.
 
I tinkered with these a while back, good fun experiment, having no suppressor for 223 though I couldnt utilize them to their full potential. Fun non the less.
 
Ummmm ..... why bother making them if .22lr will give the same performance, at less cost?
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They don’t give the same performance just about the same energy.

A .22 LR upper or conversion would be semiautomatic, his reduced .223 loads make the AR a single shot.
 
These are dirt cheap, since the bullets are made from fired .22 rimfire brass. Add primer, pinch of powder, and you have it, but cost really isn't a deciding factor. Once I thread the barrel on my bolt action rifle, its just something different to play with. :)
 
"..............his reduced .223 loads make the AR a single shot."

No, it makes it a straight pull bolt action repeater.

A Thompson Center Contender is a single shot.
A Ruger #1 is a single shot.

A rifle with a 30 round magazine is not in any way a single shot. It's not semi-auto but that doesn't make it a single shot.
 
No, it makes it a straight pull bolt action repeater.
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You know, you’re right. Still not what an AR is intended to be and virtually none are described to be, ever but “turn bolt” it is in operation and it has to be manually operated for every shot.
 
Magnum: My wild guess,stability is in part a function of RPM. At 2500 fps +,it takes at the veryleast a 1 in 9 twist to stabilize a 75 gr HPBT,and that is marginal. A 1 in 8 twist is more reliable. When you cut the velocity to less than half,you cut the RPM's,too.

As far as the subsonic .223's...Do whatever makes you happy. Your opinion is as good as mine.
IMO,the 60 gr Aguila subsonic 22 LR load through a twist tailored to this bullet would be my choice.There were 10-22 barrels offered (aftermarket..Clerke maybe) for this application.

It has been my experience that for purposes of not being annoying or attracting much attention,any subsonic 22 LR is pretty quiet out of a rifle even without a suppressor.

IMO,if a person really wants to develop an effective suppressed AR,the .300 Blackout is probably a better choice.
 
For me, it's not worth the risk of squibbing/sticking a bullet in the barrel.
I have a perfectly good 10-22 that operates fine with sub-sonic ammo.
 
Now that I have a .30 cal suppressor, i'm exploring all my caliber options. Anything with a threaded muzzle is game on ! I pondered suppressing my 556 AR's but after much research and crunching the numbers to get to the 1000 fps threshold, I said nope. Not worth it when I already have a subsonic specific 300 Blackout upper with a pistol gas system specifically designed to function 220 gr subsonic ammo.
 
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For most practical purposes, a suppressed .223 with full power ammo is still worthwhile. I've used a suppressed AR .223 for several years while noting game's reaction to the supersonic bullet crack. When game is missed, the sound of the bullet's passage seems to be less of an issue than the impact of the bullet on the background(which will occur regardless of whether the bullet is sub or super sonic).
 
I played with .223 subs and Trail Boss some years ago. It was really quiet in a Contender rifle. But the Contender has a relatively slow twist, so it was 55 gr. and under bullets in that one. I did load some 69 gr. and 75 gr. subs in a 1:7 AR15 and manually cycled the action. Also very quiet.

I tried shooting a subsonic V-Max into water jugs to see if it did anything at those slow speeds. Other than breaking off the plastic tip, the bullet ended up completely intact.

More recently I developed a subsonic load in the .221 Fireball case. It's a more efficient case for this application vs. the .233. Again, shooting these in a single-shot Contender.

Yet another option in a single-shot is to use a chamber adapter. I can shoot .22LR through my .223 rifle and suppressor, and it's mouse-fart quiet.

When compared to something like a .300 BLK, I can see certain advantages for either. While the subsonic / semi auto BLK offers quick follow-up shots, a single-shot or manual repeater has it beat hands-down for lower sound signature, all else being equal.

So the correct answer is to get a few of each option, and select what will work best for a given need.


Regarding
 
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