Is Remington good ammo?

[Jungleexplorer]

So I bought a nice Savage Axis 2 XP Scope combo .223cal. It was a deal I could not pass up. Ended paying only $290 for it after rebate brand new. I really like the gun and the scope. I was just looking for a cheap knock-about gun to carry around in my pickup and do some target shooting with.

Anyway. I bought some cheap TulAmmo 55gr JSP ammo to get it broke in with and some Remington 55GR PSP ammo to fine tune it with for hunting coyotes. Right out of the box it shot great with the cheap TuAmmo and I had it on bulls-eye at 100 yards in 5 shots. I switched from 100 yards to 200 yards and put my first two rounds in the bulls-eye (at the bottom of a 1 1/2 inch bulls-eye). I was like wow! I can't wait to see what it will do with the higher quality Remington ammo. Well, after about two boxes of the Remington 55gr psp ammo, I can barley hold a 5 inch pattern at 200 yards and 300 yards it is crazy.

The main thing is the bullet drop. The TulAmmo 55rg FMJ ammo has about a 3/4 inch drop from 100 to 200 yards, where as the Remington PSP ammo has about a 3 or 4 inch drop.

I have not done much long range shooting. I have a use a single Savage .234 for the past 20 years for deer hunting and I have used less then three boxes of ammo in it since I sighted it in, because when I pull the trigger on that gun it has never missed. It has taken down over 40 deer from 100 to 300 yards in the last 20 years, all head shots. I take it out of the case, shoot what I want, and put it back in the case for for next year.

I bought this 223 to do a lot of shooting with and possible start reloading, but for now, I am just confused as to why I am getting great performance out of the garbage TulAmmo and crappy performance out of the high quality remington ammo?

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Sorry, I mean to to say, TulAmmo 55gr FMJ, not JSP

 

[DocUSMCRetired]

I personally have not had very good luck with Remington ammo, that includes shotgun and .22LR. Federal Ammo has run better for me than Remington, but I reload a lot as well.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Is it any good? I'd personally stay far away from it, unless you are just wanting cheap-crap ammo to shoot for the brass. Other than that, I see no need at all to ever buy it or shoot it.

I love Remington guns, but their ammo is crap.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Thank you for the reply. That is what I wanted to know. I don't want to start a war with my next question, but could you recommend some good .223 hunting ammo that would be good out to around 300 yards? I am not looking for anything super fancy here, say around $20 a box of 20 rounds. Just not FMJ.

 

[Jud96]

It is good cheap hunting ammo if you aren't looking to spend much. I have never shot a factory round in any of my rifles so don't know what works and what doesn't. I know that Federal and Hornady makes great factory shells and I only know that through word of mouth and reading it on here and other forums. My buddy shoots Remington Core-Lokt 150gr in his sporterized Mauser .30-06 and he gets deer every year with it but all his shots are under 100yds so nothing long range. I recently loaded him up some reloads and we are going to see how well they shoot, our season starts next Monday!

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Thank you Jud. I plan to learn how to reload at some point, I have all the stuff (inherited from grandfather) I am just short on time right now. My son bought a Savage Axis 2 XP .243 cal (same unbelievable deal I got). We picked it up at noon. He bought a box of Winchester Super X Varmint 80gr JSP. I had it on the bulls-eye in 7 shots at 100 yards (he lets me sight all his guns in for him). Last three shots were 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. What a sweet gun! I think I will try to find some .223 in the Winchester Super-X Varmint series and see how that shoots out of my .223.

 

[shortgrass]

Not all loads will 'shoot' in every rifle. You'll have to do like everyone else and test several and see what suits your needs best. What shoots well in my rifle may not shoot well in yours. Its as simple as that!

 

[MudRunner2005]

Thank you Jud. I plan to learn how to reload at some point, I have all the stuff (inherited from grandfather) I am just short on time right now. My son bought a Savage Axis 2 XP .243 cal (same unbelievable deal I got). We picked it up at noon. He bought a box of Winchester Super X Varmint 80gr JSP. I had it on the bulls-eye in 7 shots at 100 yards (he lets me sight all his guns in for him). Last three shots were 1/2 inch group at 100 yards. What a sweet gun! I think I will try to find some .223 in the Winchester Super-X Varmint series and see how that shoots out of my .223.

Sounds like you found a good load for his right off the bat.

Like Jud said, Federal Premium and Hornady Custom ammo are both well-known for good quality factory loaded ammo. I feel the Federal Premium is better, however, the Hornady brass is 10x better than the Federal brass, if you are planning on saving it for reloading later. I have found the Winchester brass to be exceptional brass for reloading, too. About the only 2 brands of brass I won't recommend for reloading is Remington and Federal. I just don't care for Remingotn brass. And the Federal brass is just too soft and becomes work-hardened too fast (in my experiences), and tends to crack or have case/head seperations after just a couple of moderate-to-warm reloads.

This is not saying you will have the same experiences...This is just me sharing my personal experiences and thoughts. You could have totally opposite luck, and the Federal or Remington brass could be perfectly fine.

I have never actively hunted deer with a .223, but have shot a couple with 5.56x45 NATO AR15 before. Shot quite a few coyotes with them as well. They are the same basic thing, but 5.56 is just slightly hotter (has higher chamber pressures). Which is why you can shoot .223 Rem ammo in a 5.56 stamped (rated) barrel, but you are NOT recommended to to shoot 5.56 ammo in a .223 stamped (rated) barrel. Just food for thought.

If you are wanting a good hunting load for medium game (coyotes, deer, etc...), I would look for something over 62gr, and would look in here...

Medium Game | 223 Remington | Rifle Ammo | Ammo

Preferably something like this... Seems pricey, but looks to be quality ammo, and has 70gr Barnes Triple-Shocks in it. Which would be a great bullet for deer hunting, as far as the .223 caliber is concerned.

ASYM Precision Solid Defense X Ammo 223 Remington 70 Grain Barnes

Or this...Which is designed for deer (shows one on the front of the box)...

Winchester Power Max Bonded Ammo 223 Remington 64 Grain Protected

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Thank you Mudrunner. I believe the Savage 2 XP is rated for both 5.56 and .223. I don't really plan to use it for deer hunting although I would not be afraid to, since I am a meat hunter and only take head shots. My main target will be yotes.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Well, I ordered some Hornady 75gr JHP Superperformance Match ammo off Midway. It was on sale and had great reviews. It was the fastest (2930fps) .223cal 75gr ammo I could find. It just came in this evening and I will try it out tomorrow.