subsonic .223

[scar15]

was wondering if anyone had a good reload for shooting the ar subsonic. looking to get a can and want t be as quite as possible. thanks for any help

[redtazdog]

Getting the AR to cycle with sub 223 ammo is not easy.
buy a 22lr upper
.

[Medic650]

Ok, the barrel on that upper looks like a tactical solutions 10/22 barrel. What kind of upper is that? I think I could go for one, looks good.

[redtazdog]

Originally Posted by Medic650

Ok, the barrel on that upper looks like a tactical solutions 10/22 barrel. What kind of upper is that? I think I could go for one, looks good.

.
That is a TacSol SBX barrel, JP Vtac handguard, TacSol bolt, TI Quest for a can.

[Medic650]

Originally Posted by redtazdog

.
That is a TacSol SBX barrel, JP Vtac handguard, TacSol bolt, TI Quest for a can.

How did you get a SBX barrel on a AR upper? TocSol only shows it for a 10/22 and does not show it on the 22lr uppers. Thanks

[Fudmottin]

"Not easy" implies doable. I've got a dedicated .22LR for rimfire. It sure makes the inside of the AWC Raider look dirty. I've heard that leading is also an issue. That would truly suck.

Back on point, are there any loads with 69gr or heavier (up to 80gr) jacketed bullets in .223? For the heavies, I can seat them deeper depending on their profile so they fit in the magazine as well as chew up a bit of case volume.

I also have an on-off gas block incase "not easy" turns out to be undoable. Not my favorite option, but I have the port in the standard position in a 24" 1:8 Douglas barrel. I would probably not consider a lighter buffer spring as an option.

PS. I also have the Ciener .22LR adaptor. I wish I applied the money for that to a 10/22 instead. I've only used it in my Colt with military 1:7 chrome lined barrel. It doesn't so much group as pattern. Although rapid fire is kinda fun if you don't care what you hit. No way is that thing going in my custom barrel.

[JFettig]

Fudmottin, you will not get a subsonic .223 to cycle the action on an AR. If you made it blowback, it might but I doubt it would be good.

Noone publishes loads because they are so finicky, if you don't get enough in there you might end up with a bullet in bore.

I did a little testing with 69gr SMK and some non commercial pistol powder and ~4gr yielded 1050fps and 16,000 psi.

Jon

[Fudmottin]

Thanks, Jon.

Would Power Pistol or Bullseye do the job do you think?

I have no plans of turning my upper into a blowback. If I got a 9x19mm upper that would be a different story. I'll just close the gas block so I don't get any short cycling. The AR is not so nice as a bolt action in this mode. But it does work. Also it is a lot quieter when the action is not forced to cycle with the can on. At least it is to my ear just a few inches from the action!

[whitelitenin]

The hodgdon website has two subsonic loads losted for 55 grain bullets. One using Clays powder and one using Titegroup powder. I tried to cut and paste, but I bet it is going to look nasty when posted. Sorry in advance.



Cartridge: 223 Remington
Load Type: Rifle
Starting Loads

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Maximum Loads

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Bullet Weight (Gr.) Manufacturer Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure

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55 GR. HDY FMJ Hodgdon Titegroup .224" 2.200" 3.1 1064 4,000 CUP
55 GR. HDY FMJ Hodgdon Clays .224" 2.200" 3.2 1060 3,700 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon Varget .224" 2.200" 25.5 3174 41,300 CUP 27.5C 3384 49,700 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon BL-C(2) .224" 2.200" 25.5 3069 37,200 CUP 27.5 3313 48,500 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon H335 .224" 2.200" 23.0 3018 40,800 CUP 25.3 3203 49,300 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon H4895 .224" 2.200" 25.0 3176 39,700 CUP 26.0 3315 49,000 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon Benchmark .224" 2.200" 24.0 3113 42,600 CUP 25.6 3264 50,000 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon H322 .224" 2.200" 21.0 2841 38,600 CUP 23.0 3106 48,900 CUP
55 GR. SPR SP Hodgdon H4198 .224" 2.200" 19.0 2841 34,800 CUP 21.0 3150 47,600 CUP


NEVER EXCEED MAXIMUM LOADS

[LouBoyd]

It's much cheaper and easier to get a Ruger 16" 10-22 or any 22 pistol with a 6" to 10" barrel and shoot Aguila SSS 60 grain ammo. You'll most likely get less velocity dispersion and therefore better accuracy too. A 55 grain bullet at 1000 fps gives only 122 ft-lbs at the muzzle. It can be lethal with good shot placement but it's hardly reliable.

If you shoot Aguila SSS ammo in a 28" barrel model CZ 452 bolt action with it's not much louder than a BB gun and quite accurate to 200 yards if you allow for time-of-flight drop.

By far the most sensible subsonic cartridge for an AR-15 is a 300-221 (aka 300 Whisper or 300 FIreball) shooting 200 to 240 grain bullets. At 1000 fps with 220 grain bullets it gives 488 ft-lb muzzle energy. Two other choices are 40 S&W with ~200 gn bullets or 45 ACP with ~230 gn bullets. They give similar performance to over 100 yards, but their low ballistic coefficient bulelts limits the effective range. The 300-221 will cycle a pistol length AR-15 gas sysem. The 40 S&W and 45 ACP work well with blowback uppers. Blowback actions have the advantage of allowing the use of cast lead with less fouling problems.

Except for the 28" barrel with Aguilla SSS ammo none of the above are particulary quite without a quality suppressor.