I have done quite a bit of reading online about different brands of 5.56 and .223 ammo. I am waiting on my first AR to arrive and want to put at least 500 rounds down range to get familiar with my rifle. At my department we can carry 5.56 or .223. I have two questions: First, according to all the reviews I have read about Spike's Tactical is that they are super reliable with very few malfunctions. For training ammo, I have been looking to buy at least 500 rounds. Price is an important factor for me and Wolf ammo is about the cheapest I have found. Other guys at my department have told me not to train with Wolf because it burns dirty and almost always leads to malfunctions. None of them carry Spike's though. Has anyone had more problems with one brand of ammo than others in their Spike's rifle? Secondly, what brand, grain, type etc... of ammo would be best to carry on duty? The only stipulation is that we cannot carry green-tipped military rounds. Thanks, in advance.

I have used the cheap TULA stuff and had zero problems...I run my Spike's lubed up pretty good...

_________________
Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.
Thomas Jefferson

1970 Walther PPK/S 380
Walther PK380
Kimber Stainless Target II 45
Savage FCP/K 308
Spike's Tactical 16" M4 LE w/9" BAR Rail
Sig 226R 9mm

are the interior workings of your rifle all factory?

From time to time, Cabela's sells American Eagle ammo for $5.79 a pop. Go to Cabela's website (or if you have one locally) and look for the American Eagle .223 55gr 20ct. boxes - brass cased copper bullets (no steel). Enter code 2WFREE for free shipping on orders $150 or more.

It was on sale last week but has gone up this weekend. Keep checking it out to see if you see the price go down. I ordered the Am Eagle, PMC Bronze (both 55gr) and some 5.56 Am. Eagle 62gr. to put down range once I get my mags and rear sight in the mail this week.

Yep! Spike's Complete lower and Spike's Tactical 16" M4 LE Upper w/9" BAR Rail No internal parts were changed.. ALL factory....

_________________
Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people.
Thomas Jefferson

1970 Walther PPK/S 380
Walther PK380
Kimber Stainless Target II 45
Savage FCP/K 308
Spike's Tactical 16" M4 LE w/9" BAR Rail
Sig 226R 9mm

Your Spike's carbine will eat any factory 55gr to 75gr commercial or military loads without issue, including Wolf. People will bash this brand or that brand all day long, but in the end it comes down to "shoot what you can afford to shoot as often as possible". Staying in practice with your rifle with cheaper steel ammo is better than never being able to shoot brass ammo. Skill, muscle memory, and instinct are built on repetition. If you can't practice enough to build those qualities than you are not as effective as you can be with your weapon.

Buy the Wolf and shoot the piss out of your rifle. It won't fail you. And honestly, carry what you practice with. All ammo behaves differently. When it comes to taking a shot that counts, make sure you're using what you've been practicing with.

Thanks for the info. I knew Spikes was reliable from everything I read but I have a few more weeks until my rifle arrives at my gun shop and I can put theory into practice. Any way you could fast track my rifle? lol One more thing, I saw a heavier extractor spring advertised as being better for steel-cased rounds. Do I need one if I plan on shooting all of this low-grade ammo?

All ST bolts already have the enhanced extractor upgrades installed. You will be ready to go out of the box.

Sent from my HTC Evo

Man, I keep liking Spikes more and more and my rifle hasn't even made it here yet! Im looking forward to showing it off to the guys on my shift. Im in the process of buying magpul od green furniture.

Check out AIMSurplus for your accessory needs. They have great pricing and most individual products include free shipping.

Thanks a lot! I really want to deck out my rifle in OD green furniture. A lot of guys I know are going Flat Dark Earth, but there isn't a lot of sand around here to try to blend into. To each his own. I wanted to get a mid-length rail system through Spikes but it has been out of stock on the website for a while. Any plans to restock it or is there something new in the works. Just curious because my luck would be I'd buy one somewhere else and then it would become available again through Spikes. I like that yours has the spider on it. Such a badass logo.

Just hard to keep up with the orders. Waiting for the next batch to be made. The supplier is expanding to make room for more CNC's so he can make a wider variety of products simultaneously.

I just did a quick price check for .223 American Eagle ammunition on Cabela's site and it's on sale for $8.99. Twenty rounds for $8.99? Is that the average? That seems kind of expensive to me, especially for lower grade ammo, but then again, I've never had a rifle before so maybe this is the norm. I see a lot of posts of folks wanting to buy 500 rounds right away. That's $224.75 minimum at 20 rounds @$8.99 ea! This sounds like a pretty expensive hobby unless I'm doing my math wrong.

I agree, it is expensive. But for me, and many shooters it isnt necessarily a hobby. I am on patrol in law enforcement. While I do enjoy shooting and consider it a hobby, the more I train the better I'll be when it counts. SO, I consider the money I spend on ammo, firearms, targets, etc... an investment in staying alive. That being said, I think its irresponsible for the average citizen to NOT own a firearm. The police cannot be everywhere all the time and YOU are ultimately responsible for defending yourself and your family. Rest assured though if you ever need us, we will break our necks trying to get to you.

To answer your question though, it sounds like a reasonable price. I am waiting on my Spikes rifle to get here and am stocking up on ammo. I paid $26.00 for a 50-round box of .223 at Walmart yesterday.

You shouldn't spend more than 35 cents/round (after tax and/or shipping) for brass .223/5.56 ammo, or more than 25 cents/round for polymer coated steel ammo (i.e. Wolf).

Here's a couple examples from our friends over at AIMSurplus:

PMC X-Tac SS109 (M855 62gr) - 290$/1000 (29 cents/round before shipping)
http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx? ... MC223SS109

Wolf Black Box 55gr - 190$/1000 (19 cents/round before shipping)
http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=AW223PFMJ55