Fletch Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 I have never shot any soft point ammo through an AR-platform rifle...only FMJ's, OTM's, and ballistic/polymer tipped ammo. I was considering trying out some SP for hunting/defense/SHTF/etc. I was doing a little research and seem to come across two types of reviews regarding the functioning of SP ammo in 308 AR's...one that always (or at least mostly) seem to have issues with SP functioning properly, and others that never (or rarely) have function problems. And even more puzzling...I've run across this a few times...two people will have the exact same gun and both are reviewing the exact same ammo...and one guy has it run perfectly and another can't get it to function at all? What I am looking for is feedback/advice/suggestions from anyone who has experience with SP ammo in a 308 AR (DPMS pattern or Armalite)? My primary interest is regarding the reliability and functioning of the rifle with SP ammo...NOT terminal ballistics, fragmentation, etc. Also, one of the rounds I am planning to try is the .308 Hornady 165 grain InterLock BTSP, if anyone uses that specific round please comment as well. Thanks in advance...your input is very much appreciated!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 (edited) I've run 180 grain Winchester power point and privi partizan 165 grain from my factory built dpms rifle. The Winchester I've deer hunted with and patterned it good enough to make me comfortable enough to take a deer down with (and I've taken a deer or two with it) . The PPu I've basically used as blasting ammo at the beginning of a sight in or just out slapping the trigger but it's been dependable. I did have one lite strike on one round outta maybe 150-200 rounds. Edited June 27, 2016 by shepp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtallen83 Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 I've run some of the 180 gr. Winchester in my ArmaLite, no malfunctions and acceptable accuracy but there were big chunks of lead torn off the soft point. I might consider it for hunting but never for anything my health and happiness depended on. There are lots of polymer tip hunting bullets available so I would look at those before spending anything on soft points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 It will take only one piece of lead tip to ruin your hunt or the trophy of a life time . As said above , many good alternatives with out lead tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted June 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 Thanks very much for the replies...what I gather is that it's OK to use, but not something I should be be using as my regular practice ammo or something I really need to rely on functioning 100% and that there are better options. Unfortunately (for me...LOL) I picked up a bunch of SP rounds a few weeks ago...I guess I forgot the old saying "look before you leap"...plus that Orlando shooting kinda put me in a "buy now" mode...oh well, lesson learned. If anyone wants to buy some factory new 308 SP ammo let me know... I've got the following: Hornady 165 grain InterLock BTSP Prvi Partisan 165 grain PSP BT Federal Fusion MSR 150 grain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtallen83 Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 (edited) You should be OK with the Federal Fusion load, very little exposed lead at the tip. It is claimed to be specifically designed for AR type rifles. Edited June 27, 2016 by jtallen83 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washguy Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 (edited) Fletch All I shoot is soft point/ poly thru my 308's.... they are 100% reliable...all of my gun ranges I go to dont allow fmj....fusion is good stuff...even the privi soft point works in all of mine....if your rifle doesnt shoot soft point theres a reason why it doesnt.....every one of those you have works perfect in all of mine....if your soft point is getting chewed up the poly could be getting hurt, but not as bad Wash Edited June 27, 2016 by washguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted June 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 4 hours ago, washguy said: Fletch All I shoot is soft point/ poly thru my 308's.... they are 100% reliable...all of my gun ranges I go to dont allow fmj....fusion is good stuff...even the privi soft point works in all of mine....if your rifle doesnt shoot soft point theres a reason why it doesnt.....every one of those you have works perfect in all of mine....if your soft point is getting chewed up the poly could be getting hurt, but not as bad Wash So basically I shouldn't be overly concerned about this? If my gun will run them fine then I should be good to go? Any concern about build-up of lead and/or little chucks falling off and getting anywhere in the receiver, chamber, and/or bore? Initially I bought some Hornady 165 BTSP to test out as being my "primary" round and was planning to use Prvi 165's as my practice/plinking round, but before I really did my "homework" I came across a great price on the Prvi so I bought a bunch of it. Thanks for your reply...I'm looking forward to hearing more from you about this if you don't mind. Seeing the first few responses I got a bit discouraged and was already deciding to try and sell all the SP's and move on. Thanks Wash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted June 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 (edited) 4 hours ago, washguy said: if your rifle doesnt shoot soft point theres a reason why it doesnt Sorry, forgot to ask this question in my previous reply to you... Is there a common factor that seems to result in a particular 308AR/AR-10 not shooting soft points? Edited June 27, 2016 by Fletch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washguy Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 5 minutes ago, Fletch said: Sorry, forgot to ask this question in my previous reply to you... Is there a common factor that seems to result in a particular 308AR/AR-10 not shooting soft points? Fletch yeppers....mostly the round not sitting at proper height/angle in the mag....and your feed ramps being to sharp,rough, tolerance stacking ect...BUT the common problem is doofuses assembling them ! but you have an Armalite...so you shouldnt have probs....ive already checked the Armalite website and owners manual...there is nothing mentioned about not shooting softpoints....there are hundreds of thousand of ar 308s and ar15's having no probs with leadpoints if not more Wash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtallen83 Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 The Winchester 180 gr. Powerpoints are the only ones that have left chunks on me but they are pretty blunt nosed. Still don't think it is worth the chance with others when there are so many other good options for expansive bullets without any exposed lead. Pretty sure there was a tech note on the Armalite site before the change over that recommended against soft points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikedaddyH Posted June 27, 2016 Report Share Posted June 27, 2016 7 minutes ago, jtallen83 said: The Winchester 180 gr. Powerpoints are the only ones that have left chunks on me but they are pretty blunt nosed. Still don't think it is worth the chance with others when there are so many other good options for expansive bullets without any exposed lead. Pretty sure there was a tech note on the Armalite site before the change over that recommended against soft points. Same here. I also had scaring of the projectiles in 3 different guns. I bought a cases of 200 of these I 2009 and still have 40 left, just not impressed by soft point projectiles. Plastic tipped projectiles are my second favorite type ! 1. Sierra Game King 165gr bthp 2. Any Teflon tipped bullet 3. Sierra Match King 168gr bthp/ Hornady 168gr hpbt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washguy Posted June 28, 2016 Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 1 hour ago, MikedaddyH said: Same here. I also had scaring of the projectiles in 3 different guns. I bought a cases of 200 of these I 2009 and still have 40 left, just not impressed by soft point projectiles. Plastic tipped projectiles are my second favorite type ! 1. Sierra Game King 165gr bthp 2. Any Teflon tipped bullet 3. Sierra Match King 168gr bthp/ Hornady 168gr hpbt Game king 165 bthp is my hunting round It pounds the animal. Wash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted June 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2016 (edited) 4 hours ago, washguy said: Fletch yeppers....mostly the round not sitting at proper height/angle in the mag....and your feed ramps being to sharp,rough, tolerance stacking ect...BUT the common problem is doofuses assembling them ! but you have an Armalite...so you shouldnt have probs....ive already checked the Armalite website and owners manual...there is nothing mentioned about not shooting softpoints....there are hundreds of thousand of ar 308s and ar15's having no probs with leadpoints if not more Wash Thanks Wash! And thanks also to the others who have answered...very much appreciated. Since I already have a bunch of the ammo I will run it through and see how things go. If nothing else I'll be a good test subject and will report back any findings as time progresses. Edited June 28, 2016 by Fletch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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