20 Rounds of 55gr FMJ .223 Ammo by Red Army Standard

There are many groups named “CIA” in the U.S. The Central Intelligence Agency spies on people. The Culinary Institute of America teaches people how to make eggplant parmesan. But Century International Arms – well, they’re our favorite, because they import Red Army Standard ammunition from Russia!

This is budget-friendly 223 Rem ammo, great for when you want to punish bottles and cans or work on your bump fire out in da woods. Russian manufacturers usually substitute steel for copper to keep production costs low, but there are a couple key implications to that. First, because this round’s 55 grain FMJ bullet contains steel, it will guaranteed attract a magnet. That shouldn’t harm your rifle’s barrel, but a lot of indoor ranges won’t allow bimetal jacket bullets because they could damage their equipment or create sparks.

Second, because this round’s case is also made of steel, it is not a good handloading component. Magnetic cases are actually convenient if you want to clean up your own backyard range with a magnet, though, and Red Army Standard’s low-friction polymer coating will facilitate more reliable feeding and extraction in a semi-automatic rifle. Their primers are also non-corrosive, so you can clean up your firearm like you normally would after running through a few boxes of this ammo.