Recently, Berry’s Manufacturing released their first Jacketed Bullet- the classic 55 grain FMJ 22 cal bullet for the AR-15! In this story, we’ll take a look.
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About Berry’s 55 grain Full Metal Jacket Bullets
From the Berry’s 55gr FMJ Bullets Product Page
Berry’s is proud to introduce our first jacketed rifle bullet! Our .223/5.56mm 55gr Full Metal Jacket Boat tail bullets come with the most consistent jackets and are built around the tightest tolerances, making them the go-to round for the modern 5.56mm/.223 reloader. Available now in our 2000 round ammo can combo as well as 500 and 5000 round packaging at amazing prices!
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- Diameter: .224″
- Bullet OAL: .740″
- Ballistic Coefficient: .245
- Sectional Density: .157
Loading 223 / 5.56 with Berry’s 55 grain FMJ Bullets
For this loading session, I used the Dillon RL-550C 4-station progressive reloading press, a great choice for bulk rifle loading!
The press was setup as follows:
- Station 1: Sizing/De-Capping (top), Priming (bottom)
- Station 2: Powder Charge
- Station 3: Bullet Seat
- Station 4: Bullet Crimp
The following load components and data were used:
- Bullet: Berry’s 55 grain 22 caliber FMJ
- Case: 5.56
- Powder: Hodgdon CFE-223: 27.0 grains
- Primer: Wolf Small Rifle Magnum
- 2.224″ COL
Use load data at your own risk. Ultimate Reloader is not responsible for errors in load data on this website. Always cross-reference load data with manufacturer’s published data.
Chronograph Data
I tested the 55 grain FMJ load with a 16″ AR-15, and with a precision bolt-action rifle to see what kind of velocity I would see. Here are the results:
| Rifle | Average | STDEV | ES |
| 24″ Bolt-Action 223 | 2666.4 | 38.6 | 96 |
| 16″ 223 Wylde AR-15 | 2452.0 | 14.3 | 34 |
A bit surprising that the AR-15 had a tighter SD and ES compared to the bolt gun! I think I could push the velocities much higher with a more aggressive powder charge.
Shooting Full Auto
One of my favorite things to do is to shoot full auto!
We blasted through quite a few rounds of ammunition during this story, and didn’t have a single issue related to to functioning or performance, and had a lot of fun in the process!
Conclusion
These Berry’s 55 grain FMJ 22 caliber bullets are great for loading and shooting with the AR-15 platform. If you’re loading 223/5.56 or similar cartridges, give them a try!
Get the Gear
Dillon RL-550C 4-station progressive reloading press
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Thanks,
Gavin Gear
