This 223 Rem cartridge by Red Army Standard was made by our friends Vasili, Viktor, and Valerii over at the Tula Cartridge Plant in Russia. Like many other Russian-made cartridges its price tag is noticeably lower courtesy of its steel casing and Berdan primer, two features which incidentally make it not worth unloading unless you’re a member of a roving post-apocalyptic gang. Red Army Standard coats their casings with a thin coat of polymer that helps a semi-automatic to feed and extract more reliably.

This is your standard range round with a standard 55 grain FMJ projectile. Such a bullet may fragment somewhat during penetration to yield greater damage, but unless you want to comply with the rules of international warfare you’ll find an FMJ’s best place is indeed at the range. A balanced bullet that prevents rapid barrel leading will have you shooting straighter, longer!