TC wrote:XL,
Will you please share a little more on the surplus Israeli ammo you fired i.e. source, bullet weight, charge, price etc. ?
This is turning out to be one of the most interesting posts.
The ammo that I was talking about is branded "Independence". It goes for about $10 per box of 20 rounds (the cheapest that we can find at present).
The brand name is owned by the Federal Cartridge Co. but it says "Made in Israel" on the box.
I was under the impression that IMI's Small Caliber Division is Israel's sole producer of small arms ammo.
IMI is also one of the few companies (worldwide) that can meet the US Armed Forces criteria for ammo production. The actual IMI branded surplus Israeli ammo is excellent stuff.
Their "Razor Core" ammo is considered very accurate and consistent.

IMI "Razor Core" cartridge with a 77 gr. bullet. (Need a faster twist to stabilize adequately; like 1:7).
The Independence ammo that we were using has a 55 grain FMJ, boat tailed bullet.
I guess it's not really fair to call it surplus ammo (maybe ammo that wasn't good enough for NATO standards?

) but consistency is not its strong point.
It's basically M193 ammo but loaded to less stringent standards (I'm being nice). Even at 25 yards, you'll get significant flyers and group sizes are horrible. At 50 yards, groups were a couple of inches. Hell, even cheap bulk .22 LR ammo will do better than that at 50 yards.

This is what
Midway USA has to say about it:
Product Information
Independence Ammunition is loaded to NATO specifications by one of the best known Israel ammunition manufacturers, who loads ammunition for the Israel Defense Forces. This round was manufactured to give the AR-15 enthusiast a great choice for an affordable round for target shooting, training and practice. This ammunition is new production, non-corrosive, in boxer-primed, reloadable brass cases.
“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” — Winston Churchill, Oct 29, 1941