ZQI Ammunition 5.56x45mm FMJ Ammo Review

ZQI Ammunition 556 Range Review
ZQI Ammunition 5.56 Range Review

Due to basic math, I’m not a big fan of casinos. No matter how much I try to enjoy the games, I can’t stop thinking about how much I am spending with each roll of the dice. To some degree, I face the same issue while at the shooting range. I know how much each round costs, and I can’t help but do the math each time I pull the trigger. I know, I know… that is a bit obsessive… but I’m working on it.

The reason I bring this up is because I recently had a chance to test the 5.56x45mm (SS109) 62gr FMJ ammo from ZQI Ammunition, which is definitely on the lower end of the price scale. In fact, you might remember that this ammo was offered a few years ago by Walmart for a little under $10 for a box of 30 rounds. Walmart no longer sells ZQI ammo, but you can now purchase it directly from the ZQIAmmunition.com site. At the time of this post, the newly manufactured ZQI 5.56 is $0.36/round.

We have established that ZQI 5.56 ammo is inexpensive. But what kind of quality can you expect, given the low cost? Well, I can tell you that the quality is surprisingly good!

ZQI 5.56x45mm SS109 / M855 Specs and Features:

  • Manufactured by MKEK in Turkey
  • NATO Spec
  • 62 gr Full Metal Jacket with steel penetrator
  • Brass Cased, Boxer Primed, Non-Corrosive
  • Reloadable
  • Bullet Weight: 62 gr
  • Cartridge Weight: 193 gr
  • Powder Weight: 26 gr
  • Bullet Jacket Material: Gilding metal
  • Bullet Core Material: Lead-antimony alloy and steel
  • Case Material: Brass
  • Primer Type: Boxer
  • Velocity: 3,000 fps @ 23.7 m
  • Accuracy: Max. mean radius 0.87 in @ 100 m

Before I get too far into discussing my range results, I’ll go ahead and mention that I had 120 rounds for testing. Of course more would be better, but this was certainly enough to give me a feel for the ammo.

ZQI Ammunition
ZQI 5.56x45mm SS109 / M855 at 100 yards (10 rounds fired)

The above 10 round group was pretty typical of what I saw while testing this ammo. The two outliers (top left & bottom right) are 100% shooter error. I knew they were off the second I pulled the trigger. So, try to overlook those.

ZQI Ammunition
ZQI 5.56x45mm SS109 / M855 at 100 yards (3 rounds fired)

My best group of the day was the 3 round group that is shown in the above photo. There is no way I was able to pull this off when shooting 10 round groups, but this gives you an idea of what is possible with the ammo.

Once again, I only tested 120 rounds. But based on this range test, I can tell you that I will absolutely be using more of this ammo! I definitely recommend that you check out ZQI Ammunition!

Image Notes (Top Image)