As the ammunition and primer shortage continues, it can be challenging to find .223 or 5.56mm ammunition. Even if your local gun shop regularly receives new stock, the shelves may be empty by the time you get there, leaving you with no ammo to shoot.
Online stores offer conveniences that brick-and-mortar retailers don’t. Discover the best websites to order the cheapest .223 Remington, 5.56mm NATO, or any other calibers you need.
Websites to Buy Cheap .223 Ammo Online
If you’re looking for the best prices on .223 Remington or 5.56mm NATO, save yourself some valuable time and money and only order from the best retailers.
1. LuckyGunner
Although LuckyGunner is not the oldest online retailer on this list (launched in 2009), it is one of the most well-known ammunition retailers online, recognizable with its fully-featured, easy-to-navigate website featuring a distinctive green color scheme.
The website’s mission statement is to deliver ammunition to the customer and put the customer above all else. The site founders launched LuckyGunner following their dissatisfaction with existing online retailers at the time.
They sought to stand out from the competition from day one by offering an innovative live inventory tracker, informing you of the exact quantity of a particular brand and caliber still in stock at their warehouses.
When a specific brand runs out of stock, the corresponding product page can no longer be found from the browsing list, ensuring that when you see ammo listed on the site, you see ammo in stock, no matter what.
LuckyGunner focuses almost exclusively on selling ammunition, providing shooters with a highly comprehensive list of pistol, rimfire, rifle, and shotgun cartridges on inventory. You can choose from over 60 different calibers from the home page, with more available by using their search functions or browsing through the site categories.
The site does not sell firearms and only offers a small selection of reloading equipment and accessories. However, the site is also well-known for its blog and YouTube channel, delivering comprehensive information to gun owners with high production quality.
One of their most famous information databases is LuckyGunner Labs, a series of ballistic gel tests extensively testing self-defense and training ammunition, demonstrating their effectiveness to the customer.
Although LuckyGunner does not offer free shipping, the wealth of information available on their website, the ease of navigation, and the excellent customer service more than compensates for it.
2. MidwayUSA
MidwayUSA is a well-known online retailer of firearms, ammunition, and accessories. First established as a family-owned brick-and-mortar store in 1977, the company was then known as Ely Arms, operating a 1,600 square-foot facility in Missouri.
Since then, the company has expanded into online firearms and ammunition sales. As of 2014, it now operates exclusively online, serving as one of the largest nationwide online gun and ammo retailers.
During the company’s lifetime, MidwayUSA received multiple awards, such as the Missouri Quality Award in 2015, and the Baldrige National Quality Award in 2009 and 2015, becoming one of only eight businesses to earn the latter award twice.
MidwayUSA’s ammunition selection is extensive, offering a wide selection of pistol, rifle, shotgun, and rimfire calibers, from the most common to the most obscure.
Site navigation is easy, with well-defined categories and an extensive array of search criteria and options. Product page illustrations take center place, with large, high-definition pictures making it easy to identify the ammo boxes you need.
Searching for the cheapest ammo and comparing brand prices on sale at MidwayUSA is straightforward and effortless, thanks to the clearly labeled red pricing values and cost-per-round displays under each price.
MidwayUSA often offers bulk deals on their ammunition, allowing you to switch between ammunition quantities without loading a different webpage.
If you’re looking for one of the best and most convenient shopping experiences to go with great pricing, MidwayUSA is the shop for you.
3. BulkAmmo.com
BulkAmmo.com specializes in stocking and delivering ammunition anywhere in the United States in bulk quantities since 1999.
Although this site may not be as well-known or as prominently advertised as the others, ammunition search engines and discussion forums frequently link back to this website for one reason only: highly competitive pricing and daily restocking.
Not only does BulkAmmo refill their inventory with new stock every day, but they also regularly offer sales and deals, with discounts ranging from 10% to 25% off frequently appearing.
What BulkAmmo may lack in variety and choice of available calibers, it makes up with competitive pricing. The website offers gun owners some of the best prices on the most commonly-owned cartridges in the country, including .22 Long Rifle, 9x19mm, .223 Remington, and 12 gauge.
The website is well-designed, featuring a live “Ready to Ship” item counter, informing you of the exact quantity of boxes still in stock.
If you’re primarily interested in shooting staple calibers, or if you want to look for new deals every day, give BulkAmmo a shot.
4. OpticsPlanet
First established as a gun optics retailer, OpticsPlanet is now one of the largest and most extensive online firearm accessory shops you can find. Although their focus is gun optics (scopes and red dot sights), OpticsPlanet sells everything short of complete firearms or lower receivers, including ammunition.
At first, the website may seem intimidating to browse through, with smaller text than other sites and many sections to read. However, the site’s extensive array of search criteria and the sheer quantity of information presented on each product page ensures that customers have all the data they need when shopping for a particular product.
It takes a bit of time to get used to navigating OpticsPlanet, but once you know where to look and how to use the search discriminators, you will find your shopping experience greatly enhanced.
In addition, customer reviews and Q&As feature prominently on the left-hand sidebar. If you enjoy reading about other customers’ opinions before making a purchase, OpticsPlanet puts the customer’s voice under the spotlight.
Aside from ammunition and optics, OpticsPlanet offers a massive selection of gun parts, magazines, accessories, and other equipment for shooters of all kinds.
5. Brownells
With over 75 years of experience, Brownells is one of the oldest and most successful firearms, ammunition, and gun accessory retailers in the United States.
The company started life in the middle of Iowa, producing its first product catalog in 1947, listing gunsmithing equipment. The Brownells website first went online in 2000 and first started selling ammunition in 2011. They have expanded from gunsmithing to selling all things firearms, from guns and accessories to ammo and reloading equipment.
Today, Brownells not only sells everything a shooter, hunter, reloader, or gunsmith might need; they also produce their own lines of firearms, such as the Retro Rifles series based on classic ArmaLite rifles.
Brownells is also notable for being one of the very few US-based gun retailers with international branches, such as Brownells Europe, offering the same website and shopping experience as that enjoyed by American customers.
Thanks to its intuitive product category and subcategory system, searching for ammunition or any other product on Brownells is easy and straightforward. With it, you can filter products by brand, model, price, and many other special filters.
The site also features two search bars, one for searching the whole store and another for searching within the currently active subcategory.
If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop experience or if you want to benefit from the experience of a well-known company, Brownells aims to provide you with everything you need.
Why Buy Ammo Online?
There is an undeniable charm and many advantages to visiting a physical gun store, such as speaking to the employees or examining the merchandise. However, your local gun shop (LGS, in gun owner parlance) rarely has the best prices, and most critically, when it does have ammunition in stock, it’s likely to fly off the shelves as soon as it arrives.
Online stores provide you with several undeniable advantages. The first and most apparent is pricing: the only way to find the lowest prices is to order on the internet. Additionally, virtually every online ammo retailer has an email alert system, allowing you to be notified of newly added stock the moment it enters your retailer’s inventory.
Now that you understand the advantages of shopping online, the question you may be asking yourself now is: “Where should I shop?”
The Verdict
Regardless of your preferred retailer, don’t forget that ammunition availability remains disrupted nationwide. Don’t despair if you cannot immediately find the ammo you need or if your favorite brands are out of stock.
If your budget allows for it, prioritize bulk ammunition deals (in packages of 500, 1,000, or more rounds) because they are still less expensive than ordering individual boxes, even under the current circumstances.Make sure to get good ammo that your .223 barrel can use to it’s optimal potential.
