What is The AR-15's Effective Range?

"The Army only shoots out to 300 yards -- that's the max effective range!" And, "My pops can tick off soda cans at 500 yards!" These are some of the things you might hear when you start asking about the AR-15's effective range. What is the AR's real effective range, and its max effective range? Let's put it to rest.

NOTE: We're just covering the ballistics and accuracy of 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington, here. There are simply too many other calibers the AR-15 can chamber to cover it all in one guide. If you're looking for absolute performance, we'll save you some time -- read our guides on the 6.5 Grendel AR-15, and 6.5 Grendel vs. 5.56 NATO.

The AR-15's Effective Range

Although the AR-15 can technically lob a 5.56 or .223 round thousands of feet, that doesn't constitute effective range. Effective range describes the rifle's ability to reliably strike a target with a certain percentage of hit probability.

Thankfully, the U.S. military has done all the endless testing with 5.56 NATO to get the answers for us: According to the Operator's Manual for the M4 Carbine and M16 rifles, the maximum effective range for striking point targets -- such as a human silhouette, or 12" steel target -- is 500 meters (~550 yards) for 14.5"-barreled rifles, and 550 meters (~600 yards) for 20"-barreled rifles.

For area targets, the distance increases to 600 meters (~656 yards) for 14.5"-barreled rifles, and 800 meters (~874 yards) for 20"-barreled rifles. Keep in mind that the U.S. military only describes area targets for the purposes of suppressive fire, such as targeting a large troop movement, or landing rounds in a general vicinity, like a street intersection.

Chances are, you're not interested in either of those things. So, your 16"-barreled AR-15's practical effective range for ringing steel or popping soda cans on a fence post falls somewhere in the range of 500 to 550 meters, or 550 to 600 yards.

The AR-15's Maximum Range

Speaking of lobbin' rounds -- how far can the AR-15 physically send a round downrange? Thanks again to the U.S. military, the M4/M16 Operator's Manual has the answer: It's about 3,600 meters, or 11,811 feet. That's roughly 2.23 miles. 

This range can only achieved by angling the barrel to roughly 35 degrees before firing. Attempting to shoot this far serves no practical purpose and is likely to result in unintended collateral damage, so don't attempt to test it.

The AR-15 Lethal Range

Speaking of damage, how far can the AR-15 shoot with lethal force? In other words, how far can the 5.56 (or .223) round travel through the air before simply becoming non-lethal due to a loss of energy? 

NATO Standards say a round becomes non-lethal, or "less lethal," when its impact energy falls below 85 joules, or 62.7 foot-pounds. For the standard AR-15 round, this loss of energy occurs at around 3,000 feet -- that's roughly 1.7 miles.

That's well beyond line of sight, which is why it's important to remember one of the four golden rules of gun safety: Always know your target and what's behind it.

How to Improve The AR-15's Range

Pushing 5.56 or .223 to 600 yards is already quite a feat -- but how can you potentially push your AR-15 to shoot further, effectively? There are plenty of ways to do so:

Maximize barrel length: The longer the barrel, the greater the muzzle velocity of the round. More muzzle velocity means also means more speed downrange, allowing the round to travel greater distances. Like we covered in our Guide to AR-15 Barrels, we found that we can increase the velocity of a 62-grain 5.56 NATO cartridge by nearly 500 FPS (feet per second) by increasing barrel length from 16" to 26".

Higher ballistic coefficients: Rounds with a high ballistic coefficient resist wind drift and bullet drop more effectively, increasing their effective range. To get the most accurate rounds for your AR-15, you should invest in heavy (77- to 90-grain) match-grade .223 Remington -- 5.56 NATO tends to be less accurate, overall.

Environmental factors: Wind drift can have a significant impact on effective range. A 10-MPH wind blowing perpendicular to the direction of a bullet's travel can cause a round to drift left or right by as much as 12" (or more) at 500 yards.If you're going to maximum accuracy, couple those high-BC bullets with perfect weather: No wind, moderate temperatures, and low humidity.

Effective Ranges of Other AR-15 Rounds

Like we said earlier, there are just too many rounds available for the AR-15 platform to cover all their max effective ranges in detail. But here's a quick breakdown of some of the most popular options:

• 9mm: 200 yards
  
• 6.5 Grendel: 800 yards
  
• .224 Valkyrie: 1,300 yards
• .243 Winchester: 700 yards
  
• 300 Blackout (Supersonic): 300 yards
• 300 Blackout (Subsonic): 500 yards

AR-15 Effective Range: FAQ & Recap

Q: What's the AR-15's effective range?

A: For reliably hitting typical range targets, the AR-15's maximum effective range is between 550 and 600 yards.

Q: Does a longer barrel improve the AR-15's range?

A: Yes, but only to an extent. Increasing barrel length from the minimum-legal length of 16" to 20" will yield about 50 extra yards of effective accuracy.

Q: What is the maximum range of the AR-15?

A: When firing 5.56 NATO or .223 Remington, the AR-15 can send rounds approximately 3,600 meters (3,940 yards, or 11,800 feet). 

Q: What is the effective lethal range of the AR-15?

A: The AR-15's rounds remain lethal upon impact up to 3,000 feet, or 1,000 yards. Beyond this distance, the rounds lose the energy required -- about 63 foot-pounds -- to be effectively lethal.

Q: How can I build an accurate long-range AR-15?

A: Investing in a rifle with a quality barrel, free-float handguard, and the appropriate gas system is the best way to ensure your AR-15 provides good accuracy to the distances we talked about here. Browse our AR-15 build kits to build an accurate rifle!

If you want maximum performance, consider swapping calibers. The 6.5 Grendel provides some of the best long-range performance for the AR-15. Read our Guide to the 6.5 Grendel AR-15.