'Escape From Tarkov': Best Ammo Types For Assault Rifle Calibers

Good ammunition is arguably the most important thing that players need to look out for if they want to upgrade their offensive capabilities. Even the best weapons fitted with the most advanced attachments won’t amount to much if players are using bad ammo.

While many munitions are effective to some degree when fighting scavs, players will want to use only top-tier ammo if they want to effectively defend themselves against raiders, bosses or their fellow PMCs. Here’s a quick rundown of the best ammo types for the most popular weapon type in the game: assault rifles.

5.45x39mm

• PPBS
• 7N40
• BS
• BT

PPBS rounds can pierce Class 6 armor with ease, though they are fairly rare. The 7N40 offers almost the same level of penetration, but it comes with a recoil reduction modifier, making it great for full-auto fire.

BS and BT rounds are weaker but are still able to pierce tough armor with relative ease. These are also somewhat common inside the mess halls surrounding the helicopter in the Reserves map.

5.56x45mm

• SSA-AP
• M995
• M885A1

Both A1 round variants offer some degree of penetration against Class 6 armor, but the M885 variant gives more punch, while the M886 provides a tracer effect for accurate aim adjustments. These rounds might be a little rare, however.

7.62x39mm

• MAI-AP
• BP gzh
• PS gzh

These three variants are the only ones with Class 6 armor-piercing capabilities in their caliber. MAI-AP rounds have the best penetration value among the three, while PS rounds have better damage against flesh.

7.62x51mm

• M80
• M993
• M61

The M80 variant has the weakest Class 6 penetration capabilities, but they are also the most common of the bunch; M80s can be bought from Peacekeeper once players reach level 2 reputation with him.

M61 and M993 variants have the highest AP values among assault rifles, but they also increase weapon recoil, making the caliber even harder to control when firing.

9x39mm

• SPP gs
• PAB-9 gs
• BP gs

All 9x39mm variants have good effectiveness against Class 6 armor, but the SPP gs is arguably the most balanced among all of them. BP rounds have the best armor penetration at the cost of significantly-increased recoil.

.300 Blackout

• Blackout AP
• M62 Tracer

Unfortunately, these are the only AP rounds for this caliber that may make fighting against heavy armor troublesome.

12.7x55mm

• P12B Subsonic

Like the .300 Blackout, 12.7x55mm STs-130 rounds have very limited AP capabilities. P12Bs are capable of piercing Class 6 armor but only to a limited degree, and since they’re subsonic, these bullets will be harder to use at long range due to their slow max velocity.