Another .223 vs 5.56 question . . .?

Wayne,

I first started shooting 223 in 1973, began handloading it in 1978, owned allot of Min-14's from 1973 to 1990 when I decided to stick to the AR's. In 1995 I began building AR-15's and using them in our State Championships and Regional matches which is 200, 300 and 600yd competition with iron sights - no scope. I have the most experience of anyone else I have ever met with this caliber.

Your rifle, my rifle and nearly everyone else's rifle - is perfectly safe to 223 in a 5.56mm and vice versa.

If you have a pre-1995 bolt gun - it probably can only handle 40gr 223 Remington - but firing 5.56mm is not unsafe - they just dont stabilize the heavier bullets.

99.999% percent of AR's and other 5.56mm can fire .223 ammo. For those .001% of rifles that have a slighlty different chamber........ unless you paid huge fricken $$ for this chamber, and went out of your way to buy it - you dont have it.

All you need to know is this:

in the early 1950's 223 Rem started as a varmint round with a 1:16 twist barrel firing 40gr ammo. Same bullet weight and twist rate used in 22 rimfire ammo that is 40gr.

In 1986 NATO went to a heavier 62gr bullet and than meant a 1:9 twist barrel that also fires a 69gr match bullet very very nice. However, 62gr bullets hate that 1:16 twist but can do ok in the older SP1 Colt AR's that were 1:10.

Today - most new barrels are 1:7 twist to take advantage of heavier projectiles from 100gr subsonic to 90gr-70 HPBT match and some truly awesome hunting bullets in the 70-75gr area like Barns TSX and Hornady A-Max. These dont do so well with an regular 1:9 barrel all the time.

Safety - is not an issue. Accuracy - is an issue. I have built around 60,000 rds of 223/5.56mm using all manner of civilian, commercial, military, and match brass - using several companies dies (RCBS mostly now) and I have never had an issue. You will not eiether.

What you need to do is find what your twist rate is - and just an appropriate weight bullet. 1:9 you want 55 to 69gr. 1:8 you want 62 to 75gr, 1:7 you want 69 to 100gr - and if you do fire anything under 69gr it should be 62gr FMJ or you wont be happy with the results.

There are way too many forums, blogs, and crap written about 223 vs 5.56mm from guys who spend more time regurtating crap from one web site to another than actually being on the range shooting. Do not beleive them. I ran a national shooting team and compete regularly with an AR, and at my state championships - if there was an issue - I really should have seen it by now. I havent. And if I did - I would not mind discussing it.

Hope this helps.

In my understanding you can fire .223 in a 5.56 chamber i.e AR15 but you CANT fire 5.56 in a .223. The reason for this is 5.56 rounds when fired produce a greater pressure than .233 rounds. .223 barrels are not made to withstand repeated stresses like that, this can lead to serious malfunction and damage to the firearm. A 5.56 rifle will have no problems firing .223 as it produces lower pressures and your barrel can withstand it, but you CANT do it the other way round, rather consult a gunsmith or follow the instruction manual on what ammunition you should be firing.

Hope this helps :)

Of course. The only real problem with firing 5.56x45 in 223 Remington barrels is when they have very tight tolerances and a short leade, so a 62 grain bullet won't fit. There just aren't many rifles like that.

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Yes you can fire both with no problem.

Since they are the identical cartridge, they should work fine. 0.223"=5.56mm. 0.308"=7.62mm. what you may have to watch is the second set of numbers denoting the overall length of the cartridge.

yes you can use both, but if you pick up a box that says 5.56 (Nato) on it than dont use it...