5.56 v. 223

[b79holmes]

In a recent article in American Rifle (something NRA anyway) they said that the 5.56 has higher pressure than the 223 Remington and they are not interchangeable.

I always assumed they were. If you have a 223 (ruger #1 or any bolt action) do you use 5.56? I assumed surplus 5.56 is available and would be cheaper.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[FunYun]

Yes, one should not be used with the other, though I can't remember which.

 

[kevin9]

As I understand it .223 can safely be used in 5.56 guns but not necessarily the other way.

 

[Hanwei]

Correct. If your rifle is chambered for the 5.56 round, you can shoot .223 through it.

However if your rifle is chambered for the .223 round... you shouldn't shoot 5.56. It will fit, and fire... but the chamber isn't made to handle the higher pressures.

 

[Chris]

This is why you see so many factory Colts with .223 on the lower receiver and 5.56 on the barrel.

 

[Hanwei]

This is why you see so many factory Colts with .223 on the lower receiver and 5.56 on the barrel.

Right. If your barrel says 5.56... then you're good to shoot both 5.56 and .223.

 

[BoB13]

The Wilde chamber will handle both also, no problems

 

[matt1956]

all of the above is correct.

a rifle that is marked for .223, should only be used with .223.

If it is marked 5.56, use either or.

I used to have a site that showed/explained the difference of the two rounds... can't find it though.

 

[sksguns]

do a search on ar15.com. they explain the difference nicely.

 

[Mack]

Regarding specific firearms, does this mean I can't shoot 5.56mm in my mini-14 or VEPR II? What do the manufacturers' say? Does shooting 5.56mm void any warranties?

 

[matt1956]

Regarding specific firearms, does this mean I can't shoot 5.56mm in my mini-14 or VEPR II? What do the manufacturers' say? Does shooting 5.56mm void any warranties?

actually... i think the mini-14 is an exception to the rule (older ones anyway). I could be wrong and please, someone correct me if so.

but I think the mini-14 was made to withstand the force of the 5.56 because it was intended for a police/security weapon to be used instead of the AR-15/M-16.

But I could be completely wrong here.

Mind you, I fire both from my Mini-14 and she had no problems with either.

 

[Mack]

.223/5.56 generalizations

After my last post, I checked the receivers on both my mini-14 and my VEPR II. They are both stamped ".223 REM" However, both Instructions Manuals put 5.56. in parenthesis after .223, i.e.

.223 Rem. (5.56mm)

I'm relieved since I'm been happily shooting both through my guns for a long time.

 

[Moderator]

Here is all the info you need.
http://www.ammo-oracle.com/body.htm

 

[TonyD]

The biggest difference is the "lead" in the chambering. Some tight .223 SAAMI chambers were designed to use a 55 gr. bullet at max. The lead was very short to minimize bullet jump. Once the Army got done dickin' around with the 5.56 and couldn't get the promised velocity, switching powders, etc. the finished product was a round that produced 60,000 psi which was 10,000 over the rated limit.

Military chambers are tyically "looser" than match / civ. chambers and could tolerate the higher pressures (or at least they said they could). So, SAAMI put out a warning not to use true military ammo in civilian spec. / match chambers. These days there are so many different ".223" chambers than unless you know who made the reamer and what the lead is, you really have no clue. A lot of the man.'s are now specifying which they use - i.e. Rock River uses the Wylde chamber specs.

 

[JackO]

never mind, TYPEO1313 bit me to the link ;-(

 

[b79holmes]

Here is all the info you need.
http://www.ammo-oracle.com/body.htm

Great article, I am half way through it.

So then that bring up the question, which sporting bolt action rifles are designed for 5.56?

Bill

 

[Gonzo]

Great article, I am half way through it.

So then that bring up the question, which sporting bolt action rifles are designed for 5.56?

Bill

Bump. I'm curious as to what non-semi auto rifles accept 5.56 as well. Or what rifles marked .223 rem have been proven to eat up 5.56 with no issues.

 

[Timberwolf]

I've never had a problem interchanging the cartridges but I know that I shouldn't.

If you have a tight match chamber, you may have trouble closing the bolt. Just look at the chamber/cartridge dimentions to see.

 

[Gonzo]

What rifles are you using?

 

[wahsben]

As I understand it .223 can safely be used in 5.56 guns but not necessarily the other way.

This is correct. The way I remember it is 223 is a smaller # than 556. You can fit the smaller into the larger but not the larger into the smaller.
The pressures are higher for the 5.56 round and that is why it is not recommended in a .223 chamber which is tighter than a 5.56 chamber.

 

[JRyan]

Mine says 5.56/.223 ,DPMS lo-pro classic. I always assumed I was safe.

 

[Mattitude]

The construction of the brass is also different. The case web is thicker in the 5.56 to handle the higher pressures...so don't load .223 brass to 5.56 (NATO) specifications.

 

[notalib]

Regarding specific firearms, does this mean I can't shoot 5.56mm in my mini-14 or VEPR II? What do the manufacturers' say? Does shooting 5.56mm void any warranties?

I actually called Ruger on this... The Mini-14 is made for 5.56 and accepts .223.. I suggest that if you have a rifle marked .223 on the barrel that you call the manufacturer before you assume you can use NATO 5.56... If it cant take 5.56 you could hurt yourself and/or the rifle.

 

[RKG]

Regarding specific firearms, does this mean I can't shoot 5.56mm in my mini-14 or VEPR II? What do the manufacturers' say? Does shooting 5.56mm void any warranties?

All Ruger Mini-14s have 5.56 chambers.

 

[Fixxah]

The Sabre barrel on my AR is stamped .223 but the manufacturer quarantees that it will handle any 5.56 ammo I can feed it. It is a SS bull bbl 24". I only load 5.56 to the most accurate wieght and that is usually well below max pressure anyway depending on the bullet style.

 

[rickster58]

If 5.56 is the actual dimension of the bullet, the 5.56 is smaller in diameter also.
5.56mm = .21889" That is significantly smaller than .223" Am I right here?

 

[Kenny474]

If 5.56 is the actual dimension of the bullet, the 5.56 is smaller in diameter also.
5.56mm = .21889" That is significantly smaller than .223" Am I right here?

I believe they both use they same bullet diameter, only labeled differently. I may be wrong though. I always thought the .222, .223, and 5.56 used the same diameter bullets, only different cases.

 

[bpm990d]

5.56mm = .219 and that refers to the bore diameter of the rifling. Bullet diameter is .2245

B

 

[offcamber]

All Ruger Mini-14s have 5.56 chambers.

Not Entirely true...Target models are .223 ONLY

 

[ShadeWPI]

Is this a CHAMBER dimmension difference only (like .308 Win and 7.62x51mm) or are there actually differences in the cartriage specifications?

Wikipedia has the exact same dimentions shown for both the .223 Remington and 5.56x45mm NATO.

There are max pressure differences yes, but is there actually a cartiage dimention difference?