Just purchased 4 boxes of what I thought was Black Hills .223 remanufactured ammo.  I was very suprised when I opened the boxes to find that they are loaded in NEW Lake City brass with a NATO stamp hinking.gif.  So my question is, are these cartridges .223 or 5.56?  I will be passing them through a Bushy Varmiter and am looking for extreme accuracy.  It is my opinion that .223 will be more consistent than any 5.56 NATO round.  Am I wrong here? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

What color was the box?

If it was blue, they are .223 reman. If it was red they are new .223 manufacture and if the box is white they are new 5.56 seconds.

That LC brass wasn't new.  It is once fired.  Black Hills loads all their Blue Box .223 in once fired LC brass.  Looks new huh?  It will shoot just as good as the "new" stuff too.  

Yes, the box is blue...so I guess it's once fired but doesn't the NATO stamp mean that it's 5.56 brass.  How can they market it as .223?  I guess I'm concerned that 5.56 brass won't shoot as well in my Varmiter.

Quoted: Yes, the box is blue...so I guess it's once fired but doesn't the NATO stamp mean that it's 5.56 brass.  How can they market it as .223?  I guess I'm concerned that 5.56 brass won't shoot as well in my Varmiter.

They can market it as .223 because it is .223 pressure, not 5.56.  The 5.56 cases and .223 cases are not that much different, the biggest difference probably being the thickness of the case walls.  I wouldn't worry about it.  The Black Hills will shoot very accurately.  

Quoted: Yes, the box is blue...so I guess it's once fired but doesn't the NATO stamp mean that it's 5.56 brass.  How can they market it as .223?  I guess I'm concerned that 5.56 brass won't shoot as well in my Varmiter.

Of all the different ammo on the market, the best way to find out what shoots the best out of your rifle is to buy a bunch of different brands and find out which is the most accurate or consistant for you.

For plinking ammo the Black Hills BB 55gr. FMJ is very cheap and for me very accurate.

Thanks for the insight guys.  I feel better about it knowing that it is loaded to .223 specs.  I've got a half dozen types of ammo I'll be tryin' this weekend, I'll let you know how the BH works out.