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Posted: 10/31/2007 11:16:07 AM EDT
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Okay, I admit it. I'm a noob. Maybe not an ubernoob, but a noob nonetheless. I have a lot of experience with M-16s, courtesy of Uncle Sam, but have ZERO experience and very little knowledge about their civilan counterparts. Sorry - had to add that before I ask my ubernoobish question that's probably been asked 1000 times before... I've heard that .223 Rem ammo will work and is safe in a 5.56 NATO chamber, but 5.56 ammo won't work in a .223 chamber (too much pressure maybe?). Is this true? I'm looking at an upper in 5.56, but I wanna be sure that whatever I get will eat .223 ammo and still be JUST AS ACCURATE as with 5.56. Now, for you handloaders, what's the difference between loading for these two? Case outside dimentions are the same, sizing dies are all .223 Rem and the bullets can be the same. I know mil-spec brass is thicker, which means less case capacity and higher pressure, but is that the only difference? Would loading .223 ammo with ball powder give me the same velocities and pressure as 5.56 ammo, or would that be too much pressure for the thinner brass? Mods, I figured this post could also fit in the ammo room, but pertains more to ARs in general than just ammo. Please move it if you think it needs to be somewhere else... |
| Thanks KC! That answered my question. I did a search yesterday for it, but didn't look much today. guess I should have hinking.gif I have a bolt rifle in .223, so I guess I don't need to change my setup any |
Running 5.56 in a .223 is a potential pressure issue. Depends on how your chamber is cut and if was early or later in the reamer's life.
Realisticially nothing. Though it's really hard to load to .223 pressure and get reliable ammo. There are no primer staking tools and when you load to 5.56 pressure you have the potential of popping primers (more so on hot days).
Not always. I have some sectioned Lake City that is no different than most of my commercial brass. |
Myth... |
Maybe not always (manufacturing tolerances vary of course), but I have a metric buttload of LC and other milspec brass that I've picked up at the range. Most of them weigh in 5-20gr or more heavier than the Rem and Win stuff I pick up. That could also be caused by a different density of the brass or heavier/thicker webbing. I've never actually measured the brass thickness to see for sure. I've heard it enough that surely it's true, but then again one of my drills told me in basic that the M-16 was designed by Mattel No big deal either way though - I have plenty of .223 stuff. I thought I might get into reclaiming the milspec stuff for use in my .223, but I have so much .223 brass I don't care to bother with it. |
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