5.56 vs. .223: Which Can I Shoot?

[BET7]

Your right, I should have been more specific in my post and in regards to barrel markings.

I got what you were trying to say BangBang, and the article I posted above also mentioned 223 Wylde is the barrel designation, and there is no such cartridge manufactured. Good for Hans for to clarifying, so all are on the same understanding, as this post may be read by those that are unaware of this fact.

 

[10mmLife]

I got what you were trying to say BangBang, and the article I posted above also mentioned 223 Wylde is the barrel designation, and there is no such cartridge manufactured. Good for Hans for to clarifying, so all are on the same understanding, as this post may be read by those that are unaware of this fact.

What are you guys talking about these are a real round and I just picked up 1000 rounds of .223 Wylde today so I can use them on my unicorn hunting trip when I get back from finding Loch Ness.....

 

[BET7]

What are you guys talking about these are a real round and I just picked up 1000 rounds of .223 Wylde today so I can use them on my unicorn hunting trip when I get back from finding Loch Ness.....

The plastic ones? What a haul!, good luck with your hunt

 

[RICKYs2]

You do know that they make plastic case 5.56 rds

 

[Mr. Untactical]

Since you asked, I guess not much difference, but the article linked below is a good description of the 223 Wylde compared to the 5.56.

What is 223 Wylde? How Does it Compare to 5.56?

It's growing quickly in some shooting circles but what is 223 Wylde and why should you consider a rifle chambered in it instead of 5.56 or .223 Remington?

www.ammunitiontogo.com

Thank you, BET7

Based on the additional read, the 223 Wylde chamber should provide more accuracy shooting .223 than shooting same .223 from a rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO. While valuable, I'm thinking my next build will be .300 blackout so I can go subsonic/supressed. Tried one of those a while back and dang - that was a quiet and easy shooter

 

[BET7]

Thank you, BET7

Based on the additional read, the 223 Wylde chamber should provide more accuracy shooting .223 than shooting same .223 from a rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO. While valuable, I'm thinking my next build will be .300 blackout so I can go subsonic/supressed. Tried one of those a while back and dang - that was a quiet and easy shooter

Good luck with your build Mr. Untactical. I have a few pistols/rifles chambered in 300 BO and I like them. (none suppressed yet, but I'm getting there to do it).

 

[RICKYs2]

Good luck with your build Mr. Untactical. I have a few pistols/rifles chambered in 300 BO and I like them. (none suppressed yet, but I'm getting there to do it).

So you are hope the Trump wins, because the other one want to take it away.

 

[BET7]

So you are hope the Trump wins, because the other one want to take it away.

Absolutely, because the other one wants ALL of my AR15's and I don't live close to a lake.

 

[NYshooter]

Definitely a good read! As I was taught way back in two-thousand and one seven (hopefully correctly), if you purchase a rifle chambered in 5.56 (a la Ruger AR 556), then you can run either 2.23 or 5.56 safely. Which begs the question: what is the point of 223 wylde?

223 Wylde offers better accuracy, barrel life, & the ability to shoot the lightest to heaviest 223 & 5.56 rounds.

 

[Talyn]

I used a Wylde barrel in my last build.

 

[RICKYs2]

I have a guy that wants to buy all my guns. If brain dead wins I will sell all of them.

 

[BangBang]

223 Wylde offers better accuracy, barrel life, & the ability to shoot the lightest to heaviest 223 & 5.56 rounds.

You can get a Wylde chamber in 1:9 which 1:9 is more common for lighter grain bullets. In my latest I got a Wylde chamber in 1:7.7. A 1:8, being “middle of the road” would best stabilize about anything off the shelf or whatever you loaded, in terms of bullet weight.

 

[Talyn]

"Chamber dimensions and rifling twist vary among the myriad AR-15s and bolt rifles barreled to .223, but the 5.56 commonly gets a longer throat. “Roughly .125 more freebore,” say the white-coats bearing micrometers."

This mainly occured when the US adopted the heavier 62 gr ammo (from the prior 55 gr) when they switched to the A2 configuration, and faster twist rate to stabilize the heavier bullet, especially the tracer round which was longer and heavier but all 5.56 rounds are limited to the OAL limit of an AR magazine. Longer-throats typically allow for bullets to be loaded out longer in bolt guns vs. the AR-15 OAL limit due to the magazine.

I've never had an issue running 55 gr. 5.56 M193 in a .223 marked barrel because a bolt gun (decent one) can easily handle the extra PSI of the 5.56. And handloading for varmit shooting folks pump-up the velocity on their loads. But I haven't run M855 in a bolt .223 since I load my own for those rifles.

My .02

PS: These 5.56 pressures are also NATO-spec loads. I've found Tula (Russian steel-case) 5.56 to be under-powered compared to commercial 55 gr .223 and 5.56 M193.

 

[RICKYs2]

"Chamber dimensions and rifling twist vary among the myriad AR-15s and bolt rifles barreled to .223, but the 5.56 commonly gets a longer throat. “Roughly .125 more freebore,” say the white-coats bearing micrometers."

This mainly occured when the US adopted the heavier 62 gr ammo (from the prior 55 gr) when they switched to the A2 configuration, and faster twist rate to stabilize the heavier bullet, especially the tracer round which was longer and heavier but all 5.56 rounds are limited to the OAL limit of an AR magazine. Longer-throats typically allow for bullets to be loaded out longer in bolt guns vs. the AR-15 OAL limit due to the magazine.

I've never had an issue running 55 gr. 5.56 M193 in a .223 marked barrel because a bolt gun (decent one) can easily handle the extra PSI of the 5.56. And handloading for varmit shooting folks pump-up the velocity on their loads. But I haven't run M855 in a bolt .223 since I load my own for those rifles.

My .02

PS: These 5.56 pressures are also NATO-spec loads. I've found Tula (Russian steel-case) 5.56 to be under-powered compared to commercial 55 gr .223 and 5.56 M193.

My Ruger Mark II with a .223 barrel doesn't like 5.56 ammo. To close the bolt takes a lot of force to close, telling me that bullet as hit the the rifling. Not good for the barrel. All ammo used was factory ammo.

 

[Talyn]

My Ruger Mark II with a .223 barrel doesn't like 5.56 ammo. To close the bolt takes a lot of force to close, telling me that bullet as hit the the rifling. Not good for the barrel. All ammo used was factory ammo.

Not all manufacturers of bolt guns cut identical chamber throats in their hunting rifles.

Rugers are notorious for having tight throats (aka freebore) , and Weatherby is known for having generous throats (free bore). On custom guns you can specify the depth of the throat.

Chamber Throats 101

A gunsmith can cut a deeper throat with a throating reamer.

Sectioned barrel chamber area

 

[RICKYs2]

Here a picture of my H&K 93 the lower is marked 223 because in importing rifle was getting harder by the day. No more evil 5.56 guns imported into the USA and this Rifle in from 1982 one of the last years for this rifle. Loves M855A1 diet

 

[RICKYs2]

Not all manufacturers of bolt guns cut identical chamber throats in their hunting rifles.

Rugers are notorious for having tight throats (aka freebore) , and Weatherby is known for having generous throats (free bore). On custom guns you can specify the depth of the throat.

Chamber Throats 101

A gunsmith can cut a deeper throat with a throating reamer.

View attachment 11306

View attachment 11307

Sectioned barrel chamber area
View attachment 11308

I will not touch that rifle if you gave me two new ones. That rifle is tack driver

 

[Talyn]

In a Wylde chamber the throat is cut deep enough to accomodate both 5.56 and commercial .223 specs. As you can see the differences are minuscule.

Otherwise, pressures have nothing to do with things. See here.

SAAMI Method Pressures

	5.56 Ammo	.223 Ammo
5.56 Chamber	55,000 PSI	48,000-55,000 PSI
.223 Chamber	55,000-65,000 PSI	55,000 PSI

Table 1: Fired from the correct chamber, 5.56 and .223 are equivalent in pressure.
CIP Method Pressures

	5.56 Ammo	.223 Ammo
5.56 Chamber	62,000 PSI	54,000-62,000 PSI
.223 Chamber	62,000-70,600 PSI	62,000 PSI

Table 2: Even though these pressures look higher, they are actually the exact same pressures as in Table 1, just measured differently.

Source: https://ballistictools.com/articles/5.56-vs-.223-myths-and-facts.php#

So pressures can be different running 5.56 (depending on the load) in a .223 chamber but...

A manufacturers design/test their products with "proof loads". Most proof loads/pressures are “max” plus 10% and most guns/components have to safely “proof” at the highest pressures achievable by the “hottest” cartridges they’re capable of chambering from the factory, that means up to 70,000 psi for high-powered rifles.

But it's not smart to "hot-rod" loads like some tend to do.

My .02

 

[Talyn]

Also,...."5.56 vs .223 – What You Know May Be Wrong"

5.56 vs .223 – What You Know May Be Wrong

 

[BangBang]

Some good points Tayln made. I was specifically referring to what twist you could get in the barrel (.223 Wylde) which as we know, you can get it in, be it .223 or .556. A couple good articles on the Wylde chamber. If one was looking to put an AR together it would be worth a look to go with the Wylde chamber.

An Official Journal Of The NRA | .223 Wylde: The Ideal AR-15 Chamber?

Is a 223 Wylde chamber the best chamber for your AR-15?

www.shootingillustrated.com

What is 223 Wylde? How Does it Compare to 5.56?

It's growing quickly in some shooting circles but what is 223 Wylde and why should you consider a rifle chambered in it instead of 5.56 or .223 Remington?

www.ammunitiontogo.com