.223 cal question
I have a Rem 700VLS cal .223 Rem with 26" heavy barrel. Can I safely fire 5.56 military ammo in this gun? I understand these are two different rounds? Do I need to keep my shooting to factory ammo only? Thanks to all replies.
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I have done so, with many thousands of rounds, with no ill effects. 0 -
shoot away. 0 -
As I am to understand their is no difference except in the name.
When Clinton left office they gave him a 21 gun salute. Its a damn shame they all missed....0 -
The 5.56 NATO ammo has almost exactly the same external dimensions as the .223 Remington cartridges & will fit & shoot well in most - if not all - chambers cut & stamped for .223 Remington. The difference between the two cartridges has more to do with cartridge wall & base thickness (the NATO rounds are of heavier brass construction & have slightly smaller case internal volume as a result), neck crimp style & heavier walled primers that are crimped in as well. If you reload 5.56 NATO cartridges be sure to use the appropriate load tables as excessive pressure may result if they're reloaded to .223 Rem specs, mostly because of the smaller internal volume. 0 -
F.Y.I.
I was at the range today sighting in a Rem 700 ADL 223 and had some Winchester Bulk ammo, Norinco yellow box, ammo and some hornandy ballistic tip. I wanted to get on paper first with the cheap ammo, then shoot the Hornandy VMAX for a group. I had no problems with the Win or Hornandy ammo, but the primers on the Norinco 'cratered' on me. It left a hole in the primer. Buddy of mine told me the chamber was tight and not to use the Norinco ammo. On a side note, the Norinco ammo works fine in my DPMS LoPro flat top.0 -
As far as I know the 5.56 ammo is the same size as the .223 and should work fine. 0 -
Is the load the same? I understand also that the 5.56 mm military ammo is loaded much hotter, and could create much higher pressures in a factory .223 Rem chamber. Again thanks to all replies. 0 -
if you have a rifle with the barrel marked 5.56 you may shoot the standard military ammo
but if it is not so marked I would not attempt it
for more answers about .223 ammo go to this site and read up on it
http://www.ammo-oracle.com
should answer all the questions you have asked
warning takes a while to load
SMILE...MAKE EM WONDER WHAT YOUR UP TO0 -
You will be limited to lighter weight bullets since the VLS has a 1 in 12" twist versus the 1 in 7" or 1 in 9" twists typical of military type rifles. Heavy bullets will not stablize in the 1 in 12 " twist barrels. Other than that, you can fire .223 and 5.56 NATO in the same rifle. The .223 Remington is the commercial name for 5.56 NATO round.
BTW, what was said about the NATO brass thickness earlier is true, and is the 'only' difference between the two. I have used both in my ARs and my VLS and they both work in either rifle, just remember about bullet weight and you will do fine.
Boomer
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as it is by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed."NRA Life Member
Edited by - Boomerang on 11/09/2002 00:38:010
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