5.56 vs 2.23

[captbilly]

Pressures are measured differently, pressures aren't different.

The Wikipedia article mentions this, although it is worded a bit ambiguously, but the chamber pressures for the. 223 vs, 5.56 are only measured differently, which gives the appearance of being different, when in fact they are the same. Excessive pressure will pop primers, regardless of what the spec for the cartridge says. It is possible that the deeper seating length of the 5.56 could cause some slight increase in pressure when fired from a. 223 chamber but mant target shooters load their .223 cartridges with the bullet just touching the lands, without issue.

I think the big thing that worries people about using the 5.56 in a. 223 is the pressure spec on the 5.56 seeming to be higher, but this is due to the way the pressure is measured , not due to an actual higher pressure for the round.

[jukeboxx13]

The Wikipedia article mentions this, although it is worded a bit ambiguously, but the chamber pressures for the. 223 vs, 5.56 are only measured differently, which gives the appearance of being different, when in fact they are the same. Excessive pressure will pop primers, regardless of what the spec for the cartridge says. It is possible that the deeper seating length of the 5.56 could cause some slight increase in pressure when fired from a. 223 chamber but mant target shooters load their .223 cartridges with the bullet just touching the lands, without issue.

I think the big thing that worries people about using the 5.56 in a. 223 is the pressure spec on the 5.56 seeming to be higher, but this is due to the way the pressure is measured , not due to an actual higher pressure for the round.

makes sense..thanks

[inapirekim]

Will both rounds tumble?
Does one shoot straighter or more even then the other?

[Sunday]

2.23?

When you line them up side by side, the 5.56 is a few mm longer.

They are the same size. Don't post wrong info.

[Sunday]

Will both rounds tumble?
Does one shoot straighter or more even then the other?

what do you mean by tumble?

[Sunday]

makes sense..thanks

Wiki is wrong the 5.56 is a higher pressure round. The 5.56 is approx. 200 or 300 feet per second faster than 223. shoot one of each and you can tell . Notice the difference here http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=213

[Sunday]

5.56 has thicker brass walls. more velocity.. blah blah. its all ben said already

Not necessarily

[jbush]

OP has 200+ posts you would have thought he would have run into this question on the forums before. That doesn't bother me as much as the "what should I buy next" questions without any clarifcation. I usually make up my own mind on what guns I purchase, and throwing out such a vague question makes me wonder how they decide what color socks to wear in the morning.

[david619]

Well at least he didn't ask 5.56 vs 6.8 spc. here we go

[sonnyt650]

Anybody else notice this was originally posted over two months ago? Whether or not the OP should have found his answer a long time ago, let's let the thread die already.

[lilro]

Before we let it die, I have a question that doesn't really need a new thread.

If I have a 5.56 barrel, is 5.56 ammo any "better" than .223? Is it more stable or accurate?

[CHS]

SAAMI spec's for .223 list max pressure at 55,000psi.

5.56NATO is loaded as high as 62,000psi.

That's the main difference.

Some say that 5.56 brass is different than .223 brass, but that's not always true. 5.56 "military" primers are certainly harder than "commercial" primers that you'll normally see in .223, which is important to know when dealing with a firearm that utilizes a floating firing pin (like the AR15 platform).

Then there's the chamber difference. The 5.56 chamber has a longer throat or leade which affects chamber pressure. The shorter the throat/leade, the "tighter" the chamber and the higher the pressure it will be subject to. A gun with a match .223 chamber will be subject to much higher chamber pressures than a gun with a military 5.56 chamber, all other things being equal.

In the AR platform, you don't really have to worry about it. The gun is designed to take a good amount of pressure and even 5.56 is generally safe to fire in an AR with a match .223 chamber (there are also hybrid chambers like the wylde which offer a compromise and minimize chamber pressures). The mini-14 is another example of a .223 gun where it's safe to fire 5.56. I also wouldn't worry about 5.56 in a quality .223 bolt gun.

But when it comes to other semi-auto's chambered in .223, I would be careful when shooting any 5.56 ammo.

[CHS]

Before we let it die, I have a question that doesn't really need a new thread.

If I have a 5.56 barrel, is 5.56 ammo any "better" than .223? Is it more stable or accurate?

Quality commercial .223 ammo will outshoot any true 5.56 military ammo any day of the week.

However, I would take quality 5.56 ammo over low-end .223 ammo (like anything Russian) if I had a choice.

[lilro]

Quality commercial .223 ammo will outshoot any true 5.56 military ammo any day of the week.

However, I would take quality 5.56 ammo over low-end .223 ammo (like anything Russian) if I had a choice.

Thanks.