I went to the range this afternoon and had to wait on a guy who was already there.
He was shooting an AR, but walking up about 10-12 feet from the target...which is a whole 'nother story.
Anyhow... when he signaled that he was done, I walked down with my gear and asked if he was a reloader who wanted help finding his brass. He said, "no, I was just picking up what I saw to kind of police my area here..."
I said, "Is that a Rock River?"
He said, "No, it's a BushMaster."
I said, "Neato. Looks like you've got some EO Tech sights on there. Do you like them?"
He told me he did and then picked up a couple more pieces of brass and plunked them into his case. I picked up two and tossed them on his mat by his bag. Not being familiar with them, I said, "What are you shooting? .223?"
He said, "Yes".
OK, this is the important part to remember. ".223?" and "Yes".
He left and the hubster and I shot for awhile ...since I reload, we were picking up my .45 brass and found lots the other guy's stuff kind of right in the spots where we'd seen him walk up to the targets and rip through a mag or two.
When I got home, I was thinkin' that it didn't look like what I remembered shooting when I got to play with a couple ARs...so I did some looking around online.
Correct this if it's not so...but I don't think these are .223.
I think they're NATO 5.56 ...
But wouldn't somebody KNOW their own rifle's ammo caliber??
By the way, there's no mistaking that these were from that guy...
So here they are...what are they?:
11 comments:
5.56 nato/223 Lake City should be boxer primed- reloadable after you remove the crimp on the primer-
Ron W
OK, I understood the "remove the military crimped primer" part...but are .223 and 5.56 the same thing, then??
For all intents yes. The mil. case is thicker and loaded to a different pressure level - but I shoot both in my AR and bolt guns no problem.
Ron
So then...tell me about the pressures. Which is more? Why?
And why have both "numbers" (.223 & 5.56) if they are essentially the same round?
Hey Annnie, here's an overview of these two catridges: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.56x45mm_NATO . Yeah they are the same but with some subtile differences. In one aspect the .223 Remington is the commercial version whereas the 5.56 Nato is, well, "not".
Hope this helps, Kevin (aka TD)
The name differences are commercial-223 Rem vs.the 5.56 NATO Mil.version/ Comml/SAAMI specs =55,000 psi NATO specs= 66,000 psi the slight dimension differences are to allow for dirty ammo - manufacturing differences and full auto use
Ron
The Cartridges
The .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO are for all intents and purposes the same in terms of exterior dimensions. The main difference in these cartridges is the thickness of the brass. 5.56 NATO brass is thicker than that of .223 Remington brass. This does two things: first, it reduces the powder capacity slightly (and increases peak pressures) and second, it increases the strength of the case. This means that reloading dies will work the same on 5.56 ammunition as they will on .223 Remington ammunition. 5.56 factory ammunition also features a crimped primer pocket which requires swaging/reaming when reloading so that the primer pocket can accept a new primer.
Here are the specifications for the .223 Remington / 5.56 NATO cartridges:
.223 Remington / 5.56 NATO cartridge dimensions - Image by Francis Flinch (click to enlarge)
The Chambers
While the cartridges are basically the same except the thickness of the brass, the chambers are slightly different. First off, the 5.56 NATO has a longer leade (distance bullet must travel before engaging the rifling). The extended leade distance is about .025″ – which is a meaningful distance for accuracy based on bullet seating depth. Second, some of the other chamber dimensions are “enlarged” very slightly in order to allow for more reliable feeding/chambering characteristics.
Here is a summary of the differences (positive number means greater in size for 5.56 NATO):
Base diameter .002″
Shoulder diameter .0007″
Neck .001″
Freebore diameter .0025″
Base to case mouth .003″
Base to shoulder .004″
Neck length -0.002
Freebore length .025″
Throat angle -0.6 degrees
Interoperability of Ammunition
Generally, it is safe to fire .223 Remington in a 5.56 NATO chambered rifle, but it is not necessarily safe to fire 5.56 NATO ammunition in a .223 Remington rifle. This is because 5.56 NATO ammunition is rated for higher pressure (stronger chamber) than .223 Remington. So, if you have a 5.56 NATO rifle, you can shoot both 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington ammunition safely. If you have a .223 Remington chambered rifle it’s best to stick with .223 Remington ammunition. If you are after utmost accuracy, .223 Remington can in some cases be a better way to go due to the shorter leade (assuming factory ammunition is used). If you are handloading for an AR-15, the difference can be negligible.
Thanks, you guys.
In short it is English vs Metric
.223 inch or caliber = 5.56 mm
.308 inch or caliber = 7.62 mm
.50 inch or caliber = 12.7 mm
etc
I was going to give you this link but Anon @5:37PM covered it with a little more detail. It is a little bit more than English vs. Metric.
NATO headstamp, Lake City brass.
And you of all people should know the goddamned difference.
Sincerely,
1.260"
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