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Posted: 11/17/2008 7:19:43 AM EDT
Probably going to get made fun of for asking this, but here goes. 
What is the difference between .223 and 5.56 chambers? Will one work in the other? |
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Quoted:
Probably going to get made fun of for asking this, but here goes.
What is the difference between .223 and 5.56 chambers? Will one work in the other? There IS a difference. But the difference is not even in the part of the chamber that the case goes in. It's in the part past where the case mouth and bullet sit. There are two differences: the "freebore" (the unrifled, groove-diameter space that the bullet gets started in) of the 5.56mm chamber is longer, as is the "leade" (the part where the rifling tapers from nothing to full depth). Conversely, a .223 chamber has a short freebore and short, more abrupt leade. The rule of thumb is that you can fire .223 in any .223 or 5.56mm chamber, but you shouldn't fire 5.56mm ammo in a .223 chamber, but this is probably more important in a bolt-action rifle than in a semi-auto rifle. Me? I go with a 5.56mm chamber whenever possible, for the flexibility if nothing else. |
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People worry about this WAY more than they should. The main think to remember is not to fire surplus ammo in a bolt-action 223 rifle. It MAY result in an overpressure situation because of the short leade. I say MAY because of course it may not. If you want to run surplus ammo through your bolt action 223, check for overpressure signs like you would with any handload.
Like I say, folks worry about 5.56 vs 223 REM too much. You can shoot either ammo type through any AR-15 style rifle or Mini-14. -David Edgewood, NM |
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Begin your ammo education herer.........
http://ammo.ar15.com/ammo/project/AmmoOracleFiles_ORIG/index.html Aloha, Mark |
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