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Posted: 4/23/2003 5:06:09 PM EDT
| I have a colt HBAR II for which I've been thinking of getting a 20" A2 upper. One of the uppers I've been looking at says it has a .223 Wylde Chamber. Can someone tell me what this means? Is it better than a standard chamber? |
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The 223 wylde chamber is tighter than the standard 5.56 chamber but not quite as tight as the 223 "match chamber" Originally designed to be best of both world chambers. Will shoot any good ammo with very good accuracy results, not as much can be said about the 5.56 reamed chambers. I have a RRA Varmint chambered from the factory in this chamber with 1-8 twist and will shoot sub .75 moa with factory ammo's. I like it better than the match chambering cause it allows me to shoot "not so perfect:" ammo with perfect reliability and still hit what i am aiming at! |
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Hummm... A "match grade 5.56mm" chamber would probably be better attributed to the 5.56mm Target chambering, which has these specs: Freebore - 0.0566 Angle - 1 deg, 13 min OAL - 2.465 While the Wylde chambering looks like this: Freebore - 0.0619 Angle - 1 deg, 15 min OAL - 2.475 Admittedly, close... but not the same. The Wylde is known for being a very accurate chamber cut that still reliably feeds and shoot about any type of cartridge you can get. HIH? [edited to add] BTW: The 5.5mm Target chamber, as you can see, is smaller than the Wylde .223 |
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I researched this as well and found out it's just an inbetween chamber for the 223 & 5.56. From all of the reading I found on this site I found out that you supposedly will be better off with a 5.56 which will take higher pressures. THis way you would be able to use factory 5.56 and shoot allot more that a specialty cartridge. I talked with two reps for two upper I will not disclose. I asked which chamber their uppers were in. I asked if they were 223? They both replied that they were mil spec 223 in 5.56mm. I scratched my head & said so which is it. I ended up purchasing an upper that is 5.56, But believe me I looked real hard at the RRA wylde, but as cost per round is more a priority than just a bit more accuracy you have to figure out what you want. By the way, After break in of my barrel in 5.56 I had four 5 shot groups which were from 1" to 1.25" with a par scope @ 100yds. Yea, Yea, It aint nothing to brag about, but I was tickled to death to get it... [party] Prosise |
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Hummmm... The truth is, there are probably a 100 different dimensioned reamers on the market for the 223/556 and the argument over whether a rifle is a .223 or a 5.56 is often mute. A good example is your statement that the Wylde is in between the 5.56 and the 223 -- Notice that the 5.56mm Target is smaller than the Wylde? But common wisdom has it that any chamber stamped 5.56 would be larger than a chamber stamped 223. RRA uses the Wylde on their varmint barrels because it is a very accurate cut, but will still feed anything you can load in a magazine. I am not sure why the upper manufacturers you spoke with are cloaked in secrecy? But, I would hope that anyone I bought a barrel from would be very forthright with the specs of the chamber. Unless you are looking at some of the exotic chambers like the JGS-514, which is very small, you should be well served by almost any of the common reamers in use -- most reputable smiths that use a tight chamger will let you know right up front (sometimes even stamping the barrel) that it is a "match chamber". That having been said, the RRA varmint is purpose designed for accuracy and you should load premium grade, commercial cartridges or your own hand loads to get the full potential. Their varmint uppers are very good quality and shoot MOA or less with no problem... Of course, everyone should keep in mind that SAAMI says that shooting millitary 5.56mm in a .233 Rem chamber is an unsafe condition, this all depends on the length of the lead -- As for the Wylde chambering, I would stick with commercial .223 ammo, hey it is a varmint gun right? |
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Thanks for all of the great information everyone! Top notch!! Sounds like the .223 Wylde would fit my needs as I'd like to do some match shooting but I don't think I'll ever go off the deep end as far as being obsesed with minute groups. I'd like to be able to keep using my cheap Federal and Winchester 55gr loads rather than exclusively using home brewed match loads. KillZone: Have you ever had any reliability issues in using your RAA in .223 Wylde? It didn't sound like it from your post. There always is the chance that any rifle may need to be used for defense and reliability is always a priority in my mind. |
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I've got an RRA 16" Varmint upper with the Wylde chamber...I sorta figured from your post that you were talking about RRA uppers, since I don't know anyone else who uses them. I posted this same question a few weeks ago...you're getting more responses than I did hehehe...anyway, my own experience is that the Wylde will handle any good grade commercial ammo and handloads...but it's gotten hung up good a couple of times on SA milsurp and some weird supposed Lake City stuff I got at a gunshow. Other than those 2 episodes, I've had no problem with it. I'm still looking for a good load for that rifle; it does a hair under 1 moa with the same load that my Armalite 20" does between .500 and .750. I could probably improve the groups with the RRA if I swap triggers...I've still got the match trigger in the RRA/Eagle m4gery. I just shot that rifle last weekend...25 shots semi-rapid fire (my outdoor range has a few sissy rules), 23 of which were in the 10 ring of an SR1 target at 100 yards benched, and the total group measured 2.75 inches. The first four rounds I fired were right around 1"; I think this upper may actually shoot better than the varmint one. |
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