223AI is it worth it?

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I got a Mossberg MVP varmint and ive been thinking of re chambering it for 223AI for a little extra zap behind it... (really its mostly for fun and just to be different lol...) from what I can gather, you can just ream out a 223rem chamber out to AI and you don't need to touch the head spacing of the rifle and don't need to cut back the barrel or anything... is that right? will 223 AI still feed from L AR-15 10 round mags fine? for the amount of work and money its going to cost me, do you guys think it will be worth it? and the big question... is it still safe to shoot 223rem out of it after its been re-chambered for 223AI? if I run out of ammo or loose my hand loads or my buddy wants to shoot his ammo through it, can it still shoot 223rem? I don't want to have to fire forum all the brass with the cream of wheat or anything... I just wanna load up regular 223rem at full power and blast them, then when they come out, it will be a 223AI brass that I can load after. is this safe or will I have to fire forum?

thanks.
 
If you want it done right you need to pull the barrel off and cut at least one thread as headspacing is .004 less than the normal headspace.
You can fire all the standard .223 you want in the AI chamber and mag feeding depends on the mag.

Is it worth the little extra zap? Not for that case.
 
If you're after a little more speed and a little more power than a 223 and want to use the same bullets, it will probably be cheaper and/or less work to pick up a rifle in chambered in 22-250.
 
Should be an easy job for your 'smith as your rifle has a barrel nut. Had it done to a Savage and was no problem.

If done correctly, 223 should chamber tightly in an 223AI chamber and fire just fine. I've fired Winchester and Norinco 5.56 in mine.

Brass life is extended and a small increase in HP are always a welcome thing in my books.

Maybe consider spending a few more dollars and having the action face squared up while the barrel is off. May require adjusting the headspace slightly but would be worth it in the long run to me. YMMV
 
I have a 223 AI and haven't had to trim brass....ever. Worth it to me! I can shoot standard 223 sub MoA as well. Actually I shot almost sub 1/2 MoA fire forming brass with it consitantly. Some groups would be around .8, but some woud were .2. Average was around 1/2"

I think it's worth it!
 
I have had two of them, one on a rechambered HOWA, and the other a rechambered Stevens 200.

Both rifles had 22" barrels, both would get 40 gr Ballistic Tips to 4000 fps.

The HOWA is now killing gophers and coyotes in Saskatchewan.

The Stevens with its 1:9 twist easily pushes the 75 gr A-Max past 3000 fps from its 22" factory barrel. Brass lasts forever, and primer pockets stay tight. Load works quite well on deer and black bear.

In both rifles the accuracy is at least as good as before the rechambering job.

You won't regret having a 223 AI.
Ted
 
I would have to agree.....if you want more than the 223...sell it and buy a 22-250. I dont have the numbers, but would bet the 223 AI would not touch 22-250 performance. Course one could use cheap 223 ammo...fireform and have cost savings there. For what it is going to cost you, with little chance of recovering that with a now custom rifle.....just doesnt make sense to me.

Then again we are gun nutz
 
nowarningshot said:
I would have to agree.....if you want more than the 223...sell it and buy a 22-250. I dont have the numbers, but would bet the 223 AI would not touch 22-250 performance. Course one could use cheap 223 ammo...fireform and have cost savings there. For what it is going to cost you, with little chance of recovering that with a now custom rifle.....just doesnt make sense to me.

Then again we are gun nutz
Click to expand...

223AI will never touch the 22-250 in the velosity department. But it isn't a slouch either.

223 ammo is cheap and plentiful. Shoot once and now your fire formed. Brass life is fantastic. Can't really say the same for the 22-250.

In the cost department, what you leaving out is the cost of another rifle. Even if he sells the original, barrel life is quite short in the 22-250 and now your either rebarrelling (and won't recover cost as you say) or throwing it out and buying another rifle.

I like the 22-250 as it is mean on varmints and a dream to shoot over medium distances BUT since the OP asked about his rifle particular rifle, I say go AI.
 
I would suggest against this:

Cost will be higher then you think... the vast majority of gunsmiths will want to set back the chamber before reaming to an AI. There is simply way too much variations in factory chambers to just hope it will cut properly. So the set up time and checking is no different then doing a proper install with a barrel blank. Also, some reamers may vary in the taper and shoulder dimensions enough that ridges are left in the chamber with a simple set back.

To resolve, chop more barrel off and then you are into a other problems and more costs. Just remember that barrel nut prefits leave very little options for setting back.

Sharp shouldered, no taper cases have a nasty habit of not feeding smoothly from staggered stack mags. Guess what an AR mag is...

Increases in the AI chambering vs the reg is actually very small. Case volume increase is around 1/2 gr. Why it goes faster is shooters will ramp up pressures... so why not do the same thing with the standard 223?

Save your money. Re tune your loads... enjoy the money saved in bullets shot from orig barrel.

The target will not care if it is hit 75fps faster.

Jerry
 
Me personally I wouldn't bother to have one of my 223's re chambered to a AI but if I'm replacing the barrel then absolutely I would go AI. Never have to trim brass again=happiness, better performance and after feeding thousands of 223AI rounds from magazines I've never had any issues feeding.
 
Just throwing it out there , but here is an interesting article on 5.56 pressure ammo vs 223

http://w w.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

I have mainly ARs for 5.56 / 223 so all my ammo is 5.56 pressure ammunition

I also fired 5.56 ( Mk 262 load duplicate ) in a 223 Chambered bolt gun ( see article above of the pressure transducer info ) . I didn't seem to have any excessive pressure signs ( not that I recommend this )

Having said that is considered unsafe since 5.56 pressure exceeds SAAMI pressure for 223 and the throat dimensions and different

The easy solution is clean up your 223 to 5.56 dimensions using a neck / throat reamer ( completely idiot proof since it doesn't touch shoulder ...it actually stops on shoulder so you can't take off too much ! )

First link is for AR type upper so it has bushings you won't need

http:// w.m-guns.com/tool_new.php?product=reamer

http shop.pacifictoolandgauge.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=309_16_447&products_id=7810

Obviously you can 5.56 finish reamer like the pull through style ( PT&G makes one ) so you don't have to remove barrel

I would think this is less hassle than going 223AI

There are lots of load data for 5.56 NATO out there

Keep in mind when comparing load data that the velocities for 223 in most manuals is from a much longer barrel than you see for 5.56 so the 5.56 sometimes SEEMS slower
 
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thanks for all your input guys :) I think ill hold off on this for a bit... if I ever need to get the barrel set back then I think ill go for it, but for now ill leave it...
 
To re-chamber an existing barrel no. If replacing barrel cost of chambering is the same with standard and improved chamber. Cost of dies will be a few dollars more. Have a 223 AI in a 21" RKS 20-10:1 gain twist. Shoots 60 gr bullets at 3380 fps with outstanding accuracy. I'm happy with mine.
 
TRG-42 said:
I also fired 5.56 ( Mk 262 load duplicate ) in a 223 Chambered bolt gun ( see article above of the pressure transducer info ) . I didn't seem to have any excessive pressure signs ( not that I recommend this )

Having said that is considered unsafe since 5.56 pressure exceeds SAAMI pressure for 223 and the throat dimensions and different
Click to expand...

SAAMI specs differ between the 2 rounds but C.I.P. considers them to be the same. As C.I.P. has legal power in its countries any one manufacturing rifles for those markets will hold up fine. Also most rifles made in the US will also work safely with 5.56 b/c companies do not like getting sued.
 
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