Reloaded Military Brass in an XCR

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Gobc

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I just got my XCR conversion kit and too my surprise it's a .223 1:7 twist barrel.
I've loaded up a bunch of handloads using military brass but powder loads for a .223. I called Wolfgang at wolverine supplies the chamber will be able to handle 5.56 loads. Barrel wise, .223 and 5.56 are the same, but the chambers are meant to handle different pressures. It makes sense that the chamber on my XCR can still handle 5.56 pressures.

So has anybody used military brass (5.56x45 brass) in the .223 XCR before?
I'm a little worried that the gun is going to blow up when I try my handloads in it even though Wolfgang said not to worry.
 
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Do your load development as you would normally and there won't be a problem. Reloading military 5.56 cases is a common practice.
 
Once youu resize with your 223 die its well 223 as far as I know. Another thing is that the 5.56 is a higher pressure round/more powder. Since your loading within 223 specs your good to go.
 
Gobc said:
..... I called Wolfgang at wolverine supplies and he said the rifle is still chambered for a 5.56 ........ It makes sense that the chamber on my XCR can still handle 5.56 pressures.
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if it is chamber in 5.56, why wouldn't it handle 5.56 pressure? :confused:
 
Gobc said:
Barrel wise, .223 and 5.56 are the same, but the chambers are meant to handle different pressures. It makes sense that the chamber on my XCR can still handle 5.56 pressures.

So has anybody used military brass (5.56x45 brass) in the .223 XCR before?
I'm a little worried that the gun is going to blow up when I try my handloads in it even though Wolfgang said not to worry.
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This one has been beaten to death, revived and beaten again...and again...

You know 5.56 and .223 are dimensionally the same right? If you are handloading you should know this.
The only difference in the two is the CHAMBER - and they are very minute....Predominantly, the ever so slight difference is to ensure reliable feeding in military guns.
While others will claim there is significant increase of chamber pressure differences when ammo loaded to 5.56mm NATO standards v. .223 is fired in a .223 chamber, they fail to mention the fact oem, factory .223 chambered guns are going to come with 'generous' chamberings anyhow, and the inherent factoring of safety that goes into all engineering.

Gobc said:
I called Wolfgang at wolverine supplies and he said the rifle is still chambered for a 5.56 and that RA changed the barrel markings to by-pass the US export regulations.
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I'm not sure why you'd post this on an open forum for all to read, but I bet you misunderstood the truth of what was said - It is very unlikely any manufacturer would jeopardise their exportation over something so frivolous....
 
Gobc said:
I just got my XCR conversion kit and too my surprise it's a .223 1:7 twist barrel.
I've loaded up a bunch of handloads using military brass but powder loads for a .223. I called Wolfgang at wolverine supplies and he said the rifle is still chambered for a 5.56 and that RA changed the barrel markings to by-pass the US export regulations. Barrel wise, .223 and 5.56 are the same, but the chambers are meant to handle different pressures. It makes sense that the chamber on my XCR can still handle 5.56 pressures.

So has anybody used military brass (5.56x45 brass) in the .223 XCR before?
I'm a little worried that the gun is going to blow up when I try my handloads in it even though Wolfgang said not to worry.
Click to expand...

If your worried and just to do you a favour, I will take said rifle and test fire it for you for a couple months maybe more just to make sure it will handle the reloads. Oh and send about 1-2 thousand rounds because you never want to be unsafe..
 
the big deal is that Military 5.56x45mm NATO is headspaced off the shoulder, whereas .223 Rem. is headspaced off the case mouth. Therefore 5.56NATO CAN have a slightly longer overall length. Normally the difference is so minute that it wont make a difference anyways.

If your barrel is chambered SPECIFICALLY for .223 Rem, then you may need to get a case mouth reamer to cut them down to fit, but really not a big deal.

Powder charges, just load em up for whatever you want based on a good reloading manual.
 
F22_RaptoR said:
the big deal is that Military 5.56x45mm NATO is headspaced off the shoulder, whereas .223 Rem. is headspaced off the case mouth.
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What on Earth are you smoking? No bottleneck cartridge I have ever heard of headspaces off the mouth, certainly the .223 does not.

The difference between .223 and 5.56 is greatly overblown, especially in reloading, where all the dies are the same and you are controlling your own pressures anyway. The worst that could ever happen, even with real NATO ammo in a tight commercial chamber, is some fairly mild pressure signs and possibly a popped primer. Just try it and see if it works. If it doesn't, try something else. And stop worrying about trivial things.
 
Your XCR will be fine... I've put standard .223, military 5.56mm, and handloads through my rifle. You should only be worried about blowing your rifle up if you're not sure about what you're doing in regards to the handloads.
 
BattleRife said:
What on Earth are you smoking? No bottleneck cartridge I have ever heard of headspaces off the mouth, certainly the .223 does not.

The difference between .223 and 5.56 is greatly overblown, especially in reloading, where all the dies are the same and you are controlling your own pressures anyway. The worst that could ever happen, even with real NATO ammo in a tight commercial chamber, is some fairly mild pressure signs and possibly a popped primer. Just try it and see if it works. If it doesn't, try something else. And stop worrying about trivial things.
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Smoking? thanks man, this is why internet forums get such a bad wrap.

I crossed a few memories when I wrote that, i was remembering that 5.56 is pressure measured at the mouth (as opposed to further down the barrel with .223), however mil. spec. 5.56 still CAN have a slightly longer case.

Now it doesn't matter if you're reloading and measuring the OAL since you can ream down the mouth, but stating that .223 is the same as 5.56x45mm NATO is wrong. plain and simple. Most barrels are more than good enough to take both, but you can wear things out by shooting 5.56 in a gun MADE for .223, the same as having a gun MADE for 5.56 sometimes not getting enough pressure to properly cycle, when shooting .223 in it.


Oh and as an FYI, .357 SIG is a bottle necked pistol round, and is headspaced at the case mouth ;) (no crimp, and yes they are known for the round getting set back)
 
BattleRife said:
fairly mild pressure signs and possibly a popped primer.
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Bad advice: popped primers don't count as "mild pressure signs". Quite the opposite.

Many commercial .223 have generous dimensions to reduce liability, but a good "match" or any SAAMI-spec 223 chamber will not. A well-known US gunsmith did some pressure trace tests with 5.56 in .223 match chambers (saami-spec) and found pressures in excess of 72,000psi - getting into proof loads there.

Simplest thing is to look at this picture. 5.56 is loaded to accomodate the long throat, so pressure spikes in a saami-spec .223 chamber:

oobedcsfkc.jpg


Regards the XCR, most likely the chamber will take 5.56 just fine. But, as you pointed out, the OP is reloading and so gets to choose how much pressure is generated anyway.

The brass itself is not a problem. A lot of 5.56 has less internal volume than commercial 223 (necessitating reduced powder charges), but not all - so work up the load as normal and take it from there.
 
The amount of uninformed trash posted as fact in this thread is remarkable.
Anyone who wants to find out what the technical differences are between .223 and 5.56 ammunition and their chambers can find the exact specifications easily enough.
Of course, a modest degree of reading comprehension is necessary.
 
It's no wonder why people don't ask questions. If people don't want to answer a question, then don't put anything down in the thread. Why waste a bunch of time yelling at the guy, when all you could do is just pass it on to someone who wants to answer him. Wait, now I've just wasted a bunch of time talking about people who waste time; Now I did it again. Jeez. :)
 
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