.556 ammo in .223 rifle - feedback

Brocolt

Brocolt

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I have about 68rds of .556 ammo sitting and I hate to waste it. I was going to reload my once fired .556 LC brass for my Rem 700 ACC-SD which is in .223

The .556 ammo was for my RA XCR-L which I no longer have this gun & this ammo is green tip ammo. looking online some say yes & some say No as to firing it from a 223 rifle.

I don't want to damage my rifle and it has a low round count as well. Anyone here done this or should I not even chance it. I have really no use for the .556 ammo other then shoot it then use the brass in this rifle for reloads.
Also anyone reloading .556 brass for use in a .223 rifle how is it working for you?
 
SAAMI says no to 5.56 in a 223 chamber! As for just reloading the brass I have no idea if it will cause a problem.
 
I've loaded 5.56 brass for my .223. The cases on a 5.56 are thicker so the amount of powder used may have to be less volume than .223 brass to avoid over pressure. As far as using factory 5.56 in a .223 it is a no no and of course the other way around is not an issue.
 
Everybody keeps saying that 556 is hotter.That is only kinda true but is completely irrelevant. That is not the reason you are not suppose to use 556 in a 223 chambered has to do with the throat lead.

Please refer to this excellent article :http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

If it were my rifle I wouldn't hesitate to fire it. Either way read the article and make your own call.
 
Geezus people.

OP, fire away. Your Rem 700 will barely notice the difference between shells. You'll likely not get much for a grouping but your brass will be fire formed.
 
If you have a minimum specs .223 chamber the 5.56 ammo may not chamber due to 'crooked ammo'. It's a possibility. I know I experienced that with a nice chamber in .308 and poorly made 7.62 ammo. The ammo was so crooked it would not chamber.
 
Tell you what; I'm heading out to the range in 30 mins with my second hand (new to me) Rem 700 Tac.
I still have a box of older bulk pack Fed AE 5.56mm "Green Tips" I'm going to zero her with and shoot through it.
Just like my last .223 Rem gun. And the one before that.

I will report back if I survive lol :rolleyes:

I literally put hundreds of rounds of the same ammo through my old Savage 200. It shot very very well the whole time, very accurate and never had a single issue.
It's a horse s**t non issue due to different ways of measuring pressure in the chamber between two official groups. Add in a pinch of internet panic and you have what you read about today. Paper problems. I always say show me one single example of a situation where it happened and hurt someone or even at bare minimum damaged a gun. The lead in a .223 Rem chamber is slightly shorter on paper than the 5.56mm chamber. But when they cut chambers it is never as tight due to min max tolerances of the cutting bits etc.

There is a potential loss of accuracy over long periods of time due to possible throat erosion but we're talking measurements with caliper ie also not real world accuracy loss issues. But most generic off the shelf rifles in .223 have generously cut chambers that make this a non issue at all anyhow.
The panic mongers who have never done it ever should be along shortly to tell you that you'll die instantly though.
Take it for what it's worth from someone who has done it for a long time and never had a single issue.
 
So quick update.
Another 95 rounds of 5.56mm green tip through a rem 700 in SPS Tac
Zero issues.
Brass is perfectly fine. No pushed out primers, no stretched case.
Accuracy was 1 - 1.5 MOA very consistently.

This is such a non issue for so many rifles. It rubs me raw reading about it on here. Hundreds of people with the classic lines of "well I'll let you be the test subject" (one of my favorites) or "SAAMI says no go, I think they know what they are talking about" etc etc

If I owned a $5K precision/custom built precision gun with a lazer cut .223 Rem chamber, would I shoot bulk pack or US surplus 5.56mm through it? Probably not, I'd be using hand loaded or precision match .223 Rem because I would have enough money to be a snob about it and if I paid that much for an accurate gun I would want it to shoot the most accurate as possible.
I shoot off the rack hunting grade bolt guns in stock condition (usually after a basement bedding job done by myself) and I shoot for efficient accuracy ie hunting/6" square and pop can accuracy. So the cost savings for me are significant. I don't own $5K precision custom guns which I have to worry about losing 0.001" of accuracy from potential throat erosion in my cold hammer forged custom barrel etc.

I can tell anyone reading this if you want to know 100% After many hundreds of rounds of experience that you can safely fire standard 5.56mm M855 (or C77) and M193 through a Savage Stevens 200, the Savage Axis or a Rem 700 in .223 Rem. Those are the first hand experience I've personally used myself after many hundreds of rounds with zero issues or any signs of overpressure on bolt or brass or any noticeable loss of accuracy. It's not the most accurate ammo. Good quality .223 Rem will shoot way better in those chambers by far. But if you like shooting volume for fun/target/gong shooting then blast away.
Take it for what it's worth ie the advice of a regular joe stranger on the internet lol ;)
I can also say that I have shot with a close friend who used a Ruger#1 in .223 Rem as well when we would go out sometimes but I have never personally owned or ran it through myself in any large numbers.
 
The only round that could cause a problem in the 223 chamber is a tracer.

The issue is the throat. SAAMI is short. NATO is long. I would assume that every gun maker uses a chamber that will handle NATO just fine.
 
5.56 uses mostly 55gr bullets. What rifle maker cuts a 223 chamber so short that a 55gr bullet doesn't fit???????????

Stop being afraid of your own shadow people.
 
Don't do it. Shooting ammunition with a military numerical designation from a civilian tacticool rifle will cause your $&@% to fall off.

This is no different from the 308/7.62 issue with M14S rifles and is extensively documented in the Battle Rifle section. Does nobody actually read the forums? Are we doomed to repeat these same mistakes over and over?

Do you WANT your $&@% to fall off? DO YOU?

šŸ˜¬
 
Deltasilver said:
Don't do it. Shooting ammunition with a military numerical designation from a civilian tacticool rifle will cause your $&@% to fall off.

This is no different from the 308/7.62 issue with M14S rifles and is extensively documented in the Battle Rifle section. Does nobody actually read the forums? Are we doomed to repeat these same mistakes over and over?

Do you WANT your $&@% to fall off? DO YOU?

��
Click to expand...

Ok sarcasm is on .....I get it.

I do have one question regarding the NATO 7.62 vs 308 comment tho. Are you insisting that the NATO round or is the 308 more potent?
 
Ganderite said:
The only round that could cause a problem in the 223 chamber is a tracer.

The issue is the throat. SAAMI is short. NATO is long. I would assume that every gun maker uses a chamber that will handle NATO just fine.
Click to expand...

Do you know why some folks think its not ok?
 
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