Argument needing to be settled! 5.56 or .223

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Resistol

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So can you beauties answer the question of which is the "better" round.

Need to answer the argument. Which is the hotter round and everything else...
 
OK, I'll play.

Which is better, 8x57 Mauser or 8x57 Mauser?

(European loadings are hotter than American SAAMI specs)
 
I always believed that out of the box .223 rounds were hotter than 5.56 x 45 mm. That's why you always read the barrel to see if it'll take .223 rounds. But I have no personal experience because I just purchased my AR, and it had both rounds on the barrel. The internet is full of anecdotal evidence.
 
Resistol said:
So can you beauties answer the question of which is the "better" round.

Need to answer the argument. Which is the hotter round and everything else...
Click to expand...

The answer to your question is where you are: if you are sitting behind a keyboard pondering the esoteric ballistic (and logistical) advantages of the 5.56 Nato vs .223 Rem rounds ... or standing in front of one these rounds about to be hit. In the latter case they both have the potential to feel exactly the same.
 
Military chambers are looser with a longer throat then .223 chambers, so firing a 5.56 in a gun specifically chambered for .223 can cause overly high pressures.

That said most ar use a 556 chamber regardless of whether they say 556 or 223. Now if you were using a bolt action varmint rifle you might want to verify what chamber it has before using 556 in it.
 
They are the same cartridge, however the 5.56 rifles use a 1-8 twist (I think) and a 223 Rem uses whatever the manufacturer decides. The military are not bound by SAAMI, where the private sector manufacturers are. The two cartridge drawings are identical, however leade dimension can vary with manufacturers and with the military. The 5.56 has evolved from it's initial inception using a 55 gn bullet to I believe a 69 gn bullet with a sharper twist to stabilise the longer bullet. This evolution was due to it's ineffectiveness in Vietnam with the light bullets. Factory loads for the private sector manufacturers can run from 30 gns to whatever as long as they don't exceed the SAAMI spec'd pressures, again the military is not bound by SAAMI and set their pressure limits to function flawlessly with their semi and fully automatic weapons.
Neither one is better than the other, the military version is a specific duty loading and the 223 is a sporting version with many different loadings.
 
Suther said:
Military chambers are looser with a longer throat then .223 chambers, so firing a 5.56 in a gun specifically chambered for .223 can cause overly high pressures.

That said most ar use a 556 chamber regardless of whether they say 556 or 223. Now if you were using a bolt action varmint rifle you might want to verify what chamber it has before using 556 in it.
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If your chosen rifle says .223 Rem. on it, stick to that loading using .223 brass & load data. If said rifle is stamped 5.56 Nato,then your good to go with mil-spec brass & loads. SAAMI warns that firing 5.56x45 in .223 chambered rifles will cause unsafe pressure levels as the Nato round operates in the 62,000 psi range compared to the 52,000 max range of the .223.

Military brass is also thicker than .223 brass, so if using mil-brass, reduce loads by 10% to be on the safe side.:)
 
Suther said:
Military chambers are looser with a longer throat then .223 chambers, so firing a 5.56 in a gun specifically chambered for .223 can cause overly high pressures.

That said most ar use a 556 chamber regardless of whether they say 556 or 223. Now if you were using a bolt action varmint rifle you might want to verify what chamber it has before using 556 in it.
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My bolt action Savage 200 in ".223" love 5.56.
I put literally a thousand rounds through it without a single issue.

This topic is the biggest crock of internet horse s**t since the internet was invented.
Half informed armchair commando's have been fighting both sides of this battle from their parents basements and beyond since the birth of the internet gun forum.

I have fired hundreds if not thousands of both cartridges in both chambers and never seen a single issue.
Without saying too much I can personally attest to full on military C8's shooting millions of rounds of a commercial .223 Rem loading with no issues over long periods of time (years and years).

It's an issue on paper at best and that's it.
 
Suther said:
Military chambers are looser with a longer throat then .223 chambers, so firing a 5.56 in a gun specifically chambered for .223 can cause overly high pressures.

That said most ar use a 556 chamber regardless of whether they say 556 or 223. Now if you were using a bolt action varmint rifle you might want to verify what chamber it has before using 556 in it.
Click to expand...

It also depends on if it's an American made gun or a European made gun. CIP treats .223 and 5.56 as the same cartridge, so any .223 firearm made in Europe can safely fire 5.56 cartridges.
 
LOL Its not going to make any notable difference ballistically. If youre looking for accuracy (bolt action kind of accuracy) definitely avoid a 556 rifle ( if you can even find one). The truth is, you're probably not going to find 556 ammo anyway so for best results go with a chamber cut specifically for 223. lots of m4(Stoner) type rifles are cut with 556 reamer with safety and reliability in mind for use of both calibers but accuracy can drop a bit when 223 ammo is used.
 
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