Question about Norinco .223/5.56 ammo

T

tmandell

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would like to know if the 1600 round crates of Norinco ammo is .223 or 5.56. In short I am wondering if it is safe to shoot out of a Savage Model 12 FCV.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
The reason I am attracted to this ammo is because of the low cost. I am currently trying to decide what rifle I should buy as my first rifle, and how much it would cost to shoot. I don’t care much about the accuracy as long as it will shoot and not cause damage to the rifle. As my skills improve I could then spend money on more expensive ammo or start reloading.

This brings me to another question, how suitable is this brass for reloading? I would like to shoot a few thousand rounds just for practice and enjoyment over the next few years. If I save the brass would it be any good for reloading? Even if it can only be reloaded a few times it could help reduce the price of reloading.

As long as it will not damage the Savage I am looking to buy I think I will give it a try. If it does not shoot well, I can always use it in my brothers AR.

Also if a round should fail to fire I know the standard procedure is to wait and see if it is a delayed fire. After waiting you then eject the round, what should you do with that round? Is it safe to try and shoot it again? Is there a risk that it could go off at any time and you should dispose of it immediately?
 
I have found this ammo to be as accurate as any other surplus or whitebox ammo I have tried. I have also found that it works just fine out of a bolt gun. I don't think you are going to have any issues. The brass is also very good for reloading.
 
tmandell said:
The reason I am attracted to this ammo is because of the low cost. I am currently trying to decide what rifle I should buy as my first rifle, and how much it would cost to shoot. I don’t care much about the accuracy as long as it will shoot and not cause damage to the rifle. As my skills improve I could then spend money on more expensive ammo or start reloading.

This brings me to another question, how suitable is this brass for reloading? I would like to shoot a few thousand rounds just for practice and enjoyment over the next few years. If I save the brass would it be any good for reloading? Even if it can only be reloaded a few times it could help reduce the price of reloading.

As long as it will not damage the Savage I am looking to buy I think I will give it a try. If it does not shoot well, I can always use it in my brothers AR.

Also if a round should fail to fire I know the standard procedure is to wait and see if it is a delayed fire. After waiting you then eject the round, what should you do with that round? Is it safe to try and shoot it again? Is there a risk that it could go off at any time and you should dispose of it immediately?
Click to expand...

You will care about the accuracy, trust me. Try to buy a couple of boxes before buying a lot. If it doesn't go bang on the first strike, it won't blow up in your face. Don't worry!
 
Don't expect much accuracy wise with the Nork ammo. It is cheap made and cheap to buy. It is plinking ammo!

The only way to know if its safe in your bolt gun it to try it. Some bolt guns it's OK, some reports I have heard say it a bit over pressure in some rifles....

The brass is fine for reloading. Anneal it if you want to get more than 2 or 3 loads out of it.

I am on my 4th loading of Nork brass for my ARs. The primers are crimped, so plan to so something about that when you go to reload the brass.
 
Thanks for the advice.

Honestly my only concern is if it would damage the rifle and if it will go bang. If there is a risk of damage to the rifle because it is 5.56 instead of .223 I will have to buy the bulk federal AR .223 in a black box.

I am currently a full time post secondary student, as a result the only .223 ammo I can afford to shoot is the norinco stuff or the federal AR .223 in a black box. I would prefer to shoot the norinco because I can get a lot more for my money. Once I am done school in 2 years I will have more disposable income and my options will improve. Also I should state that because I am attending school in a different province for the next 2 years, I will only have access to the rifle over the summers and for a short time at Christmas. I hope to just go and have some fun shooting with my brothers while I am home, as long as I can hit the target at say 100 or 200 meters I will be happy. Purchasing more expensive ammo would dramatically reduce the amount I can afford to shoot and would result in me selecting a diffrent rifle.

Also when the time comes for reloading (min of 3 years) I will purchase a Dillon 1050, so I am not worried about a crimped primer pocket. By the time I could start reloading I could have many thousands of .223 cases to load.
 
I have put roughly 4k assorted norinco , south African and Lc 5.56mm through my tikka bolt no problems in twenty years.
 
I have used thousands of this ammo in my ar and tavor with no issues. My friends bolt gun has had some issues with extraction using it and sold the rest to me . It is military spec hot 5.56 and has decent accuracy.
 
Isn't the Savage 12 chambered for 223mm only? I'd get it checked before trying 5.56 rounds. Even if it's labelled 223/5.56 it's not a bad idea to get the chamber checked as when the tooling wears out it can cut the chamber a little shy of that required for 5.56.

5.56 is really designed for semi autos, not bolt actions.
 
CdnCombatMedic said:
It's 556 and you might have a hard time with the military hard primers in a bolt gun. Get something else.
Click to expand...
Is it ? The box clearly advertises ".223 Remington", as such I would expect it to be safe to shoot in a ".223 Remington" barrel.

Have you any concrete pressure measurement to back your claim it is 5.56mm ? AFAIK, .223Rem goes up to 52kpsi, while 5.56mm goes up to 62kpsi.
 
Is it ? The box clearly advertises ".223 Remington", as such I would expect it to be safe to shoot in a ".223 Remington" barrel.
Click to expand...
There seems to be two types of Norc ammo on the market right now. I bought one case that was filled with yellow 20rd boxes marked .223 remington. The wood crate though was marked 5.56x45. My next case was marked 5.56 on the outside and inside were two spam cans which were marked 5.56x45.
The brass was different too. In one crate the brass was stamped 95, the other was 93. What do those numbers mean?
 
TrevorF said:
There seems to be two types of Norc ammo on the market right now. I bought one case that was filled with yellow 20rd boxes marked .223 remington. The wood crate though was marked 5.56x45. My next case was marked 5.56 on the outside and inside were two spam cans which were marked 5.56x45.
The brass was different too. In one crate the brass was stamped 95, the other was 93. What do those numbers mean?
Click to expand...

The numbers are the year of manufacture. It is all likely loaded to the same level. Have not chrono'd any, but guessing it is all closer to the milspec/or 5.56 loading regardless of how the boxes or cans are marked.
 
everyone should do their own research and decide for themselves, the norinco is M193 5.56x45mm ammo, I personaly think it is safe to mix and match 5.56 and .223, untill someone shows me evidence (a kaboom/failure, NOT words typed out into a document) I will continue to say 5.56 is just fine in a .223 rifle, I personaly believe the boxes are marked ".223" for import/export purposes only, happy shooting!

read here.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...s-5-56-x-45-mm-NATO-is-it-safe-to-interchange
 
There are 4 types of Nork ammo out there.

Yellow box 20 rnds in a styrofoam or cardboard divider inside a 'dull yellow box'.

Red box 20 rnds in a styrofoam or cardboard divider inside a 'shiney ish redbox'.

White box 20 rnds in a styrofoam or cardboard divider inside a plain cardboard 'off white' box

Spam cans of 800 rnds, sub divided by paper wrapped packages of 20 rnds each.

Both yellow and red box have .223 printed on the package. Plain white box has .556 printed on it and paper wrapped cases have 556x45 on them.

Use at your own risk....... Individual results at vary.....
 
notsorichguy said:
Both yellow and red box have .223 printed on the package. Plain white box has .556 printed on it and paper wrapped cases have 556x45 on them.
Click to expand...

both top boxes in this pic are norinco... perhaps you missed one? (also marked .223 remington) headstamps on the yellow box are "CJ 92", headstamp on the white box is "CJ 95"


CF058C9B-20DA-4C0D-B5B0-7DC9D39072D5-991-00000051B84A64DC_zps71711041.jpg
 
Last edited:
Went to the range today and did a little testing on the Norc. .223 yellow box and Federal American Eagle, both 55GR.

Norinco 55GR. Yellow Box

Shot from a VZ 58

1. 3177 FPS
2. 3237 "
3. 3188 "
4. 3203 "
5. 3244 "

Savage 10FCP 26 inch barrel

1. 3414


Federal American Eagle .223 55GR.

Shot from VZ 58

1. 2949 FPS
2. 2948 "

Savage 10FCP

1. 3100 FPS
2. 3137 "

Norco CQ 14.5 inch barrel

1. 2661 FPS
2. 2700 "
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom