Rechambering to .223 Wylde Question

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Geppetto

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Hi all. I have a question about rechambering a .223 Remington 700 to .223 Wylde for a build I'm working on. So far I think I understand the basics of where the chamber came from, and the purpose (or at least I'm beginning to) after some searches and some other threads. But I couldn't quite find the info I was looking for.

So, my main question is would it be worth going from .223 to .223 Wylde to have the added versatility of being able to fire 5.56? Or would I be making a modification that's not really worth it if I'll primarily be shooting .223 anyway (with some 5.56 when it's available and cheap)? I should also add that at least for now, anyway, I'll be using the factory Remington barrel (20" heavy contour) with a standard 1/9 twist, and not a 1/7 which I've seen is recommended for heavier loads common with rifles chambered in .223 Wylde.

Any help/advice/opinions welcome!
 
Pretty much any 5.56 you can get your paws on will be perfectly fine in .223...check the sticky in the Black Rifles section.

The faster twist is for stabilizing heavy for caliber bullets. A 1 in 9 is a good compromise, you will be limited to 69-75 gr projectiles, but they'll do the trick for longer range shooting. Anything under 300 m I'd be using 55 gr fb bullets (ex. V-Max) and save a bit of money.
 
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Also by my understanding, .223 Wilde will be inherently less accurate than a .223 chamber (as is a 5.56 chamber). Makes sense in an AR but not really in a precision rig...
 
It's a complete non-issue. Do you honestly think you will encounter any problems in a .223 when the same action readily holds back a .338 Lapua Magnum? I sure don't think so.
 
Super helpful - many thanks for all the replies!

Also by my understanding, .223 Wilde will be inherently less accurate than a .223 chamber (as is a 5.56 chamber). Makes sense in an AR but not really in a precision rig...
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I don't think I articulated it very well in my original post, but this gets to what I had in mind. Essentially, would I be making the rifle less accurate for what I see from the responses is really no gain at all.

Anything under 300 m I'd be using 55 gr fb bullets (ex. V-Max) and save a bit of money.
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Good call. Most of my shooting, at least for now, doesn't get out past this range.
 
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rugbydave said:
Also by my understanding, .223 Wilde will be inherently less accurate than a .223 chamber (as is a 5.56 chamber). Makes sense in an AR but not really in a precision rig...
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my understanding is the opposite, that a wylde chamber is inherently more accurate then a 556 chamber, while allowing you to still shoot 556 (something you should not do in a 223 chamber). the video addresses some other advantages when it comes to AR's which do not apply here, but it explains the difference well

Blastattack said:
It's a complete non-issue. Do you honestly think you will encounter any problems in a .223 when the same action readily holds back a .338 Lapua Magnum? I sure don't think so.
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say what? they are different actions, the 223 is a short action, while the 338 lapua is a long action
 
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mustang979 said:
my understanding is the opposite, that a wylde chamber is inherently more accurate then a 556 chamber, while allowing you to still shoot 556 (something you should not do in a 223 chamber). the video addresses some other advantages when it comes to AR's which do not apply here, but it explains the difference well



say what? they are different actions, the 223 is a short action, while the 338 lapua is a long action
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Yeah, you misunderstood what I was saying. I meant to say that a .223 Wylde chamber is less accurate than a .223 chamber and that a 5.56 chamber is less accurate than a .223 Wylde chamber. Tightest to loosest is .223, .223Wylde, 5.56mm. 223 Wylde is supposed to be offer a good compromise of being able to safely chamber and fire both .223 and 5.56 but is inherently less accurate than a .223 chamber since it is looser...
 
"shoot 556, something you should not do in a 223 chamber"

First I'm not going to tell you it's 100% safe...it is shooting after all. The only common difference is throat and brass internal dim. Look at the usual offerings for 5.56 and .223, where they share headstamp and bullet they are pretty much the same. This is by design as the same charge from the 223 case will (could) cause pressure signs in 5.56, but with the factory loading the MV are the same...therefore roughly the same pressure. If there was Surplus Ball available that actually was hotter I'd say you're safe because mil spec brass is generally thicker and can take a little more POP. The only real concern is throat dimensions. This could cause a problem if you're "jamming the lands", something reloaders do, be it due to VLD seating sensitivity, or just a hair shy of the lands to get more powder capacity from the case. Since they don't offer any 5.56 loadings that feature a really long bullet with a freakishly abrupt ogive, I'd suggest you have nothing to worry about unless you have a custom rifle with really tight chamber and really short throat.

As for the experts...well they have to have something to write about don't they.
 
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redshooter said:
"shoot 556, something you should not do in a 223 chamber"

I'd suggest you have nothing to worry about unless you have a custom rifle with really tight chamber and really short throat.

As for the experts...well they have to have something to write about don't they.
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I use to shoot IVI 5.56 in a factory Win Mod 70 at the DCRA matches back in the early 90's because we weren't allowed handloads. It was no Wylde chamber then.
I'll be building a custom .223 Match chamber and short throat and try some American Eagle 5.56 in future. I'm not building it to shoot 5.56, but am curious if there will be a pressure spike. I also own a Wylde and .223 AI reamers and love to experiment.
The experts usually talk, they don't build rifles.
 
EHG said:
I'll be building a custom .223 Match chamber and short throat and try some American Eagle 5.56 in future.
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That's the spirit!!! I use to have this 300 WM built on a Savage action. I had developed a 208 A-Max/Retumbo load that use to be just a little sticky coming out of the chamber, just short of stupid really. I was getting about 200 fps faster than I should have with a WM, about 150 fps was the 30" of barrel, and 50 fps was my tolerance of a little risk.
 
The only reason to cut a wylde chamber in a bolt rifle would be to seat long bullets out farther, doing this gives you more room for powder and a bit more velocity. If you plan on shooting surplus designed for semi's, having a wylde chamber could actually hurt accuracy because the bullet has to jump a lot farther before being guided by rifling.
 
redshooter said:
That's the spirit!!! I use to have this 300 WM built on a Savage action. I had developed a 208 A-Max/Retumbo load that use to be just a little sticky coming out of the chamber, just short of stupid really. I was getting about 200 fps faster than I should have with a WM, about 150 fps was the 30" of barrel, and 50 fps was my tolerance of a little risk.
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I built a .338 LM on a Savage that a customer wanted setup like a Rem 700. Tight neck and hot loads is they way he runs it.
I told him he better back down his load a bit with new barrel and chamber after he fired one shot and I looked at the primer. ;)
 
cdn shooter said:
The only reason to cut a wylde chamber in a bolt rifle would be to seat long bullets out farther, doing this gives you more room for powder and a bit more velocity. If you plan on shooting surplus designed for semi's, having a wylde chamber could actually hurt accuracy because the bullet has to jump a lot farther before being guided by rifling.
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As I remember talking to Bill Wylde, the original reason for the Wylde chamber was to shoot 5.56 62 grs in a bolt action. It also helps loading the longer VLD's. It's only jumping .005" longer freebore in the Wylde chamber than the NATO chamber so I can't see accuracy suffering if any at all in an AR15.
 
Bill was one of earlier accuracy experts who realized that accuracy in chambers is mainly determined in the leade with angle and diameter being paramount. We sponsored him years ago which simply shows that we are old!

Regards,

Peter
 
redshooter said:
If there was Surplus Ball available that actually was hotter I'd say you're safe because mil spec brass is generally thicker and can take a little more POP. The only real concern is throat dimensions. This could cause a problem if you're "jamming the lands", something reloaders do, be it due to VLD seating sensitivity, or just a hair shy of the lands to get more powder capacity from the case. Since they don't offer any 5.56 loadings that feature a really long bullet with a freakishly abrupt ogive, I'd suggest you have nothing to worry about unless you have a custom rifle with really tight chamber and really short throat.

As for the experts...well they have to have something to write about don't they.
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This is really helpful as well, many thanks! The issue with a custom barrel (potentially tighter chamber/shorter throat) hadn't occurred to me, but definitely good info to keep in mind when it's time to re-barrel down the road.
 
EHG said:
I use to shoot IVI 5.56 in a factory Win Mod 70 at the DCRA matches back in the early 90's because we weren't allowed handloads. It was no Wylde chamber then.
I'll be building a custom .223 Match chamber and short throat and try some American Eagle 5.56 in future. I'm not building it to shoot 5.56, but am curious if there will be a pressure spike. I also own a Wylde and .223 AI reamers and love to experiment.
The experts usually talk, they don't build rifles.
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Sounds like a cool project for sure! Out of curiosity, are the reamers difficult to come by?
 
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