Can u or can't you is this true??

[b.butch]

is 5.56x45 nato the same round as the 223? some one told me that they got a bushmaster because it can shoot both 5.56&223 that not all AR's can, that doesn't make any since to me i'm sure they all can shoot the same round i thought is was the same round? is there any truth to that or is he just talking out the side of his neck?

 

[Hitman]

Your friend is CORRECT about Bushmaster Rifles being able to fire 5.56x45 or .223 Rem.

This is from their FAQ Hompage;

All Bushmaster rifles are chambered to accept 5.56mm ammunition and always have been. The NATO Spec 5.56mm chambers have a longer "leade" or throat than the SAAMI Spec .223 caliber chambers which have about half of the leade or throat of the 5.56mm chambering. While it is safe to fire both 5.56mm and .223 caliber ammunition in our rifles, the 5.56mm ammunition should not be fired in rifles chambered in .223 caliber as they will develop very high pressures.

For further edumacation;

is 5.56x45 nato the same round as the 223?

Not entirely;
.223 Can be fired in 5.56x45 chambered rifles with no worry of pressure issues but might suffer some inaccuracy in the round.
5.56x45 can be fired in an AR15 platform chambered in .223 but could cause undue stress to the chamber and depending on the quality of the rifle/chamber might cause a catastrophic failure in the chamber.

So unless like Bushmaster the rifle is setup to fire both interchangeably just stick with .223 ammo.

Details from another forum;
.223 Remington vs. 5.56x45--Chambering and Throat Considerations

Is the .223 Remington the same as the 5.56x45? The answer is yes and no. There ARE differences between the .223 Remington as shot in civilian rifles and the 5.56x45 in military use. While the external cartridge dimensions are essentially the same, the .223 Remington is built to SAAMI specs, rated to 50,000 CUP max pressure, and normally has a shorter throat. The 5.56x45 is built to NATO specs, rated to 60,000 CUP max pressure, and has a longer throat, optimized to shoot long bullets. That said, there are various .223 Remington match chambers, including the Wylde chamber, that feature longer throats. Military 5.56x45 brass often, but not always, has thicker internal construction, and slightly less capacity than commercial .223 Rem brass.
Should you be worried about shooting 5.56x45 milspec ammo in a .223 Remington? The answer really depends on your chamber. 5.56 x45 ammo is intended for chambers with longer throats. If you shoot hot 5.56x45 ammo in short-throated SAAMI-spec chambers you can encounter pressure issues. The new long-throated 'Wylde' chamber allows safe use of military ammo. Wylde chambers are quite common in Rock River guns. Other manufacturers, such as Fulton Armory, offer modified "match chambers" with extended throats that allow safe use of 5.56x45 ammo in .223 Remington rifles. For a complete discussion of the .223 Rem vs. 5.56x45 question, read this GunZone Commentary by Dean Speir. Without belaboring the point, we'll repeat the official SAAMI position: "Chambers for military rifles have a different throat configuration than chambers for sporting firearms which, together with the full metal jacket of the military projectile, may account for the higher pressures which result when military ammunition is fired in a sporting chamber. SAAMI recommends that a firearm be fired only with the cartridge for which it is specifically chambered by the manufacturer."

.223 Remington Wiki Page info
5.56×45mm NATO Wiki Page info

 

[headshot]

I think the 5.56 is a little longer than the 223. So an M16 can shoot either, but an AR 15 can only shoot the 223

 

[PAPACHUCK]

Just use the caliber stamped on the rifle and you'll be OK. Good habit.

 

[headshot]

Oh I guess I was wrong. Obviously your facts are more accurate than "the old man at work".

 

[GatorCATM]

+1 Hitman, Great info

 

[Sin-ster]

"Buy a rifle chambered in 5.56", should be the moral of the story. For the average person, it's going to be the better all around choice.

Whatever accuracy you MIGHT lose from the extended lead achieved from shooting .223 in a 5.56 chamber will be imperceptible. Even a decent AR is going to be more accurate than 95% of the people who might buy/shoot it.

 

[Hitman]

Whatever accuracy you MIGHT lose from the extended lead achieved from shooting .223 in a 5.56 chamber will be imperceptible.

Not at 500m

 

[Jed]

Not at 500m

...nor even 300....and more so in a firefight.

 

[Sin-ster]

Not at 500m

If the average person ever shoots their rifle past 100m, they deserve a medal.

If they can hit the proverbial "measure of man" at 500m, I'll eat the same medal.

...nor even 300....and more so in a firefight.

See above, plus...

The average person will never engage in a "firefight". Those that do, and have an AR, better not be doing so at 300m-- including LEO. Those that meet all of those criteria would be wiser to use 5.56, for obvious reasons-- regardless of bullet selection.

And you make it seem as if some magical force makes you MORE accurate during a firefight, as opposed to less? "Never knowing the difference" means that you won't be able to tell if your 1 MOA-capable rifle is shooting 2.5 MOA, because you can't shoot better than 3 MOA in the first place.

Obviously I'm not arguing that there's a drop in accuracy with the longer lead. What I'm saying is that it's a rare shooter indeed that will be able to tell the difference in the first place, unless all they do for "plinking" is throw their gun in a vice and try to shoot one ragged hole over and over and over again.

 

[senseiturtle]

Just buy one in 5.56

I have an Olympic Arms that's chambered for 5.56, and I shoot .223 all day with it. Sight it in for 50/~200, and enjoy.

The simple fact that the OP is asking this question rules out the fact that he's looking for sub-MOA performance @ 500y. Half of the old fogies on this site have a hard time seeing the front irons on a rifle, much less anything smaller than a bus @ 500 yards.

 

[Sin-ster]

I'm average, you owe me a medal, and I hope you have an understanding dentist

Ha. There's barely an average shooter on this forum!

I didn't mean average looking, or average intelligence.

But yeah. If you've written threads titled "Deep Thoughts" that are both stickied AND haven't been laughed off the boards yet... You certainly don't qualify.

And anyone who's trained with even a third of the people I KNOW you've had instruction from... doesn't qualify, either.

 

[b.butch]

ya that is more less what i was wondering if u can get it in any brand, in 5.56. and still shoot both say like if i don't want a bushmaster.

 

[b.butch]

been doing some reading up and research on this and there is hole lot of I never had a clue about man kinda mind blowing. lol i think any brand AR will do for what i want it for

 

[Hitman]

Whatever accuracy you MIGHT lose from the extended lead achieved from shooting .223 in a 5.56 chamber will be imperceptible..

Not at 500m

If the average person ever shoots their rifle past 100m, they deserve a medal.
.

You didn't say average first

 

[CEHollier]

I'm glad my AR's are Rock Rivers with a Wylde chamber which can safely shoot both. I'll need the 5.56 for the zombie apocalypse.

 

[PAPACHUCK]

If the OP asked the question, he should shoot the caliber listed on the barrel.

 

[Sin-ster]

You didn't say average first

Ha! Snippet/burst quoting is cheating, y'know. Here's the whole (short) post.

"Buy a rifle chambered in 5.56", should be the moral of the story. For the average person, it's going to be the better all around choice.

Whatever accuracy you MIGHT lose from the extended lead achieved from shooting .223 in a 5.56 chamber will be imperceptible. Even a decent AR is going to be more accurate than 95% of the people who might buy/shoot it.

I did indeed say "average person" first. Although the break in paragraph and the use of the general "you" could confuse the issue. I meant "you" as in the OP, who seems to be the "average person looking to own an AR".

HOWEVER. In the same paragraph, I did clarify my meaning. "... 95% of the people who might buy/shoot it" seems like a pretty explicit way of saying most people-- especially the average ones.

 

[James Cannon]

If the average person ever shoots their rifle past 100m, they deserve a medal.

If they can hit the proverbial "measure of man" at 500m, I'll eat the same medal.

Back when the only shooting I ever did was to sight in rifles for hunting and to occasionally practice and/or shoot the hunting rifles for fun - I often shot between 150 and 200 yards. With irons, because that's the only way I shot and didn't care for a scope. So I just sighted in at 100 yds and practiced/estimate holdover further out. I could stay in a hand-pattern just fine. We paced it off, mind you, but that was about as far as we could get away from the backstop before running out of room at the tree line.

I grew up on 20 acres. Nothing special. Just the Remmy 700 in .243 and Ruger ... something... in .270. Then there's my Dad's 30-06 that I don't even know what it is. I never shoot it.

 

[Sin-ster]

I grew up on 20 acres. Nothing special. Just the Remmy 700 in .243 and Ruger ... something... in .270. Then there's my Dad's 30-06 that I don't even know what it is. I never shoot it.

I would say the presence of a backstop in the first place would make it "special".

And if you could hold a hand pattern at those ranges with irons and hunting rifles, you wouldn't notice the difference shooting .223 out of a 5.56 chamber, either. It'd do the exact same thing.

Again, there's probably not many average shooters on these forums. If we've taken the time to join, read and participate in a forum dedicated to firearms, we are by default "not average". Our 1500-odd active members (last time I looked) are only a tiny cross section of the gun owners in Louisiana-- much less the US as a whole. All you have to do is watch the performance of others the next time you're at a public range, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

If you still don't believe me, consider this. There are countless AR owners right now shooting .223 through a 5.56 chambered rifle, and the LAST thing you ever hear them talk about is the inaccuracy of their rifle.