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222 into a 223 rem ?

EhlerDaveEhlerDave Member Posts: 5,158 ✭✭
edited December 2015 in Ask the Experts
Okay I know I should be able to find this myself but am not having a good day.

Can a 222 be made into a 223? I would like a 223 for my TC Pistol. The 223's bbls are costly but I am seeing a lot of 222's for less than half the cost and would be able to do some trading to get the chamber reamed out, if it will work.

I have no idea on things like twist rates or if the chamber is able to be reworked. It would be mucho easier to just have the cash to get a proper 223 rem. But that is not in my budget. [:D]

Thanks for any info, David.
Just smile and say nothing, let them guess how much you know.
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    AmbroseAmbrose Member Posts: 3,164 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a Remington 722 rifle that has been rechambered from .222 to .223. So it must be possible. 1-14" twist was standard for the .222 so you may have to stick with lighter (shorter) bullets. Of course I don't know what TC uses for their twist rates. You might contact them and ask.
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    Tailgunner1954Tailgunner1954 Member Posts: 7,734 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    In order of case length
    222 Rem
    223 Rem
    222 Rem Mag

    You can find the chamber drawings here: http://saami.org/specifications_and_information/index.cfm
    The links will only open in IE.
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    rsnyder55rsnyder55 Member Posts: 2,526 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If there is enough material, why not chamber for the 5.56 or 223 Wylde?
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    Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,279 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by rsnyder55
    If there is enough material, why not chamber for the 5.56 or 223 Wylde?



    You do realize that the 5.56 NATO and the 223 Remington are the exact same size don't you? The only difference is the pressure that they are loaded to.
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    Bert H.Bert H. Member Posts: 11,279 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    David,

    Simple answer... Yes, a 222 Remington barrel can easily be rechambered for the 223 Remington cartridge. It can also be readily rechambered to the 222 Rem Mag (which I had Remington do almost 34-years ago on a Model 700 BDL Heavy Varmint).
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    Hawk CarseHawk Carse Member Posts: 4,369 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A .222 barrel will likely have a 14" twist which was standard for .22 centerfires larger than Hornet until the Army started tinkering with smallbores.
    If rechambered to .223, it will stabilize a 55 grain flatbase spitzer or a 52 grain boattail. Or shorter/lighter, of course.
    It might do ok with 55 grain M193 FMJ boattail in mild weather if the TC's short barrel doesn't slow it down too much. The Army went to a 12 twist for that round based on cold weather testing.
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    spiritsspirits Member Posts: 363 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Had a Sako rifle with a chamber converted from 222 to 223 Remington; and there were a few problems: 1. the rear of the chamber which supports the case head ended up being bigger in diameter and fired brass showed it too, 2. the rifle had headspace problems even with fire formed brass, and 3. the primers backed out till one ruptured with the bolt face getting gas pocked. Wish whoever had the rifle had left it chambered in 222 Remington.

    EDIT:

    As Mobuck states, this is a result of poor gunsmithing and not the actual change in size from one cartridge to another. Both cartridges have the same rim and head dimensions, the difference is in the length of the cartridges.

    Best.
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    MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 13,791 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    "Had a Sako rifle with a chamber converted from 222 to 223 Remington; and there were a few problems: 1. the rear of the chamber which supports the case head ended up being bigger in diameter and fired brass showed it too, 2. the rifle had headspace problems even with fire formed brass, and 3. the primers backed out till one ruptured with the bolt face getting gas pocked. Wish whoever had the rifle had left it chambered in 222 Remington."
    These are all indications of a shoddy re-chamber job.
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    sandwarriorsandwarrior Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Bert H.
    David,

    Simple answer... Yes, a 222 Remington barrel can easily be rechambered for the 223 Remington cartridge. It can also be readily rechambered to the 222 Rem Mag (which I had Remington do almost 34-years ago on a Model 700 BDL Heavy Varmint).


    Not exactly. The cases are the same size. There is more leade (freebore) cut for the 5.56 than the .223. The Wylde has a tapered leade, but same principle as the 5.56. It alleviates a full pressure round and allows the bullet no opposition while attaining full velocity.

    nononsense has a great pic of the cutaway (I don't have it on my new computer yet) of the .223 and 5.56 leades. He also has one of the .223 Wylde.

    To the OP. Yes, it is easily done. You have enough material in your barrel. It's up to you whether you want more velocity or that touch more accuracy with the .223 vs. the 5.56. The .223 Wylde is a great compromise, I believe.
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    KAMsalesKAMsales Member Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by rsnyder55
    If there is enough material, why not chamber for the 5.56 or 223 Wylde?



    You do realize that the 5.56 NATO and the 223 Remington are the exact same size don't you? The only difference is the pressure that they are loaded to.


    Same basic outside dimensions, but the chambers and throats for 5.56x45 are cut differently. The throat in particular is much longer
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    nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    EhlerDave,

    quote:Can a 222 be made into a 223? I would like a 223 for my TC Pistol. The 223's bbls are costly but I am seeing a lot of 222's for less than half the cost and would be able to do some trading to get the chamber reamed out, if it will work.

    As has been stated, yes you can re-chamber the barrel to accommodate the .223 Remington cartridge. It's a fairly simple process since most of the work has been done already.

    However, not all gunsmiths are familiar with and have experience in chambering T/C Contender barrels. If you are thinking about a buddy who does some machining, reconsider. The methodology of chambering Contender barrels can be found on Mike Bellm's website:

    http://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=24

    Here is a consensus article from that website:

    http://www.lasc.us/BellmTCfactoryBarrels.htm

    Bullberry Barrel Works has a specific charge for re-chambering:

    http://www.bullberry.com/gunsmithing-and-small-parts.html

    They have been making T/C barrels from scratch for about 35 years so I think they know what they're doing...

    Last, since the twist rate will control the bullet length and therefore the weight, there might not be any need for those chambers which feature a longer leade and throat dimension which are geared towards the longer Match/VLD bullets for competition. If the twist rate is 1:14" there is really no need to use the Wylde chamber reamer.

    Find out what you can get first then examine the links above to complete your project.

    Best.
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