223 Nato/LC/mil ammunition vs "commercial"

altos

Good day,
Is there an issue using mil type ammunition (Lake City, mil-surplus, etc) in a commercial rifle such as a 700PSS ? Is there an issue with chamber pressure or spacing ? Any insights appreciated.

Thank you !

leeblackman

.223rem and 5.56x45 are the same. The only difference is the 5.56 is loaded to Nato specs and the .223rem is loaded to SAAMI specs. But all in all, it won't hurt it to shoot in you PSS, though it probably won't tac-drive like a nice handload would.

You may look into black hills .68gr Moly BTHP ammo. Its pretty cheap to shoot, and probably just as good as Federal Gold Metal ammo.

If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.

The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !

Nighthawk

Dont know if its true or not but Ive heard the metal jackets are hard on your rifle barrels.

Rugster

altos

Leeblackman,
I found a site that stated the leade/throat on a .223 chamber was .085 amd on a 5.56 is was .162. The author believes you can shoot a 223 cartridge in the 5.56 throat with some loss of accuracy and velocity. However, going the other way, the 5.56 cartridge in the shorter throat could cause pressure problems (with the overtight fit). I sure as heck am not knowledgeable on this .085 vs .162 throat stuff. And, unfortunately, I don't reload. Perhaps when I am looking for a new toy and have the funds, I will get into it. In the interim... I was hoping that there might be someone out there who shoots a 700BDL-type receiver and has either used 5.56 or does not because of...
Thanks for the reply !
enjoy,

leeblackman

The military has the larger throat for their own reasons. But thats the chamber of the gun, not the ammo. The cartridges themselves are the same size, no difference. You can fire both in either gun. Military cases are thicker and therefore heavier. But even alot of the factory ammo you buy is made using surplus military components.

Believe me, your rifle was made with all this taken into consideration. If you don't believe me, it would probably be best to contact Remington and talk to one of their techies, and ask him.

If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.

The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !

Iconoclast

altos, lee's answers are 100% correct. Dimensionally, the ammo is identical in all respects. Pressure will be comparable although not necessarily identical. Typically, US military small arms brass is made with thicker walls than commercial ammo. I'm not sure of the logic behind that, but it has been made that way for - at least - roughly a century & is only a factor when one is handloading and pushing the powder capacity / pressure levels to the max. The difference in the leade is another military thing, allowing for rough field conditions, etc. US made NATO spec military ammo or the various commercial loadings may shoot better or worse in your rifle, but neither will harm it. The popularity of the .30-06, .308 & .223 is at least partially attributable to the availability of surplus military ammo and any manufacturer will take that into consideration in building a rifle in those calibers.

rugster, *US* military 5.56 bullets have the same jackets as commercial bullets - gilding metal. Some of the foreign stuff may have gilding metal clad steel jackets or mild steel, but as long as one sticks with US ammo there should not be an issue.

altos

leeblackman, Iconoclast,

I went through the Remington site, finding the only tangible article in the Law Enforcement section. They clearly state that mil-type
ammo should not be used. However, they only seem to reference 223, not 308, which makes no sense to me. Sounds like the legal department is trying to make sure their fanny is covered. I sent a message to their tech support, recieving the initial "thanks, well be back in 2-3 days" message, but I don't think it will matter. The tech guys are not likely to contradict the LE section of Remington.

Since mil-surplus, or even mil-built non-surplus such as IMI, is significantly cheaper it's an option I would like to exercise. If there is no chance of damaging the rifle (or myself) and accuracy was acceptable, great. Not being an expert, I thought it best to ask first while all my body parts were correctly assembled.

Thank you !

and... if there are others wishing to chime in, have at it !

enjoy,

hecklerxkoch

if your looking to reload, stay away from the ilitary brass, sometimes they can be a pain.

New gun??? No, honey, I've had it for years.

altos

Thanks, but I don't reload (yet). I have heard there are issues with Berden primed mil-spec but boxer is not an issue... of course, I don't reload so what the heck do I know.

I have found that sometimes the mil-surplus stuff can be quite good. I compared 3 boxes of Federal Gold Match with NATO Portuguese surplus (308) in my M1A. The NATO stuff was more accurate. I suppose every rifle has its preferences. Regardless, I was hoping to be able to use a quality 223 surplus in my PSS, hence the question.

Thanks for the reply !

leeblackman

Good luck altos, and you really should look into handloading for that final touch in accuracy.

If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.

The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !