military ammo

dusty123

For those who are curious, I'm sitting here doing PMCS on my mags at a Forward Operating Base in an undisclosed middle-east country, the head stamps on my issued ammo reads as follows. (9 mm) WCC 04:
(5.56 green tip) LC 04: (5.56 orange tip) LC 00: I also have some non-color coded 5.56 that reads L2A2 RG 96 mixed in here and there.

dusty123

Can I shoot military ammo in my savage predator model 10 bolt action .223? It has a 1:9 twist barrel

62fuelie

I wouldn't shoot tracer (red nose) but the rest of the military loads should be OK. The green tip M855 is 63 grain and should match up well with the 9" twist.

dusty123

Thanks, on another site, I read that military .223 is ok but 5.56 NATO is not ok to shoot,
please forgive me for being dumb but I didn`t know there was a difference, now I`m confused. I`m new to the .223 but I bought one to hunt coyote and would like to find cheap ammo for practice.

Garth

Military 223 is designated as 5.56. Basically 223 is the civilian designation. The two are almost the same but not exactly the same. If your rifle is marked 223 then that caliber is what is required by the manufacturer. However there are rifles, example some AR-15's that are designated for both calibers specifically. Hope this helps. Best

Nwcid

quote:Originally posted by 62fuelie
I wouldn't shoot tracer (red nose) but the rest of the military loads should be OK. The green tip M855 is 63 grain and should match up well with the 9" twist.


What is the difference between "red nose" tracers and other colors? Why would a tracer cause a problem that other ammo would not?

countryfarmer

As stated 223 and 5.56 is almost the same stuff but still different. The 5.56 has thicker brass and it pressure measurements are taken from a different method than a 223. The 5.56 has slightly higher pressure readings and the throat is different.

http://www.thegunzone.com/556v223.html



The cartridge cases for both cartridges have basically the same length and exterior dimensions.

The 5.56 round, loaded to Military Specification, typically has higher velocity and chamber pressure than the .223 Rem.

The 5.56 cartridge case may have thicker walls, and a thicker head, for extra strength. This better contains the higher chamber pressure. However, a thicker case reduces powder capacity, which is of concern to the reloader.

The 5.56mm and .223 Rem chambers are nearly identical. The difference is in the "Leade". Leade is defined as the portion of the barrel directly in front of the chamber where the rifling has been cylindrically removed to allow room for the seated bullet. It is also more commonly known as freebore. Leade in a .223 Rem chamber is usually .085". In a 5.56mm chamber the leade is typically .162", or almost twice as much as in the 223 Rem chamber.

You can fire .223 Rem cartridges in 5.56mm chambers with this longer leade, but you will generally have a slight loss in accuracy and velocity over firing the .223 round in the chamber with the shorter leade it was designed for.

Problems may occur when firing the higher-pressure 5.56mm cartridge in a .223 chamber with its much shorter leade. It is generally known that shortening the leade can dramatically increase chamber pressure. In some cases, this higher pressure could result in primer pocket gas leaks, blown cartridge case heads and gun functioning issues.

The 5.56mm military cartridge fired in a .223 Rem chamber is considered by SAAMI (Small Arm and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) to be an unsafe ammunition combination.

Before buying either of these two types of ammunition, always check your gun to find what cartridge it is chambered for, then buy the appropriate ammunition. Most 5.56mm rounds made have full metal jacket bullets. Performance bullets - soft points, hollow points, Ballistic Silvertips, etc. - are loaded in .223 Rem cartridges.

Firing a .223 Rem cartridge in a 5.56mm-chambered gun is safe and merely gives you slightly reduced velocity and accuracy. However we do not recommend, nor does SAAMI recommend, firing a 5.56mm cartridge in a gun chambered for the .223 Rem as the shorter leade can cause pressure-related problems.

tsr1965

dusty123,

I would refrain from shooting any 5.56 ammo in your rifle, unless you had a chamber cast done, and knew the dimensions of the leade. There is no such thing as Military 223, and as such, it wouldn't be designated 5.56x45 NATO either. Though the external dimensions of the cases, and chambers, except for the leade, are the same, the pressures, as stated, along with the possability of running a longer bullet into the rifling while chambering, does exist. That would be like a double whammy on the high pressure. Yes, your Savage is a strong rifle, but there is noo need to tempt fate, when we know the possibilities.

Best