rickdavis81
New member
I traded my 5.56 upper for a .223 upper. Now I have tons of brass laying around. Is it safe to use the 5.56 brass to load for my .223. I've heard of different case thickness and am worried about to much pressure.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
5.56 into .223
- Thread starter rickdavis81
- Start date
Master Blaster
New member
5.56 is a looser chamber specification than .223. The problem arises when you have a 5.56 round that is too long for the .223 chamber, and is loaded to maximum military performance 2000-4000 psi over .223 saami spec. This results in the bullet ogilvie being jammed into the rifling ( a 5.56 chamber has a longer lead to accomodate the longer bullets), and the round is already 2000 psi higher pressure, so you could have a big time over pressure situation in that .223 chamber.
Most military 5.56 ammo is just fine in a .223 chamber, but there is some small percentage of military ammo that is overlength and over pressure for a .223.
To know if this is a problem in your rifle you could measure the headspace, if its loose no problem but if its tight (match chamber on a bolt action) it COULD be a problem.
If you are loading your own you have control of bullet, OAL, and charge weight so it should never be a problem if you start out low and work up as you always should.
Most military 5.56 ammo is just fine in a .223 chamber, but there is some small percentage of military ammo that is overlength and over pressure for a .223.
To know if this is a problem in your rifle you could measure the headspace, if its loose no problem but if its tight (match chamber on a bolt action) it COULD be a problem.
If you are loading your own you have control of bullet, OAL, and charge weight so it should never be a problem if you start out low and work up as you always should.
5.56 is a looser chamber specification than .223. The problem arises when you have a 5.56 round that is too long for the .223 chamber, and is loaded to maximum military performance 2000-4000 psi over .223 saami spec. This results in the bullet ogilvie being jammed into the rifling ( a 5.56 chamber has a longer lead to accomodate the longer bullets), and the round is already 2000 psi higher pressure, so you could have a big time over pressure situation in that .223 chamber.
Most military 5.56 ammo is just fine in a .223 chamber, but there is some small percentage of military ammo that is overlength and over pressure for a .223.
To know if this is a problem in your rifle you could measure the headspace, if its loose no problem but if its tight (match chamber on a bolt action) it COULD be a problem.
Accurate information. However, largely irrelevant to his thread. When you run the 5.56 brass through the .223 die, you have the same spec brass as .223 brass. FWIW, military 5.56 brass has the same case capacity as commercial .223 brass. Not true with .308, however.
rickdavis81
New member
Sounds good. Thanks for the info on the .308, I have on of those too but only use .308 brass so far.