223/5.56

[barry]

Just want to ask this again Can I shoot 5.56 ammo in my savage 12 223? I think I know the answer but I've got lots of 5.56 NO 223

Thanks

[stangfish]

It has been done before. Most of the time it will fit and function without any issues.

[1ShotKing]

Do a search, its been covered multiple times.

[Apache]

http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?21639-223-vs-5-56

[squirrelsniper]

You can do it at least once, but whether you're around to do it any more remains to be seen :p

Safe - probably not.
Wise decision - probably not.

I've done a lot of other stupid things in my life too.

[stangfish]

You can do it at least once, but whether you're around to do it any more remains to be seen :p

Safe - probably not.
Wise decision - probably not.

I've done a lot of other stupid things in my life too.

Mr sniper, what is it that makes it unwise or unsafe?

[efw]

The pressure issue is something I'd worry about more in a gasser than bolt, personally. Some are more conservative than others; if its in a Savage rifle, it's a severe overstatement to imply you could die.

[jhelmuth]

Mr sniper, what is it that makes it unwise or unsafe?

Mr Fish.... what is it that makes it safe?

[thomae]

http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/10172/smiley-face-popcorn.gif


http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/13969/th_beatdedhorse.gif

[earl39]

The only thing that i can think of that has not been covered at least a dozen times is the difference in CIP and SAMMI pressures. SAMMI being the US standard and CIP the European standard. Same cartridge has different pressure standards for the same weapons. I am speaking of the 223 remington not the 5.56 nato. Read all you can and make your own decision.

Thomae i got to get me one of those horses.

[stangfish]

Rhetorical? How many have done it on this post? If you have done it and had bad results please slap me.

Lets look at some of the evidence provided. One dimension over .004 different. Have you ever shot a 69-90 grain bullet out of you 223 chamber. Did it go boom with that 25+or- grains of varget?

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/556and223chambers_zps87d293d3.gif

And what the heck is this? Look at the mouth of the chamber in this picture. The 556 is moved forward because of the angle that the photo was taken. Without some compensation with regards to the photographs perspective, the datum points are extremely flawed nullifying any of this example usefullness. That was the problem with 90% of what bigedp51 posted. Good data just not applicable to anything except dazzling the ignorant.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o254/bigedp51/223_zpsf33141cc.jpg

[squirrelsniper]

Mr sniper, what is it that makes it unwise or unsafe?

5.56 NATO is loaded to pressures above SAAMI spec, and even that pressure testing is done is a chamber that has the longer 5.56 NATO leade. So technically you're shooting a round that is already over SAAMI-spec pressure and you're doing it in a chamber that has a shorter leade.

Most quality modern bolt action rifles can handle the pressure just fine though. In truth most modern rifles of any action type can typically handle it, though broken bolts can be a problem in carbine-gassed M4s with a plain 223 chamber.

But, bottom line, I don't know the shooters on the other side of this keyboard or how much they actually know about the subject, so I think it would be highly irresponsible to make it sound like there are no risks whatsoever.

[stangfish]

I think it would be highly irresponsible to make it sound like there are no risks whatsoever.


Agreed. As it is to imply you will certainly be injured or die.

[ron570]

Have a question after reading this post. Is the excess pressure using a 5.56 in the Savage .223 chamber due to 5.56s having more powder charge or due to the wrong chamber geometry of the .223 chamber causing the excess pressure? Would the 5.56 pressure be too high for the Savage 223 if you changed the chamber geometry to a 5.56? Michiguns sells a reamer for opening a .223 to a 5.56. Their website only talks about using this reamer on AR-15s, I'm assuming it would work with a Savage .223?

[Stockrex]

Savage says - don't fire 5.56 in 223,
you won't need a 5.56 reamer, you can get a wylde reamer and ream it.

[stangfish]

:behindsofa:Dont the also say don't use handloads? :bolt:

[brasse]

Wylde is the way to go.

[sharpshooter]

A wylde reamer won't even clean the chamber up. If some of you guys would actually listen, you'd know that Savage does not use a SAAMI spec reamer. I will guarantee that if you ACTUALLY measure your chamber, you will find that the freebore FAR exceeds what a 5.56 is.
Savages min. freebore on .223 chambers is .100".

[ron570]

I would prefer a wylde, as I've read you can shoot both through a Wylde chamber accurately, although I haven't been able to try this for myself yet but I'm working on it. I'd like to be able to shoot a 5.56 so I can shoot out to 600 yards with it. I've got a number of friends shooting 600 yards with their AR-15s so I figured I should be able to do the same with a Savage 12. And thought since it also comes with a 1in7 twist it should shoot a 5.56 well.

[Mathias]

:behindsofa:Dont the also say don't use handloads? :bolt:

I don't recall seeing anything about not using hand loads in my manual... But admittedly I just gave it a cursory glance... I've fired far more hand loads than commercial or mil spec out of my 12BVSS in 308