.223 Wylde AR barrel accuracy?

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TTv2

TTv2

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I'm planning a build this summer for some AR's and one of them is a lightweight build involving a pencil barrel, maybe the next heavier profile depending on how much more it weighs. Anyway, I'm specifically looking at this to shoot XM193 and M855 ammo, but in case I come across .223 ammo that's for a good price, I would like this build to shoot it as good as possible.

How is the accuracy of .223 Wylde barrels for the above state ammunition and .223 Remington? Would I be better off just getting a 5.56 chambered barrel instead?
 
Go with the Wylde chambered barrel.The accuracy should be better regardless of what ammo that you choose to feed it.
 
Please remember to post some before and after numbers. I am also interested in changing my barrel over. It is that, or building for .223 Wylde from the ground up.
 
How is the reliability in feeding/extracting with .223 Wylde barrels over 5.56?
 
I have posted on a previous thread about my AR with .223 Wylde chamber but I will repeat it here.

The barrel is 16" Wilson Arms 1 x 9 with free float handguard. It has been giving me lackluster groups at 25 yards with 55 gr. FMJ so much that I have not made any effort to shoot it at 100. I have tried three different brans of factory and three different powder charges on my reloads.

I recently brought a Aero Precision Black Nitride BCG and decided to try it in this gun. I was rewarded with much tighter groups. I am encouraged enough by the improvement that I am going to load another batch of .223 with 55 gr. FMJ with a higher powder charge. I hope to get back out to the range later this week. Hopefully I will find it's sweet spot.

However when I compare it to my other AR which has a PSA Freedom barrel in 5.56 and 1x 7 twist it comes up short. The PSA barrel has given very good accuracy starting with the first five rounds I shot through it.

At this time I am undecided about the .223 Wylde. This particular barrel is proving to be picky about ammunition whereas the PSA 5.56 does not seem to care what I feed it. Let me summarize it this way...I brought a barrel in June with the 5.56 chamber and the next barrel for the build after that is going to be in 5.56.

p.s If I ever decide to build a rifle with 20" barrel it will probably be in 223 Wylde so I can use heavier bullets.
 
I like the Wylde Chamber. The main thing it gives you is a little more throat and freebore then the 223, but not as much as the 5.56.
Is it more accurate? That will depend on the barrel you buy and who made it.
The Wylde has a potential to be more accurate.
Here is the 223 & 5.56. The Wylde is in between the two.
EC928F55-865E-4BF0-B063-F1D1781220A2.png
 
The Wylde chamber allows you to shoot full power 5.56mm ammo while typically maintaining better accuracy than the average 5.56 chamber. Wylde barrels are typically either stainless or nitride today (but not always - there are CMV steel and chrome lined out there) but a chrome lined bore inherently gives up a little accuracy at the expense of longevity. It's back to the "no free lunch" principle.

I'm not sure what to think about adding the pencil profile into the mix. The choices depend on what you want to achieve. There is no "best configuration" overall, just ideal configurations for a specific purpose and then compromises for other purposes.

Just remember that simply owning a Wylde barrel AR does not magically turn XM193 and M855 into consistent ammunition. If you go the Wylde route, I'd at least try some Hornady Vmax or Noser BT ammo (or reloads). Those should give a baseline for what is achievable.
 
I’ll be the contrarian here. Ditch the Wylde chamber, and get a good quality 5.56mm NATO chambered barrel with a 1:8 or 1:7 twist. I currently have 4 AR’s and 5 barrels in 5.55mm NATO. They all shoot everything from 55gr to 77gr ammo pretty well. With good ammo the lightest weight barrel of the bunch, a Knight’s Armament 16” cold hammer forged chrome lined unit will consistently shoot about 1” at 100 yards. That’s with a 1-4X24 for glass that is not exactly made for shooting benchrest.

I’m not sure how much better you need or expect, but suspect that the Wylde chamber won’t get you much precision potential over an equally good barrel with a 5.56mm NATO chamber. On the other hand the 5.56mm NATO chamber in a properly made barrel of good quality has a giant population of data points validating the function of the chamber dimensions in a wide range of conditions with a wide range of ammo. Personally I’ll give up .25-.5 MOA for increased reliability.
 
TTv2 said:
other than price.
Click to expand...
Which is a factor considering this is my first AR build and it's a lightweight build. I have another in mind for a 20 or 24 inch heavy barrel specifically for 77 grain bullets. May be more inclined to go with a Wylde there as I'll already be looking to spend a lot on a good, accurate barrel.
 
Walkalong said:
You would be in the minority on that. And those groups in the article are not going to win matches. :)
Click to expand...
I won't argue, once you are threating to win matches muzzle crown and other issues become worth worrying about, but until then, spending the money on more or better ammo and range time instead is likely more efficient use of resources.
 
Your looking for better accuracy but shooting XM193 and 855 ammo ?
I shot 6 different 5.56/.223 factory ammo's through my bolt guns and AR's. Accuracies varied GREATLY.
In my HOWA bolt gun best factory load tested ran 1.1" for 5 shots, pet hand load runs .6"
Sometimes we look for increased accuracy in the hardest places.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
I like the Wylde Chamber. The main thing it gives you is a little more throat and freebore then the 223, but not as much as the 5.56.
Is it more accurate? That will depend on the barrel you buy and who made it.
The Wylde has a potential to be more accurate.
Here is the 223 & 5.56. The Wylde is in between the two.
View attachment 795074
Click to expand...

I have to say I sort of laughed at the throat angle reported out to minutes and seconds of a degree. I would love to see the CMM program (or other inspection methods) that can inspect that small surface on the chamber reamer to that level of precision.

None-the-less I have an old Rock River rifle with an 20-inch H-Bar barrel with a Wylde chamber in it. I only have a Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T 1-3X scope on it but at 200 yards I can keep all the bullets under the 3-MOA dot using PPU M193 ammo if I do my part. Probably only partially due to the chamber but it works. It has been my 3-gun rifle and serves that role fairly well if a bit heavy.
 
TTv2,

Update with 223 Wylde barrel.

As I said I would in my previous post I made it out to the range this morning and tested my latest batch of reloads. I am using 55 gr. FMJ, 24.5 gr. H335 and CCI Magnum Small Rifle Primer. I am very much encouraged by the results. I put five rounds out of 10 in a ragged hole with one shot low and the other four high. However I believe the reason for the 5 shots outside of the group is due to the shooter.

First a comment about the Aero Precision Black Nitride BCG. The first 50 rounds I shot using it gave me poor grouping. Rounds 50 - 60 showed improvement and Rounds 60 - 70 showed real promise. The results today shows that the gun prefers middle + loads. My conclusion is the bcg needed some breaking in.

About todays group. The gun still has two handicaps;

The first is the Magul BUIS front sight. I cannot focus on it. The front sight post is thick and covers 4" of the target at 25 yards. My aiming point is a black square 4" x 4" so the post covered it.

The second problem is the trigger. It is an ALG QMS which is on the heavy side plus gritty.

So for now I am keeping the Magpul sights on the gun while I decide which way I want to go. The gun is a candidate for some good optics

The QMS trigger is headed to the parts box. I am happy enough with todays performance that I ordered a ALG ACT trigger and hammer when I got home from the range.

I am going to spend this weekend reloading some ,223 ammo and after I get the ACT install I will be making a trip to range. As I reload 98% of my ammunition it is easy for me to adjust the powder charge. I am well below max so I will be working up hotter loads.

I don't have enough experience to comment about the Wylde chamber and 1 x 9 twist other than to say it does not like beginning loads. With the ACT trigger I will be a step closer to discovering the accuracy of this combination.
 
BSA1 said:
TTv2,

Update with 223 Wylde barrel.

As I said I would in my previous post I made it out to the range this morning and tested my latest batch of reloads. I am using 55 gr. FMJ, 24.5 gr. H335 and CCI Magnum Small Rifle Primer. I am very much encouraged by the results. I put five rounds out of 10 in a ragged hole with one shot low and the other four high. However I believe the reason for the 5 shots outside of the group is due to the shooter.

First a comment about the Aero Precision Black Nitride BCG. The first 50 rounds I shot using it gave me poor grouping. Rounds 50 - 60 showed improvement and Rounds 60 - 70 showed real promise. The results today shows that the gun prefers middle + loads. My conclusion is the bcg needed some breaking in.

About todays group. The gun still has two handicaps;

The first is the Magul BUIS front sight. I cannot focus on it. The front sight post is thick and covers 4" of the target at 25 yards. My aiming point is a black square 4" x 4" so the post covered it.

The second problem is the trigger. It is an ALG QMS which is on the heavy side plus gritty.

So for now I am keeping the Magpul sights on the gun while I decide which way I want to go. The gun is a candidate for some good optics

The QMS trigger is headed to the parts box. I am happy enough with todays performance that I ordered a ALG ACT trigger and hammer when I got home from the range.

I am going to spend this weekend reloading some ,223 ammo and after I get the ACT install I will be making a trip to range. As I reload 98% of my ammunition it is easy for me to adjust the powder charge. I am well below max so I will be working up hotter loads.

I don't have enough experience to comment about the Wylde chamber and 1 x 9 twist other than to say it does not like beginning loads. With the ACT trigger I will be a step closer to discovering the accuracy of this combination.
Click to expand...
Your going to like the ACT trigger. :thumbup:
 
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