5.56 nato in a HR single shot

[DNS]

I just picked up a single shot Harrington Richardson marked ".223 caliber" on the heavy barrel. I was checking on gunbrokerdotcom and noticed one seller advertising these as a ".223/5.56 nato barrel".

To my knowledge these are not 5.56 nato or did I miss something? I know the heavy barrel is probably heavy enough, but wouldn't it have chambering issues?

Mike

 

[scythefwd]

The external measurements for 5.56 nato and .223 are the same. The internal measurements of the brass is a little different. People load .223 from 5.56 nato brass all of the time.

 

[lopezni]

do not try and fire 5.56 in it, the chamber dimensions are different and can cause catastrophic malfunctions if you mix up the two cartridges

 

[thunder173]

I have both an H&R in .223 and a Remington 7615 pump. The pump is CLEARLY marked .223/5.56 NATO. I have ran both .223 AND 5.56 thru the H&R. I still have a face,..all my fingers,..and no kaboom.

YMMV,..but I am inclined to follow the guidance of Krochus,... who is a recognized fixture in here, ....and is very knowledgeable on the subject. Seek his guidance on the matter.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[greyling22]

I've done it. not a lot, but some. mostly to get empties that I then loaded as .223's and shot.

H&R's only got 1 frame, and if it will hold up to a 30-06 I figure it will handle a hotter than normal 223. and that barrel has a lot more steel around it than most guns.

now, in the CYA camp, it's probably not a good idea and could be dangerous or damage the chamber or whatever. of course, if I was in H&R's CYA department I would make absolutely sure nobody could get hurt and sue me for firing a 556 in a 223 gun.

daver on this page claims to run a lot in his. http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=339678

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/351/products_id/55045 here it's listed as a 5.56 as well. but on the mfg website they just call it a .223. you could always call them, I found them to be very helpful.

 

[nalioth]

do not try and fire 5.56 in it, the chamber dimensions are different and can cause catastrophic malfunctions if you mix up the two cartridges

Sources, please.

Factual, not "my brothers dog's former owner's dial-a-date's father-in-law's neighbor's son's teacher's lawn mower mechanic said", please.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

the 5.56mm/.223 thing is really overblown. the only difference is the length of the leade. in any case, good luck on finding ammunition that'll extract reliably.

 

[blackwalnut]

5.56 Nato or .223 in H&R single shot...

Hey Duble Naught. The headspace dimensions are different in a NATO chamber. Also the lead is longer and the angle of the throat is different. NATO spec ammo is loaded to higher pressure than commercial .223.

Reliable sources for this information include SAAMI and most reloading manuals will give an explanation. Also Forester has an excellent explanation in their cataloge as well as older Bushmaster rifle catalogs. The ammo companies can provide info also.

Reloading manuals also will warn that loads using military brass are to be reduced usually 10%. This is due to military brass having thicker walls due to the fact they are concerned about making durable ammo for use in real military assault rifes and squad automatic weapons. Also military brass has crimped primers and this crimp needs to be cut out before seating new primers. This is easy to do.

These are reliable sources of information not made up in my basement over a glass of wine or a Budweiser or "common knowledge" obtained at the local gunshop or some forum with NASA engineers.

Your rifle will probably not blow up or anything like that but we are taught to chamber the type of ammo listed on the barrel. I think its prudent and it may be a manufacturers thing or SAAMI. Good luck with your rifle.

 

[alemonkey]

FWIW, I used to have an H&R .223, and the owner's manual specifically said not to shoot 5.56.