Anyone else not a fan of .223?

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Shoot whatever makes you happy. I do not own a .223 or 5.56. I primarily hunt larger game, and I'm just not comfortable with that caliber for my purposes. Others may disagree. I'm ok with that. I have one AR chambered in .308 and use it for both hunting and 3 Gun.
 
I like 556 just fine for what I use it for. Keep it on hand for an anti personnel round and small hunting. While I know I can use it on deer with the right bullet, I prefer not to. And pick a bigger bullet for deer and hogs.
 
is there really a difference in 5.56 and .223???

I hand load and I can make .223 into 5.56 and vs versa
 
ParallelCode said:
I'm a fan of 223/5.56. As a handloader/reloader, it has lots of interesting propellant and projectile options.
Click to expand...

i'm also a fan of the .223/5.56mm. My favorite powder for use with bullets no heavier than 55 grains is IMR 3031.

Most of my rounds in that caliber are fired from three bolt action rifles, an old Sako, a Remington 700 with 26" barrel and a CZ 527. Also own three AR-15 rifles in .223/5.56mm that are seldom fired except to provide military brass for re-loading-one will soon go away.
 
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I would not say I was a fan of the .223 Remington (5.56 NATO) but I do not dislike the round either. I have a few .223 AR guns to include a Colt SP1 for nostalgic reasons but given a choice I like the .308 Winchester. I trained with the M14 and when I got to Vietnam I was handed a M16A1 if I recall correctly. I also own other cartridges. While I no longer hunt when I was hunting I always tried to choose a cartridge based on terrain and game. I never used the .223 for deer in W. Va. simply because I had other rifles better suited for my purpose.

Ron
 
D.B. Cooper said:
It took them over 50 years to replace it.
Click to expand...
And, it's not replaced, not yet at least.
Neither the round nor the rifle or carbine using it.

Oh, SIG really wants to see the change, they'd love to sell a couple million units (versus the 100 or so in the current "study"). But, remember the SCAR? It was the new hotness, too. SPIW, fletchettes, binary & trinary proectiles, "telescoped" ammo . . .

All ammo is a compromise, there is no perfect round. Military ammo has even more compromise in it, too.

Eighty-eight (88) years later, people are still second guessing the choice of M2 Ball over .276pedersen (7x51). (It would have been a terrible round for Browning MGs, as used.) Now, we have this new hotness, a 6.8x51, within 0.5% of the 7x51, other than for the chamber pressure. And, no one yet has shown why the 6.8x51 is so much better than the 7.62x51

Compromise is every where. And everyone has both favorites and "anti favorites."
 
I appreciate the round for what it is, not what it isn't. I have plenty of other options for specific uses. But in my world a very common, easy to acquire round used by the military of many countries means the round will be available for a long time. An important fact for SHTF scenarios. Same with 9mm. I don't particularly care for it but you can bet I have something to fire it and will have always.
 
It's a good cartridge for popping tiny holes in stuff. It's for shooting quickly with minimal recoil. That's it pretty much. I do have an AR , I shoot it as little as possible to remain proficient. I get no pleasure from shooting little bottleneck cartridges , it's a tool we should all have though. Although I have plenty of good guns , if a mob of crazed commies were making their way toward my home I'd pick the AR every time, besides that I could care less about the thing. Useless until you need it. Does one thing and does it pretty well.
 
Mark_Mark said:
is there really a difference in 5.56 and .223???

I hand load and I can make .223 into 5.56 and vs versa
Click to expand...
The 5.56 chamber has more freebore, almost as of it were a warn out 223.
The max loads for 5.56 tend to be hotter, over pressure signs when tested in 223 chamber.
More freebore gives the bullet a bit more jump to the lands and that tends to lower pressure a bit, at least in rifles.
 
I have 2 ARs and a bolt action .223. I like all of them and the cartridge but I am not looking to add to my .223/5.56 arsenal. It is a fun caliber but it has limited uses. In Colorado you can't hunt with it. I do want to add another AR to my collection but in 6.5 Grendel.
 
I like the 5.56/.223 but begrudgingly use an AR15. That straight buttstock wasn't made for my long neck.
 
I have a lot of 223 which I don't use very often BUT I don't like some politician taken away my rifle cause other skum bags like to kill kids.
 
I began centerfire rifle with a .22-250 way back when. Debated a long time before choosing it over .223 cal. in the Remington 700 I bought. Now I shoot .223 and 5.6 ball in an AR15 as well. Two good paper punching 100-200 yard choices. But definitely love the Remington more, great bolt action rifle, and I have no obsession with para-military, Rambo-like mindset.
 
223/556 is great for home defense! With a good soft point, it provides superior close-range ballistics compared to a pistol, without the added risk of overpenetration like you would have with a full power rifle, or even a 7.62x39.

That is the niche role my AR-15 fills. I don't need it to take down a large game animal, or perform out past 500 meters.
 
DTL said:
I began centerfire rifle with a .22-250 way back when. Debated a long time before choosing it over .223 cal. in the Remington 700 I bought. Now I shoot .223 and 5.6 ball in an AR15 as well. Two good paper punching 100-200 yard choices. But definitely love the Remington more, great bolt action rifle, and I have no obsession with para-military, Rambo-like mindset.
Click to expand...

My first “real” rifle as well. I cannot bring myself to use the 700 as a range gun (as much as I would like to), but have no reservations when it comes to wearing out the barrel on my AR-15
 
When doing the math, I have as many .223/5.56 rifles as I do .22 rimfire rifles, 7 each.

This is mainly due to the AR cadre (6) in the safe. The other is a Ruger No. 1.

Its not my #1 favorite round, but it is among my favorites. :thumbup:

YMMV.

Stay safe.
 
The 223/556 is low hanging fruit while delightful because it doesn't even recoil and can be
firefight fun or bolt action precision, but it doesn't ring my bell either, I prefer .308 caliber.
However, I have a few of them just because a -suit and tie- said I shouldn't have
one, and every time he says I shouldn't, I buy another one.
 
I have no love for the 5.56. The initial weapon for it should have been withdrawn from service the day after it was adopted.


For its initial purpose the 7.62 NATO is much more effective.
 
slowr1der said:
I'm sure this will be an unpopular opinion, and I'm ready. I have my flame suit on. It's not that I haven't tried to like it. I've shot tons of it over the years. I just can't warm up to .223 Remington. I can't really find anything that it does that another caliber doesn't do better. The one and only benefit I'd found to it in the past was the cost. That's the main reason I've shot it. I knew I was sacrificing performance but at 1/3 the cost it was worth it. Now that it's a much smaller gap and it seems to be in the 60cpr range instead of 25-30cpr, I don't really find the sacrifice in performance worth it. Does anyone else feel the same way? If not, what do you like about the caliber?
Click to expand...

Here is what I like about the .223 / .556

1. Both (above calibers) will work in my bolt action rifle.
2. It is a small, light, accurate and flat shooting caliber.
3. Ubiquity and low(er) price are a real advantage.
4. I have a good supply of ammo. (that counts for something these days)

I too, as other responders have mentioned, prefer NOT to shoot it out of an AR as I feel that platform needlessly wastes rounds. Too easy to fire off 30 shots and not get the satisfaction that 5 well placed bullets from a bolt can can give you. But then this, like your OP, is simply my opinion and not based on any hard facts.
 
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