what can be shot in what 5.56

[JCS918]

Can someone give me a simple rundown in the chamber difference and ammo choice for a upper marked 5.56

Can I fire .223? It is it a different pressure.
Can I run ammo like wolf steel case? It is all Chrome lined chamber and barrel.

Thanks.

[trlcavscout]

In a 5.56 chamber you can also fire 223. You should be able to shoot any 5.56 or 223 ammo.

[rondog]

But a chamber marked as .223 should not fire 5.56? Is that how it goes? 5.56 chambers will handle both, but .223 chambers should be used for .223 only?

This always confuses me......(not a difficult task)

[Ronin13]

Can I run ammo like wolf steel case?

I would highly recommend against shooting steel casing. Wolf is cheap, steel cased Ruskie ammo and you can have some pretty catastrophic failures using it. The main reason against is that cheap steel casing, like Wolf, can expand and get stuck in your weapon and cause failure. Most I know who work gun stores and what not say never to run Wolf through anything precision like an AR or pistol such as Sig, Glock, etc. It's fine for an AK because the weapons limits are pretty flexible as far as how everything works.

[gcrookston]

But a chamber marked as .223 should not fire 5.56? Is that how it goes? 5.56 chambers will handle both, but .223 chambers should be used for .223 only?

This always confuses me......(not a difficult task)

Correct. 5.56 is loaded to a higher pressure. 223 lead in is shorter. Often burst primers are the most often result (although catastrophic failures have been known in older .233 guns).

[Pancho Villa]

I wouldn't run wolf, specifically because in 2010 they changed how they made their cartridges which is resulting in stuck cases. However, steel cased in general I think gets a worse rap than it deserves - if you know what you're doing and run the gun correctly it shoudl work fine.

http://www.tacticalyellowvisor.net/8343/116021.html


Since 2006 I have shot Wolf Ammo almost exclusively in my AR15-pattern firearms and have done so virtually without issue. I have fired upwards of 3,000 rounds/year (aggregate) in my carbines, with the majority of that shooting done with one Colt 6520 (see Tale of Two Rifles and Back In Black elsewhere on this site). I run Wolf for a thousand rounds or so without cleaning and don't run into any problems until I'm very deep into that thousand round count. Even then I've never encountered a stuck case that didn't' come out with mortaring, and I've never seen a stuck Wolf case in a Colt that required a rod to pound it out.

The guy uses brown bear now exclusively - another steel-cased round - and has experienced no problems.

Mostly I think the bad rep steel cased ammo gets is because guys buy a case and take it out withoout understanding that its a different type of ammo that needs to be run a little differently than your high-pressure M193 loads.

[Ronin13]

Mostly I think the bad rep steel cased ammo gets is because guys buy a case and take it out withoout understanding that its a different type of ammo that needs to be run a little differently than your high-pressure M193 loads.

I would agree, I wasn't being harsh toward all steel rounds- I carry steel cased Hornady Defense JHPs in my 1911, trust my life by those, I was just saying in my experience Wolf has been total crap. Generally it seems that cheaper ammo is not too good... I use some $3.99 for 15rnds of 7.62 x 39 in my AK because it's cheap and I buy a lot at a time, but must clean thoroughly after shooting because it's corrosive.

[Bailey Guns]

I've shot countless thousands of rounds of steel-cased ammo in various guns I own from my Sabre AR, Kimber Warrior, Glocks, Colts, etc...

I've not had any more failures with Wolf or Bear ammo than I've had with brass. The Russian stuff is far dirtier, though.

The Warrior I had shot Wolf FMJ ammo like it was match-grade stuff.

Having said that, I've seem more than one gun that wouldn't work at all with steel-cased ammo.

I make certain that any gun I plan on keeping (with a few exceptions, like my M1A) runs well with Wolf, Bear and any other steel-cased ammo because it's plentiful and inexpensive.

[SA Friday]

.223-tighter chamber, short throat
.223 Wylde-tighter than 5.56 chamber and throat, but looser than .223 Rem
5.56-looser chamber and throat, but built for higher pressures

I've shot 5.56 in my .223 chambered ARs without issue. If it's made by one of the more reputable companies, it shouldn't have a problem with the ammo. Some choose not to shoot it though.

Steel ammo kills extractors. Only stuff I've ever seen actually break a Glock extractor. Popped a piece right off the bottom of the claw. I reload, no steel cases for me.

[MED]

I've shot countless thousands of rounds of steel-cased ammo in various guns I own from my Sabre AR, Kimber Warrior, Glocks, Colts, etc...

I've not had any more failures with Wolf or Bear ammo than I've had with brass. The Russian stuff is far dirtier, though.

The Warrior I had shot Wolf FMJ ammo like it was match-grade stuff.

Having said that, I've seem more than one gun that wouldn't work at all with steel-cased ammo.

I make certain that any gun I plan on keeping (with a few exceptions, like my M1A) runs well with Wolf, Bear and any other steel-cased ammo because it's plentiful and inexpensive.

I can't even begin to count how many steal case 223 rounds I put through my two ARs built with Stag components. So far I have never had one stick with those two guns. My other AR built with a 20 year old 20" heavy upper gets a little upset when I switch back and forth between steal and brass. As long as I clean the gun and stick with one ammunition type or the other before the next cleaning, the steal works fine. When I can buy the steal case stuff for the same price as my reloads, I buy a case or two.

[Guylee]

I can't even begin to count how many steal case 223 rounds I put through my two ARs built with Stag components. So far I have never had one stick with those two guns. My other AR built with a 20 year old 20" heavy upper gets a little upset when I switch back and forth between steal and brass. As long as I clean the gun and stick with one ammunition type or the other before the next cleaning, the steal works fine. When I can buy the steal case stuff for the same price as my reloads, I buy a case or two.

I've never had a problem with any ammunition I've used in my Stag, and that's including steel stuff. Every time I see someone talking about how Wolf screwed up their gun, it always turns out that they're using a newer model Bushmaster. Not trying to start a flame war here, but Bushy's seem to be pretty finnicky with their ammo.

Now, to answer your question, OP. A lot of people think that 5.56 is loaded hotter than .223, but generally it's not. The way I understand it (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) but the 5.56 is slightly longer at the shoulder, which can cause "crowding" in the chamber. This can theoretically cause pressure problems, but as everyone before me has said, it's not really a huge deal. BPtactical explained it really well here a while ago, you should talk to him.

On the other hand, .308 and 7.62x51 are the exact opposite. Generally .308 is "hotter" than the NATO version. I figured I'd throw in that little tidbit in case you weren't confused enough.

[Bailey Guns]

Steel ammo kills extractors.

In 28+ years of shooting (wild-ass guess I'd say 3 to 5 thousand rounds a year on average, all guns/calibers) I've broken 1 extractor. That was on an early Glock 21 shooting brass ammo. It only broke about 1/3 of the claw off and it still functioned fine. I didn't notice it was broken until I cleaned the gun.

2 years as a Red Hat and I NEVER saw a broken extractor on an M4/M16 or M9. Plenty were worn enough to replace...never a broken one. Obviously, these guns were shot only with USGI issue brass ammo.

Off the top of my head I can recall replacing maybe 2 or 3 AR extractors that were broken on customer guns in 8+ years. I saw one Stag rifle come through my shop with an extractor that didn't have the claw cut into it. That was unusual. The buyer brought it back a half hour after buying it and said it didn't work. Didn't take long to diagnose the problem. Worked fine after a finished extractor was installed.

[SA Friday]

Wow, I've killed three all on my own within the last ten years alone. One on wolf ammo in a glock 23 just like you described. Seen two other Glocks lose it on steel cases too. In all fairness though, I was running around 30k rounds a year on the other two guns I broke extractors on. killed about a half dozen extractor springs on ARs along the way too while in the AF. Thats kinda normal on the older version extractor springs though.

[mutt]

Can someone give me a simple rundown in the chamber difference and ammo choice for a upper marked 5.56

Can I fire .223? It is it a different pressure.
Can I run ammo like wolf steel case? It is all Chrome lined chamber and barrel.

Thanks.

Differences between .223 and 5.56: http://ammo.ar15.com/ammo/project/hist_diff.html. Shooting 5.56 in a .223 chamber is generally not recommended.

It's my opinion that if your rifle can't shoot steel, your rifle has issues. Just my opinion. Steel case won't damage your rifle if all the components are good quality. I've noticed most people who have extraction problems have tighter .223 chambers. Here's a good video about Wolf ammo 'problems': http://www.youtube.com/user/Sturmgewehre#p/u/42/VR3fi1wCSmM

But there is no question Wolf is dirtier and less accurate.

[DD977GM2]

I would highly recommend against shooting steel casing. Wolf is cheap, steel cased Ruskie ammo and you can have some pretty catastrophic failures using it. The main reason against is that cheap steel casing, like Wolf, can expand and get stuck in your weapon and cause failure. Most I know who work gun stores and what not say never to run Wolf through anything precision like an AR or pistol such as Sig, Glock, etc. It's fine for an AK because the weapons limits are pretty flexible as far as how everything works.

I have shot 1000s of rounds in many diffrent ARs with a 5.56 chamber and ONLY had one issue when I decided to fire brass after I ran out of Wolf ammo that day and had to clean the chamber before more brass rounds could be fired. Proper cleanliness is probably key to having a functioning AR.
My experience says your good to go.

[Graves]

I'll run steel if that's all there is. I've probably ran about a case and a half through my 6920 without a single hitch but I prefer brass for reloading. I haven't fed my AK anything else but steel.

[fitz19d]

I'd add and highlight what a couple have said. IF YOU RUN STEEL, don't be swapping between it and brass willy nilly. Need to give a good cleaning/scrubbing for fouling and particulates before going back to brass.

What I'd been told some of the problems come from the gunk coating and such from the steel (Lacquer etc) starts to come off and build up a bit as the gun gets hot. Shoot say a case through there and go back to the brass and basically the room for the brass to expand in is now lessened a bit = potential kerboom?

[Byte Stryke]

I wouldn't run wolf, specifically because in 2010 they changed how they made their cartridges which is resulting in stuck cases. However, steel cased in general I think gets a worse rap than it deserves - if you know what you're doing and run the gun correctly it shoudl work fine.

http://www.tacticalyellowvisor.net/8343/116021.html



The guy uses brown bear now exclusively - another steel-cased round - and has experienced no problems.

Mostly I think the bad rep steel cased ammo gets is because guys buy a case and take it out withoout understanding that its a different type of ammo that needs to be run a little differently than your high-pressure M193 loads.

rock on,
your car, you drive it your way.

Something about large amounts of steel rubbing my my expensive steel just doesn't sit well with me personally.

I know, varying hardness and all that, but I figure the softer the casing the better :)

[bobbyfairbanks]

rock on,
your car, you drive it your way.

Something about large amounts of steel rubbing my my expensive steel just doesn't sit well with me personally.

I know, varying hardness and all that, but I figure the softer the casing the better :)


This is the best spoken response in all of the debates of brass verse steel case.

Both stuff works. It is up to you to decide if you want to use it.

Every gun no matter what type of ammo used will malfunction if not taken care of.

[SA Friday]

This is the best spoken response in all of the debates of brass verse steel case.

Both stuff works. It is up to you to decide if you want to use it.

Every gun no matter what type of ammo used will malfunction if not taken care of.

Every gun will malfunction, eventually, unless never used.

[Graves]

Every gun will malfunction, eventually, unless never used.

Yep, Uncle Murphy's always lurking around the corner.

[Bailey Guns]

Steel-cased ammo worked just fine in American guns in WWII. I'm sure it'll work fine in them now.