what can be shot in what 5.56

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.

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

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)

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Originally Posted by JCS918

Can I run ammo like wolf steel case?

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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.

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Originally Posted by 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)

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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).

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

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Originally Posted by Tactical Yellow Visor

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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by Pancho Villa

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.

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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.

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.

.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.

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.