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Rem R 15

Rascal

Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
5
I have a Rem. R15 223. I ordered 223 ammo and was shiped 5.56. Can I shoot 5.56 55g from a Remington R15 marked 223 on the barrel.
 

I will counter that with NO, you should not and if you do your putting your rifle at risk. 5.56 and 223 are not the same thing, 5.56 NATO operates at higher cup pressures than .223 Remington. It is OK to do the opposite, which is fire .223 in a 5.56 chamber.

This is one of the reasons I am such an advocate of buying from company's who meet or exceed the standard. Then only cut 5.56 chambers and you only get on average one twist rate to pick from.

You will here people say its OK to do and "I do it all the time" that does not make it safe!
 
Many people will tell you that .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO are simply different designations for the same thing. I am not one of those people. A 223 Remington cartridge has a peak pressure of approx. 55,000. If your rifle has SAAMI chamber (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute)it can safely handle this.

A 5.56 NATO cartridge is loaded to higher than maximum SAAMI recommended pressures. Nato pressures are up around 62,000. The chamber, throat, and lead of a NATO chambered gun are designed to handle the higher pressures.

If you rifle has a standard NATO chamber, or the newer Wylde (chamber designed to shoot nato pressure ammo and still maintain the accuracy of a SAAMI chamber) chamber you can safely shoot any commercial ammo and any NATO spec ammo as well.

If you rifle has a SAAMI chamber, NATO pressure ammo will damage your rifle.
 
My reply is only from experience. Chambers do very, even within the Nato group. I have shot hundreds of rounds out of two of my match rifles with no issues. I understand that the Nato round is loaded to higher pressure than SAMMI, but so are my match rounds. I did start low and work my way up to get to my match loads dialed in. I have only shot the 55 gr 5.56 loads in my guns which are not R15, so I will say be safe in your Remy and only fire SAMMI loads!
 
I also have a rem r-15 and had this same question. I got lots of conflicting answers in forums and shops so I went to the source, bushmaster. They make the r-15s for Remington. I emailed them and asked them, they replied with an email that basically said "they use a hybrid clambering system that will allow firing both 223 and 556 in their guns and all of their guns are made to the same spec including the r15s for bushmaster. So in short yes it is safe for you to fire 556 in your r-15". I got that in an email straight from bushmaster.
 
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