The 5.56 caliber is a whole family of ammunition, both military and civilian. The very first representative of the legendary caliber appeared in 1950. It was the 222 Remington, which differed from all subsequent modifications with a shorter sleeve of 43.18 mm. The experience of armed conflicts of those years, especially the US war with North Korea, showed that the US Army needs a new ammunition, the caliber of which would be smaller than the 7.62 (30-06) caliber that was then in service, with less impact, for a more heap firing bursts of automatic weapons. This cartridge became the basis for the development of all kinds of modifications of 5.56 caliber ammunition and weapons for it, both military and civilian. Weak recoil, excellent trajectory persistence and great striking ability made 5.56 caliber a very popular type of ammunition for hunting, shooting sports and the needs of the police, not to mention the army. Cartridges of this type are produced around the world, including in Russia. One of the most common varieties of 5.56 hunting ammunition is caliber 223 Rem, which differs from caliber 222 with a slightly longer sleeve - 45 mm. When choosing a rifled hunting weapon, two calibers are usually compared - the 30th and 5.56, as well as their modifications. The use of 5.56 caliber cartridges for hunting has its own specifics, advantages and a number of limitations.
Background
During the fighting in North Korea, the Pentagon leadership came to the conclusion that the army needed new ammunition for small arms. The 30-06 cartridge in service was not suitable for creating new systems for hand-held automatic weapons, since it had too much power. When firing bursts from a light rapid-firing rifle, this cartridge produced too strong a return, and the accuracy of firing with an automatic burst was too low. The US Army needed a new light assault rifle chambered for a smaller caliber and with less muzzle energy. The company Remington Arms has developed such an ammunition, which was called 222 Remington. The length of the sleeve is 43.18 mm, the mass of the bullet is up to 4 g, the initial speed is up to 1100 m / s, the muzzle energy is up to 1590 j. The cartridge was not accepted into service in the army due to insufficient penetration ability, but it became the first representative of a whole class of 5.56 caliber hunting ammunition, which is still popular due to its inexpensive price, low recoil, low noise of the shot and relatively sparing impact on the barrel of the weapon. Subsequent modifications of the 5.56 caliber were also created for the needs of the army, caliber 223 became the standard cartridge for the armies of NATO countries, but almost all of these modifications found the widest application in the civilian sphere, including hunting.
5.56 caliber for the army
For military purposes, all varieties of 5.56 caliber were used at different times. In the 50s, ammunition for military purposes with various markings appeared in the USA - 22, 221, 224, 223, etc. But it was still the same caliber 5.56. The US military tried to find a universal version of the cartridge for small arms, which could be adopted by all US allies in NATO. The question was one - which caliber 223 is better for this purpose. All available options were a version of the 222 Remington cartridge, but the cartridge case was usually a little longer, and the mass of the bullet, the amount of gunpowder and the thickness of the cartridge case varied. The further development of new lightweight automatic rifles for the army depended on the final choice of the desired option.
5.56 Stoner rifle cartridge
Various contests for the adoption of a universal cartridge for the US and NATO armies were closely related to the development of a promising rifle based on the Stoner AR-10 rifle under the 7.62 NATO cartridge. The reduced caliber of this rifle was designated M 16. For this rifle, a longer version of the 222 Remington cartridge was developed. The new ammunition was called caliber 223 Rem. It was adopted by the United States in 1964.
1. Caliber - 5.56 mm.
2. Bullet - 3.56 g.
3. The initial speed is 990 m / s.
4. Energy - 1745 J.
5. Twist 305 mm.
Differences between military options 5.56 caliber
In 1970, a 5.56 caliber version appeared, which gradually became the single standard for the armies of NATO countries. This is a 5.56X45 NATO cartridge, which has 2 differences from the 223 Rem caliber:
1. Bullet - 4 g.
2. Twist - 178 mm.
These differences changed the ballistics of the bullet:
1. The initial speed is 860 m / s.
2. Muzzle energy - 1767 J.
5.56 Interchangeability of Ammunition
Both cartridges are interchangeable, and they can be used when shooting from military weapons with the wrong twist, but the results of the shooting in this case will be noticeably different. Caliber 223 Remington is less stable in flight, and the standard 5.56 NATO has a higher penetration ability. The wounds inflicted by the 223 Rem caliber are very destructive, since a lighter bullet flies at a higher speed, while it is less stable due to a longer twist. Once in the victim’s body, this bullet begins to rotate randomly and move along a broken path. But for warfare, another ammunition was needed to break through helmets and body armor. The modern NATO standard 5.56X45 was developed in Belgium for the next modification of the M 16 rifle, which received the designation M 16A2. The barrel was heavier, and the twist became shorter. A heavier bullet gained better stabilization, which increased its penetration ability.
5.56 Civil War Military Ammunition
Both versions of the adopted ammunition caliber 5.56 are widely used in the civilian sphere. Caliber 223 "Rem" is considered a civilian version of the standard NATO cartridge, but in fact both of these ammunition are designed for war and are designed to fire from weapons with different rifling pitch. When choosing a 223-caliber hunting weapon, you should pay attention to its twist, on which it will depend on which of the two army variants of 5.56 caliber will be more appropriate to use for shooting from this weapon on a hunt.
How to choose the best weapons for Caliber 223 Remington
A civilian weapon that uses 5.56 caliber is designated 223 Rem. This marking is usually applied to the store’s nest. Such weapons can be fired with any modification of 5.56X45 caliber cartridges. But the optimal results in shooting, as well as the safe operation of civilian weapons, require compliance with the technical characteristics of the weapon and the type of ammunition. If various types of military cartridges for a certain weapon, armor-piercing, tracing, etc. are unified by the mass and size of the bullet, then ammunition for civilian weapons can differ significantly in the mass of bullets used. But the heavier the bullet, the shorter the twist should be for it. When choosing weapons for hunting under 5.56 caliber, there is the problem of choosing a barrel with an optimal twist, which would ensure the effective use of the widest range of bullets of various masses.
Two options with optimal twist
Trying to satisfy various customer requests, arms manufacturers offer one model with several twist options, for example, a remington 700 223 caliber. The reviews of the owners of this weapon indicate that the Tactical model is more suitable for heavy bullets of 75-77 grains, due to the shorter twist of 229 mm. (9 inches), and the Varmint model is more suitable for light bullets of 50-60 grains, since its twist is longer - 12 inches. The heaviest bullets of 80-90 grains require an even shorter twist of 6.5-7 inches. For 223 Rem cartridges, the length of the barrel plays a large role in choosing a weapon. The shorter the trunk, the shorter the twist should be. Ballistic capabilities of 223 caliber sharply fall with a barrel length of less than 40 cm.
Imprint of the military past - 223 Rem
In the United States and Europe, this cartridge is used primarily for sports competitions, as well as for shooting small rodents for recreational purposes. Europeans have a negative attitude to the use of this cartridge for hunting a larger animal due to the expansive impact of its bullet. In our country, these cartridges are widely used for hunting, including fox, wolf and wild boar. The 223 Rem caliber has one salient feature. These cartridges were designed for war in order to incapacitate the enemy. On the battlefield, the use of small arms is not aimed at killing, but at abandoning wounded animals incapable of resistance. On the hunt, there is another purpose - to cause the animal a quick death without crippling his body. Many hunters talk about the terrible damage inflicted by 223 caliber. Reviews indicate that when a crow enters a crow from a distance of 100 m, the bird literally explodes and nothing remains of it except feathers. 223-caliber bullets are unstabilized, when they hit the body of an animal, they randomly tumbling around, turning the body of the animal into continuous mincemeat.
Benefits of 223 Rem
This cartridge has a number of significant advantages. He is very accurate. At a distance of up to 200 m along the flat path, the bullet reduction is only 12-14 cm, and the bullet energy is 650 joules, which is 50% higher than the muzzle energy of the Makarov pistol. Experts say about the excellent comparative ballistics, which has 223 caliber. The reviews indicate that it is almost the same in comparison with the caliber 30-06 and 308. But the recoil of the 223 caliber is five times weaker, which increases the likelihood of hitting the second and subsequent shots. Ammo 223 Rem is cheaper than the caliber 308 Win almost half. They are produced by several domestic enterprises, including the city of Tula and the city of Barnaul. Imported options in our market are mainly of Czech origin.
