Apples and Oranges? 223 Rem vs 5.56×45 American Eagle
Russ Chastain 07.13.20
Here’s an odd one. Paul Harrell is taking a look at two varieties of Federal American Eagle ammunition: 223 Rem (AE223J) and 5.56×45 NATO (XM193). Both have 55-grain mull metal jacket boattail (FMJ) bullets, both claim to be “military grade,” and they have similar boxes. So what’s the difference between those two loadings?
No, not the difference between 223 and 5.56 NATO cartridges. That’s something else entirely.
The first difference I noticed when comparing the two loads on Federal’s website is the different muzzle velocity specs: 3165 FPS for the 5.56 and 3240 for the 223.
For folks who claim 5.56 is always hotter, this may come as a shocker. And it leaves one to wonder, “Why?” We don’t really get an answer.
Paul reads the following note from the 223 box: “Mil-spec primer. For best performance use in AR-style firearms.” The 5.56 box says, “Only fire 5.56x45mm ammunition in chambers designed for 5.56x45mm ammunition.”
When it comes to physical differences between these two loadings, there definitely are some. The 5.56’s OAL (overall length) is a bit longer than the 223 and shows discoloration from having been annealed towards the neck/shoulder area, while the 223 is bright shiny brass color throughout.
He can’t describe the other difference other than to say the recess near the rim on the case head looks slightly different.
So there are definite differences, but how will that affect performance? He begins testing that with a chronograph.
5.56 produced these velocities:
- 3196
- 3186
- 3192
- 3230
- 3166
- 3158
- 3179
- 3161
That’s an average of 3183.5, which is reasonably close to the advertised 3165 FPS
223 velocities:
- 3064 (later tossed out)
- 3064
- 3103
- 3041
- 3066
- 3085
- 3056
- 3087
- 3045
- 3059
This produced an average of 3067 FPS, far below the advertised 3240.
(Paul provided no explanation of why he fired 8 rounds of 5.56 and 10 rounds of 223.)
It’s surprising that the 223 is slower than the 5.56, given the factory’s advertised velocities.
Paul goes on to check accuracy, which is far more subjective than velocity. But it serves to compare accuracy in a rifle chambered for 5.56×45; some claim that 223 ammo won’t be accurate when fired from a rifle chambered for 5.56×45 due to chamber size variations.
He demonstrates that to be hogwash.
He weighed some cases to determine whether Federal uses thicker cases for 5.56 and 223, and determined they weigh the same. (Apparently he’s never heard of comparing case capacity by weighing how much water each can hold… maybe next time.)
Hope you enjoy the video.
