5.56mm NATO

The 223 Remington or 5.56mm NATO was of course the result of a military development project. One month after its adoption in February or 1964 as the 5.56 Ball Cartridge M193, Remington released the 5.56mm NATO commercially. Just like every other military cartridges, the 5.56mm NATO rose to its success and popularity quickly.

Based on the 222 Remington the 5.56mm NATO cartridge is only 0.60 inches longer than the parent cartridge. Being that the 222 Remington is the parent is also the reason that the 5.56mm NATO is known as the 223 Remington. However the 5.56mm NATO has a longer body the powder capacity is greater than that of the 222 Remington. The only other change was that the neck was shortened to allow for the extra body length, this put the 5.56mm NATO at its current, longer than parent, size of 1.76 inches. The ready supply of cases for the cartridge and excellent selection of bullets to load with the 5.56mm NATO made it a very popular choice. So popular in fact that many police departments use the 5.56mm NATO today. That and I am almost positive that the cost of the round has something to do with it, the smaller bullets makes for a cheaper bullet, and with high supplies of cases the costs are lower as well. With police budget every dime counts and when your looking at funding a very expensive but effective round, why no chose the cheapest but effective round, in comparison,while your at it.

The original rifles though had a 1 in 14 inch twist, but for stability issues was cut down to 1 in 12 twists, this allowed the bullet to stabilize for longer shots with the 55 grain service bullet. But when the military adopted a heavier bullet of 62 grains the military rifles were fitted with 1 in 7 inch twists to handle the heavier bullet. So like all good things several manufacturers followed the path and changed their rifles over to the faster twist. This is where it all became troublesome.

For reloaders this posses a problem, the 1 in 7 twists is perfect for the military ammunition, but most commercial 22 ammunition is lighter weight than that of the military. When you fire a commercial 22 at 3200 feet per second in a 1 in 7 twist rifle the 22 bullet exits the muzzle at an astounding 300,000 rotations per minute. At this rate of revolution the lead experiences such a great outward force that it literally rips the bullet apart after leaving the barrel. If a reloader has one of the faster twisting rifles then loading the cartridge down to 2800 feet per second is the only chance that the reloader has of keeping his bullet intact.

The 5.56mm NATO further proves that the 22 caliber ammunition is still the world's best "small caliber" and is also still the world's most underrated caliber ever. With a lot of popularity going to the larger calibers these days the 22 caliber is usually forgotten the mix, but many have still held onto the history. With the 5.56mm NATO being classified mainly as the 5.56mm and NATO accepted, many people do not realize that it is a 22 caliber cartridge that our military is using. Gone are the days of the famous Colt 45 and the Thompson, the smaller 9mm and 22 or 5.56mm as some like to call it have taken the top seat as weapons of modern war.