which mag? 5.56 or 223

[flynlead]

My AR says it will shoot both the 5.56 or 223 and have seen both stamped on mags. which one do I want?

[Jon_R]

If your barrel says it will shoot both then either will work. Just get whatever you can get a hold of at a reasonable price.

The general rule of thumb is you can shoot .223 or 5.56 in a rifle chambered for 5.56. If you rifle is chambered for .223 then you should not shoot 5.56. 5.56 can be loaded hotter creating more pressure.

I would prefer to see what the barrel says vs. what the receiver says since the barrel could have been swapped.

[Flinter]

Just buy Pmags in the color of your choice and be done with the worry. If a mag is marked .223, it is obviously marketed towards the civilian market and possibly does not hold to mil-spec.

[Jon_R]

Maybe I misunderstood the question. The mags make no difference .223 or 5.56. The chamber can make a difference.

[Jeff82]

Either (mags) will work fine.

[flynlead]

If your barrel says it will shoot both then either will work. Just get whatever you can get a hold of at a reasonable price.

The general rule of thumb is you can shoot .223 or 5.56 in a rifle chambered for 5.56. If you rifle is chambered for .223 then you should not shoot 5.56. 5.56 can be loaded hotter creating more pressure.

I would prefer to see what the barrel says vs. what the receiver says since the barrel could have been swapped.

It is a bushmaster with the heavy duty barrell. Barrell shows 5.56 nato and the receiver shows 5.56 and 223
I thought there was a slight difference is length between the two?

[Jeff82]

It is a bushmaster with the heavy duty barrell. Barrell shows 5.56 nato and the receiver shows 5.56 and 223
I thought there was a slight difference is length between the two?

You're GTG for both.

http://www.thegunzone.com/556v223.html

[AK_Stick]

It is a bushmaster with the heavy duty barrell. Barrell shows 5.56 nato and the receiver shows 5.56 and 223
I thought there was a slight difference is length between the two?


Externally both cases are the same, internally the 5.56 is different, and as a result produces more pressure.

[kabob983]

Maybe I misunderstood the question. The mags make no difference .223 or 5.56. The chamber can make a difference.

+1, it doesn't matter what the mags say, it will work with any STANAG-compliant magazine. Mags are mags (although they're not all created equally).

[flynlead]

Ok, thanks guys. I just wanted to make sure before I bought more mags. The one I have now say 5.56 but I have 223 in it right now.

[bdh_1]

Externally both cases are the same, internally the 5.56 is different, and as a result produces more pressure.

A good amount of data suggests that this is not the case with 5.56 NATO - .223 Rem.

http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=37783