The 223 Remington is one of the top varmint and predator rounds in the United States. With so many variations of rifle action types, surplus ammo, range brass, bulk bullets it's fair to say the .223 Remington will remain at the top of the sales charts for a very long time.

 The one point I would like to stress here, is, the fact military 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge ball ammo is loaded to different pressure levels to work in military rifles with different chamber and throat dimensions than the commercial .223 remington versions. Ball Ammo can cause higher pressures in commercial sporting rifles.

 The 223 Remington is a light recoiling cartridge, easy to reload and fun to shoot, just remember to use only commercial 223 Remington ammunition not 5.56 ball ammo, if using ball ammo make sure your firearm has been altered to military chamber specifications.

 The AR-15 and Mini-14 Autoloaders are the most common chambered rifle for the .223 Remington cartridge and again ammunition selection is critical for safe operation. If the firearm and the ammunition are not synchronized, there can be pressure signs on the cartridge case. This can be identified by the marring of the head of the cartridge case, cratered primers, flatened primers, primers back out, or ruptured cartridge cases.

Note: If any of these pressure signs are apparent, stop firing immediately.

 It can be a timing issue in the cycling rate. The .223 Remington cartridge case can still be swollen from the application of pressure during firing while the gun is simultaneously trying to extract the cartridge case before it can settle back to its original size, or more simply put, the gun is still in the process of firing while it’s trying to extract the cartridge case. Common cause for this is usually a combination of two things, short rifle barrel and slow burning cartridge powder.

223 Remington Specifications:

223 Remington Barrel Specifications:
Common Barrel Twist Rates: 1 in 7 Inches - To - 1 in 12 Inches.
Uncommon Barrel Twist Rate: 1 In 16 Inches.
Bore Groove Diameter: .224 Inch.
Freebore Diameter: .2245 Inch.
Freebore Length: .0250 Inch.
223 Remington Chamber Dimensions:
Chamber Base Diameter: .3760 Inch.
Chamber Shoulder Diameter: .3553 Inch.
Chamber Neck Diameter: .2550 Inch.
Chamber Body Length: 1.2340 Inch.
Chamber Neck Length: .2200 Inch.
Chamber Shoulder Angle: 23 Degrees.223 Remington Cartridge Specifications:
Bullet Diameter: .224 Inch.
Neck Diameter: .253 Inch.
Shoulder Diameter: .354 Inch.
Shoulder Angle: 23 Degrees.
Base Diameter: .376 Inch.
Rim Diameter: .378 Inch.
Case Body Length: 1.438 Inches.
Case Shoulder Length: .119 Inch.
Case Neck Length: .203 Inch.
Case Overall Length: 1.760 Inches.
Cartridge Overall Length: 2.260 Inches.
Maximum Cartridge Working Pressure: 55,000 Pounds Per Square Inch.

223 Remington Reloading:
223 Remington Reloading Specifications:
Bullet Diameter: .224 Inch.
Maximum Case Length: 1.760 Inches.
Trimmed Case Length: 1.750 Inches.
Primer Size: Small Rifle.
223 Remington Loading Data Hints:
The 223 Remington can achieve good accuracy and velocity when using commercial 223 remington cartridge cases coupled with IMR 3031 powder, if you are using military surplus brass be sure to check case capacity.
(55 Grain Bullets) - Varmint.
223 Remington Reloading Data:
Hodgdon Reloading Data Center.

223 Remington Reloading For Accuracy:
 Reloading for accuracy in the 223 Remington is not all that difficult. I have written a nice little guide for rifle cartridge reloading that will solve any issues you may have reloading your empty 223 brass into fully loaded accurate rifle cartridges.
 Some of the most important issues when reloading for the 223 Remington is case capacity as this is a variable in reloading not a constant. Just using brass from different manufacturers will show considerable variance in case capacity and when done wrong extreme jumps in chamber pressure will occur, so read well the part on case capacity and load density of powder.
AccuracyBrassPrimersPowderBulletsLoad TestingRun-Out

223 Remington Accuracy:
Maximizing 223 Remington Rifle Accuracy:
To Achieve maximum accuracy from your 223 Remington Autoloading or Bolt Action rifle there are several things you need to do.
 1. Properly mount your rifle scope.
 2. Properly break-in your rifle barrel.
 3. Properly sight-in your rifle.
 4. Use this free target designed for accurate sight-ins, follow the instructions.
Note: If you follow all of the directions in the above guides that I have written, you will achieve the maximum accuracy that your 223 Remington rifle pocesses.

223 Remington Ballistics And Hunting Applications:

.223 Remington Trajectory and Energy Charts:
Remingtons 55 Grain 223 Remington HPPT Factory Ammunition:
This is a down range bullet trajectory chart for the 223 Remington cartridge with the scope mounted 1.5 inches above the bore center line. Bullet diameter .224". Bullet weight 55 grains. Bullet ballistic coeffecient .209. Bullet muzzle velocity 3,240 feet per second. Bullet muzzle energy 1,282 foot pounds.
Range	50 yds.	100 yds.	200 yds.	300 yds.	400 yds.	500 yds.	Yards
Bullet Drop	+ .5"	+ 1.5"	0	- 7.9"	- 24.8"	- 55.0"	Inches
This is a down range bullet energy chart for the above 223 Remington cartridge and its effective energy range for the following game animals. Varmint and Predator Size Game: such as Bobcat, Cougar and Coyote.
Range	50 yds.	100 yds.	200 yds.	300 yds.	400 yds.	500 yds.	Yards
Bullet Energy	1,100	940	677	475	325	221	Ft. Lbs.
Varmint	+	+	+	+	-	-	-
The .223 Remington Is An Excellent Cartridge For Varmint Hunting!

223 Remington Ballistics For Varmint Size Game:
The 223 Remington cartridge chambering is an excellent choice for varmint hunting as it is a powerful varmint cartridge and one that I consider as a long range varmint cartridge, with the proper varmint cartridge such as Hornady's new V-Max Varmint loads in their Superformance ammunition line.

 Varmint hunters can now reap the benefits of Hornady Superformance propellant technology in their favorite varmint cartridge the 223 Remington. Accuracy, increased range, flatter trajectory, less wind drift and devastating terminal results are all realized with Superformance Varmint ammunition.

 Superformance Varmint ammunition from Hornady extends current varmint cartridge efficiency and performance. Optimal results are achieved in all firearms, and Superformance Varmint ammunition is safe to use in all action types, including semi-autos, the 53 grain V-Max bullet that has been optimized for peak performance from the 223 Remington chamber.

.223 Remington Trajectory and Energy Charts:
Hornadys 53 Grain 223 Remington V-Max Varmint Factory Ammunition:
This is a down range bullet trajectory chart for the 223 Remington cartridge with the scope mounted 1.5 inches above the bore center line. Bullet diameter .224". Bullet weight 53 grains. Bullet ballistic coeffecient .290. Bullet muzzle velocity 3,465 feet per second. Bullet muzzle energy 1,413 foot pounds.
Range	50 yds.	100 yds.	200 yds.	300 yds.	400 yds.	500 yds.	Yards
Bullet Drop	+ .4"	+ 1.5"	+ .8"	- 4.3"	- 15.2"	- 33.4"	Inches
This is a down range bullet energy chart for the above 223 Remington cartridge and its effective energy range for the following game animals. Varmint and Predator Size Game: such as Bobcat, Cougar and Coyote.
Range	50 yds.	100 yds.	200 yds.	300 yds.	400 yds.	500 yds.	Yards
Bullet Energy	1,268	1,136	907	718	561	432	Ft. Lbs.
Varmint	+	+	+	+	+	+	-
The .223 Remington Is An Excellent Cartridge For Varmint Hunting!

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	223 Remington Reloading Dies For Sale: 223 Remington Dies.  Sponsor - Cabela's.