2/25/2018 American Hunter | An Ode to the .

223 Remington

An Ode to the .223 Remington

by Philip Massaro - Monday, May 1, 2017

JOIN | RENEW | DONATE

MENU

The U.S. Military’s long line of chosen cartridges for shoulder- red weapons has been
getting smaller since the development of the metallic cartridge. The .50-70 led to the .45-70;
the .30-40 Krag was unhorsed by the .30-’03, then the .30-’06 Spring eld, which was in turn

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/5/1/an-ode-to-the-223-remington/ 1/6
2/25/2018 American Hunter | An Ode to the .223 Remington

replaced by the .308 Win./7.62mm NATO in the early 1950s. Though the .308 greatly
reduced the cartridge size, the Army envisioned a more radical leap to a smaller bore
diameter and even smaller case.

The parameters for development were set: the Army wanted a .22-caliber projectile that
would stay supersonic out to 500 yards, and capable of penetrating a U.S. Army steel
helmet on at least one side at that distance. The .222 Rem. didn’t quite make the cut, as the
case capacity didn’t generate enough muzzle velocity and goes transonic before 500 yards,
but made a good starting point for cartridge development. Spring eld Armory’s Earle
Harvey lengthened the triple-deuce case and shortened the neck, developing what would
be released as the .222 Rem. Mag., but changing priorities at Spring eld forced Harvey to
abandon the project.

Robert Hutton—then Technical Editor for Guns & Ammo magazine—worked with Gene
Stoner to develop a cartridge that would deliver the 3300 fps of muzzle velocity needed to
keep the 55-grain bullet supersonic out to 500, and the resulting cartridge is what we
know as the .223 Rem., or the 5.56mm NATO. The cartridge was introduced to soldiers
during the Vietnam War, and has been our mainstay since that time.

As a hunting round, the .223 Rem. makes a lot of sense. I’m sure you’re aware that I am the
guy who included the .223 in a list of overrated cartridges, but if you read the piece, I
wasn’t totally slamming the design. It is faster than the .222, yet not as fast as the .22-250
Rem., and that’s not a bad place to be at all. Some folks swear it’s a miracle writ in brass;
while I don’t quite go that far, I do know it is plenty fast enough and plenty accurate
enough to get the job done, especially on varmints and predators. Though I am a staunch
.22-250 fan—there’s just something about that cartridge that I downright love—a .223 Rem.
has some features that actually outshine the .22-250; speci cally the twist rate. I’m aware
that the developers of the .22 center res probably never envisioned these cartridges being
used for deer and similar sized game, and therefore gave the .22-250 a twist rate—
predominately 1:12” or 1:14”—just fast enough to stabilize the 55-grain bullets. But the .223
often uses a 1:8” or 1:10” twist rate, and if so equipped can and will take full advantage of
the heavier bullets available today. Certainly there were and are ri es produced with a
slower 1:12” twist, but some modern guns have the faster twist for heavier bullets. These
heavy-for-caliber bullets—like the 62-grain Federal Trophy Bonded Tipped, 70-grain
Barnes TSX, the 75-grain Swift Scirocco and the 70-grain Hornady GMX—especially if of

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/5/1/an-ode-to-the-223-remington/ 2/6
2/25/2018 American Hunter | An Ode to the .223 Remington

premium construction, can handle deer-sized game e ectively. It requires precise shot
placement (isn’t that always a requirement?) but will de nitely make meat. Those heavy
bullets, in spite of a lower muzzle velocity, are a blessing on truly windy days, as the higher
Ballistic Coe cient helps to cut down the e ect of wind de ection. If you’ve ever hunted
prairie dogs on a good windy day, you know how much a bullet can be blown o course.
Just be sure and check the twist rate of your ri e or any ri e you intend to purchase.

The .223 Rem. is also an e cient cartridge in comparison to some of the bigger cased .22
center res. It will run on less than 30-grains of powder with the common 55-grain bullets,
and the sheer volume of available brass makes it the reloader’s friend. Its 25-degree
shoulder o ers good headspacing, and in a properly tuned bolt-action ri e it is capable of
hair-splitting accuracy. My father has a bull-barreled Savage ri e that is a true tack driver
when using the 52-grain Sierra boat tail MatchKing, giving 1/3 MOA accuracy out to 300
yards—the farthest we’ve tested it. This makes for a great prairie dog gun, as well as being
perfect for head shots on furbearers. I’ve also seen ARs that will print equally impressive
groups.

If you enjoy high volume shooting on a budget, the .223 Rem. should scream out to you.
There are oodles of surplus military ammunition, as well as a ordable bulk ammunition
available to the budget-minded shooter. There are match loads, for the target crowd; there

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/5/1/an-ode-to-the-223-remington/ 3/6
2/25/2018 American Hunter | An Ode to the .223 Remington

are highly frangible bullets for the varmint/predator hunters, as well as those premium
projectiles for those who choose to pursue larger game. The .223 works just ne in the bolt
guns, and obviously in the AR platform, but also equally well in the Ruger Mini-14 and
other autoloaders.

Being a military cartridge almost guarantees wide acceptance among the hunting and
shooting world; with the exception of the .30-40 Krag—becoming a rarity these days—
almost all of our military metallic cartridges are still thriving. The 5.56 NATO is
dimensionally identical to the .223—though the leade is di erent in the military version—
and made its debut during the Vietnam War. Though it has caught on since then, many of
my older veteran friends who served in Southeast Asia still refer to the AR-15 as the
‘Mattel Toy’, and some go so far as to refuse to shoot the ‘damned little round.’ The 5.56mm
ammunition is loaded to a higher pressure than the .223 Remington sporting ammunition;
it is safe to re .223 ammunition is a 5.56 chamber, but the reverse is not safe.

The .223 Rem. has earned its place in the hunting and shooting world; it’s a fun round to
shoot, having very little recoil, and is a great teaching tool to break new shooters into the
center re ri e world. It is a perfect choice for any furbearer or varmint, and while it may
not be the optimal deer ri e, it will work. If you’ve got a .223 ri e, take some time to
experiment with the performance of the di erent bullet weights available; if you don’t
have a .223, it’s high time you added one to the collection.

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/5/1/an-ode-to-the-223-remington/ 4/6
2/25/2018 American Hunter | An Ode to the .223 Remington

Want to read more from Philip Massaro? Check out the stories below:

• Top 5 Coyote Cartridges

• The Ultimate Long-Range Hunting Cartridge
• The Greatest Whitetail Cartridge Ever Designed
• An Ode to the Browning BAR
• Top 5 Bear Bullets
• Do You Really Need a Magnum Cartridge?
• Why the Ruger No. 1 is Not No. 2
• Top 10 Mythical Game Species
• Top 5 Monometal Soft-Point Bullets
• Top 5 Subsonic .22 Long Ri e Loads
• The Most American Ri e Cartridge
• Tips for the Traveling Hunter
• How to Choose a Gun Safe
• Best Gun Cases for the Traveling Hunter
• An Ode to the .30-06 Spring eld
• Top 5 Boutique Bullet Companies
• Top 5 .22 Long Ri e Loads
• 5 Reasons Round-Nose Bullets Are Still Cool
• Top 5 Dangerous Game Loads
https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/5/1/an-ode-to-the-223-remington/ 5/6
2/25/2018 American Hunter | An Ode to the .223 Remington

• Top 5 Turkey Loads

• 5 Ri e Cartridges That Need to Make a Comeback
• Top 5 Safari Calibers
• 5 New Year's Resolutions for Hunters
• What Your Favorite Ri e Cartridge Says About You
• America's Most Wanted Cartridges
• America's Strangest Game Laws
• What Your Favorite Ri e Cartridge Says About You, Part II
• Top 5 Overrated Ri e Cartridges
• Top 5 Underrated Ri e Cartridges
• 5 Cartridges You Might Not Know About
• Top 5 Wildcat Cartridges
• An Ode to the Ruger Mini-14
• Top 5 Hog Loads
• Top 5 Deer Bullets
• Why .30-30 Winchester Will Never Die

IN THIS ARTICLE
.223 REM. .223 REMINGTON .223 RIFLE CARTRIDGES ODE TO THE .223 REMINGTON

HUNTING AMMO HISTORY AMMO HISTORY CARTRIDGE HISTORY PHILIP MASSARO

Privacy Policy • Contact Us • Warnings • FAQs • © 2018 National Ri e Association of America

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2017/5/1/an-ode-to-the-223-remington/ 6/6