Black Hills Remanufactured .223

**Tiadaghton44** · May 13th, 2009, 12:45 PM

Anybody else notice this stuff is loaded in both 223 remington and military 5.56 brass? This is the blue box stuff clearly marked .223 remington. I know that the military brass has less space in it due to wall thickness. I was using this ammo to sight in my new savage in 223 and paid no attention to what type I was using at the time. Groups seemed to spread vertically more than any direction. My guess is that they are most likely using the same charge of powder whether it be civilian or military brass. I shouldn't have to worry about this damaging my gun right? I only used it for a bit to get me on paper.

**Himni** · May 13th, 2009, 01:04 PM

I think most if not all ARs that are mark .223 are also marked 5.56. My guess is that you are ok shooting either.

**Driver400** · May 13th, 2009, 06:18 PM

Please check the markings on the barrel of your firearm. If it is marked 5.56 you can feel comfortable shooting 5.56 or .223. If it is marked .223 you should be cautious and not shoot 5.56. This ammo does have a higher pressure. Why take a chance of damaging your firearm and risk injury to yourself or others around you? IMHO it is not worth the potential risk.

**RaisedByWolves** · May 13th, 2009, 08:04 PM

Your Savage is a Bolt gun?

In a bolt gun you want to stick with .223. Barrel markings can be misleading.

**SteveWag** · May 14th, 2009, 05:21 PM

No problem at all. Black Hills, or for that matter, Winchester, Federal, etc, don’t refer to a (re-)loading manual when they load a lot of ammo. And they don’t use canister powder. They work up a load that produces the specified velocity and is within pressure limits for the specified caliber. The wall thickness does not matter nor does the NATO stamp.

Steve Wagner

**Tiadaghton44** · May 15th, 2009, 07:03 PM

The savage is a bolt gun. When I shoot 5.56 m193 ect in my AR or mini-14, there is a noticable difference when compared to the 223 remington S&B I often shoot. The black hills seemed quite consistant as I shot. It just bothers me that they would use 5.56 brass (looks mostly like Lake City) and mark the box .223 remington. The ultramax stuff I have is the same way. My barrel is clearly marked 223 remington on the savage. I'll really have to be careful to sort my brass when loading though. I read some varget loads that fit in the 223 case won't fit in a 5.56 case.

**rwilson452** · May 15th, 2009, 08:07 PM

After you put the "5.56" case into your .223 sizing die, it is a .223 case. the big difference between the two is pressure. 5.56 can be but not always is loaded to a higher level of pressure. The 5.56 case might be a little thicker thus not have as much volume. As long as you work your load up starting at the start value and don't exceed max load you should be just fine. Anytime you change components you should back off and work your way back up.

Originally Posted by Tiadaghton44

The savage is a bolt gun. When I shoot 5.56 m193 ect in my AR or mini-14, there is a noticable difference when compared to the 223 remington S&B I often shoot. The black hills seemed quite consistant as I shot. It just bothers me that they would use 5.56 brass (looks mostly like Lake City) and mark the box .223 remington. The ultramax stuff I have is the same way. My barrel is clearly marked 223 remington on the savage. I'll really have to be careful to sort my brass when loading though. I read some varget loads that fit in the 223 case won't fit in a 5.56 case.