5.56 or .223? What do you shoot from your AR

[g23]

I was just wondering what round everyone shoots. I know the differences with them but just wondered why I don't hear about more people shooting 5.56. It seems that most people get a AR with a 5.56 chamber but always shoot .223.  I know its cheaper  but is that the only reason?

[Lumspond]

I think also the lower pressure is easier on the rifle. Like shooting .38's in a .357. I mostly target shoot and use .223 in my Mini 14.

[g23]

That makes sense.. I never thought of it that way.   Thanks for your input.

[rusirius]

I don't own an AR-15, rather an RA XCR.  I don't worry about pressure since it has an adjustable gas block (Kalashnikov based design) and I do usually send PPU 5.56 down range.  I get more accuracy out of it (albeit the difference is very small).  Otherwise I don't really see why one should have preference one way or the other (unless of course they were chambered .223!)

[Condition 1]

I don't own an AR-15, rather an RA XCR.  I don't worry about pressure since it has an adjustable gas block (Kalashnikov based design) and I do usually send PPU 5.56 down range.  I get more accuracy out of it (albeit the difference is very small).  Otherwise I don't really see why one should have preference one way or the other (unless of course they were chambered .223!)

Congrats on the RA XCR!

How do you like it?

[oldgraygeek]

I know less about AR's than most people, but I have read that there are significant dimensional differences between .223 and 5.56 rounds, and that 5.56 ammo can cause problems in chambers designed for .223:

Other military calibers are loaded to similar pressures as their commercial counterparts, but critical differences in case dimensions can prove problematic. Take the well known 5.56mm NATO round. This is commonly called a .223 round, but there are critical dimensional differences between the .223 and 5.56mm rounds that can be catastrophic in certain circumstances. Dimensional differences in the two rounds as well as the resulting high pressures in the wrong chamber make the 5.56mm cartridge potentially dangerous to shoot in a rifle chambered in .223. The .223 round on the other hand may be safely fired in any rifle chambered for 5.56mm NATO.

[TwistedKarma]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.223_Remington

[rusirius]

I don't own an AR-15, rather an RA XCR.  I don't worry about pressure since it has an adjustable gas block (Kalashnikov based design) and I do usually send PPU 5.56 down range.  I get more accuracy out of it (albeit the difference is very small).  Otherwise I don't really see why one should have preference one way or the other (unless of course they were chambered .223!)

Congrats on the RA XCR!

How do you like it?

Goods and bads I guess to be completely honest...  I've had it about 4 years now so I've put my share of rounds through it...  I guess it's probably best to do it this way... (All my opinion of course)

Pros
-----
Gas piston design keeps it cleaner and less maintenance needed.  Even though I find myself doing it more often just because, with a good dry lube for parts (like Sentury Solutions) it really only needs to be cleaned every 1000 rounds or so.  Even then it's more about checking screws for loosening, parts for wear or damage, etc and less about actually cleaning.  Not to mention with the gas being adjustable you can adjust it to whatever ammo you want to shoot.  Set it to 4 and it'll eat Wolf and throw steel 15ft away all day long.  Throw some hot XM193 in there and you can dial it down to 1, throw brass 12ft away and have barely any kick at all.  Get your NFA and throw a suppressor on it and dial it down to S and it'll cycle reliably with no issues at all with subsonic ammo.  For that matter, turn the gas off completely and you can hand cycle it.

It's built like a BRICK SHITHOUSE.  You won't find any stamped metal on this thing...

It's EXTREMELY fast to field strip... Literally about 5 seconds to have the upper and lower separated, gas piston removed, carrier group removed, bolt removed.  Add another 15-20 seconds if you want the complete trigger group disassembled.  Give me a 1/4" allen wrench and another 10 seconds and I can have the barrel removed and gas block removed.  Likewise there are NO special tools needed to work on any part of it.  A couple allen wrenches and a 5/16" (it think that's the size, can't remember off the top of my head) open wrench is all you need.

The ergonomics are FANTASTIC!  The charging handle is on the left, the BCG release is just below the trigger guard and can be reached from trigger position without moving your hand.  The mag release it just forward of the trigger and can also be reached without moving your hand on the grip.  Safety flips 45 degrees instead of the typical 90. etc...

Price...  Yeah, most would consider price a CON of the XCR, but I very much disagree.  The bare rifle is $1500.  Throw in a folding stock, and you've got $1750.  Throw in some MI BUIS and you're at $1900.  Now sure I can go buy a Stag AR-15 for what?  $850ish?  So at first the XCR seems expensive, but here's the reality of the situation.  Look at what you've got for that price... A gas piston instead of DI, quad rail, and monolithic top rail at that, basically a mil-spec design, etc...  Now forget about that Stag... But something milspec with those features... Gas piston, quad rail, etc... Buy a Bravo Company AR-15 and see where you are price wise...  Compared to those the XCR can be had very cheap...

Cons
-----
It hasn't been around but a few years, hasn't been beat to hell by the military for years and years like the AR-15/M-16 platform.  Instead it a completely new design that's evolving all the time.  This means there are issues that come up.  Many consider this a con, and in some respects it is.  On the other hand RA is exceptional about finding the issues and fixing the design.  People complained about the original gas block, a new one was designed.  People complained about the trigger, a new one was made.  People wanted other calibers, new ones were made, etc...  

Customer Service.  When I first bought mine CS was exceptional.  Mainly due to an employee named Terra.  She no longer works there however, and while I haven't experienced it myself, apparently CS went WAY down hill after that.  Supposedly it has been taken care of and the one issue I've had since then I actually worked directly with Alex (he designed the XCR) to resolve.  Now I was extremely courteous and generally consider myself a pleasant person to work with.  On the other hand, I've seen direct communications from Alex which basically says, "If you have an attitude about anything, I'm going to put you at the BOTTOM of the list and basically tell you to F off."  Many people take offense to that kind of attitude, but hey, it's his company and he can run it however he wants..  I personally haven't encountered any issues, but that doesn't mean it won't happen sometime.

Weight... It's built like a brick shithouse... But it is heavy. (Still lighter than the ACR  ) By the time you load it with a few accessories it's a haus!

--------
Still overall I gotta say... I love mine... I certainly wouldn't even think about selling it... I also like the fact that it's something a little different.

Here's an older pic of mine.  I've since added a FTS magnifier behind the eotech, a grip pod GPS02 vertical grip/bipod combo, and a TacStrap sling...

[rusirius]

I know less about AR's than most people, but I have read that there are significant dimensional differences between .223 and 5.56 rounds, and that 5.56 ammo can cause problems in chambers designed for .223:

Other military calibers are loaded to similar pressures as their commercial counterparts, but critical differences in case dimensions can prove problematic. Take the well known 5.56mm NATO round. This is commonly called a .223 round, but there are critical dimensional differences between the .223 and 5.56mm rounds that can be catastrophic in certain circumstances. Dimensional differences in the two rounds as well as the resulting high pressures in the wrong chamber make the 5.56mm cartridge potentially dangerous to shoot in a rifle chambered in .223. The .223 round on the other hand may be safely fired in any rifle chambered for 5.56mm NATO.

Correct.  Not significant differences, but enough.  As such a rifle chambered for 5.56 can shoot either, but a .223 should never be used to shoot XM193 and especially not M855!

[Condition 1]

I shot xm193 today, awesome, a little more spicy than .223s. I will keep these around from now on, really liked them.

[g23]

I have been shooting more 5.56 as of late and I think I like it more.  Where is the best place to buy it in bulk? I have just been buying at local shops in 20 rnd boxes. I would like to pick it up 1000rnds at a time assuming the price is right.

[rusirius]

I have been shooting more 5.56 as of late and I think I like it more.  Where is the best place to buy it in bulk? I have just been buying at local shops in 20 rnd boxes. I would like to pick it up 1000rnds at a time assuming the price is right.

Last 1000rnds of xm193 i picked up was from ammunitiontogo.com.  You can get 900rnds of Federal XM193J on there right now for $319.95.  Or 1000 rnds of PMC XM193 for $350.

You pretty much have to shop around though... It seems every time I order I end up ordering from somewhere different since they tend to have fluxing prices.

[g23]

I have been shooting more 5.56 as of late and I think I like it more.  Where is the best place to buy it in bulk? I have just been buying at local shops in 20 rnd boxes. I would like to pick it up 1000rnds at a time assuming the price is right.

Last 1000rnds of xm193 i picked up was from ammunitiontogo.com.  You can get 900rnds of Federal XM193J on there right now for $319.95.  Or 1000 rnds of PMC XM193 for $350.

You pretty much have to shop around though... It seems every time I order I end up ordering from somewhere different since they tend to have fluxing prices.

I have ordered from ammunitiontogo.com before and they were good transactions.. Im always a little hesitant to order online from companies that I dont know much about..  I havent shot any of the federal xm193 yet but after reading the last few posts I am going to order some up..

[Lumspond]

Ammoseek.com is a good site. Choose your ammo and grain, and it lists price per round from many websites.

[quickdraw]

Ammoseek.com is a good site. Choose your ammo and grain, and it lists price per round from many websites.

+1 on the Ammoseek

I shoot both and frequently experiment with different wieghts. For plinking rounds, I pick up the least expensive in bulk available by a quality manufacturer.