Savage 110 FP Ammo 223 or 5.56 mm ?

[bucnball]

A friend has a Savage 110 /FP bull barrel rifle that doesn't have iron sights. On the barrel it says 223 Remington . Being it's a bolt action rifle , what will shooting 5.56 mm military ammo do to it ? Any harm come from it ? Have heard that mil spec ammo is too stressful for a bolt action receiver/barrel combination. Also , found some foreign made (Russian) ammo that says it is 223 Remington with a bi-metal bullet .The cartridge case is zinc plated . Would it be safe to use in the rifle or not ? Maybe it would best to use US made 223 R ammo. Any info is appreciated. Thanks

[Fourtyfive]

It's my understanding that the outer dimensions are the same case wise but 5.56 is usually loaded to higher pressures with a thicker case and NOT RECOMMENDED in .223 chambers. I believe the 5.56 chamber is slightly larger than a .223 for case expansion. It is ok to shoot .223 in a 5.56. Then there is also the .223 Wylde chamber which is ok for 5.56.

Edited January 28, 2017 by Fourtyfive

[bucnball]

Thanks for the enlightenment ! Seems to be like putting a 38 Special round in a revolver marked (Colt) 38 Long. It'll fit and function but adversely . Am I right ?

[Fourtyfive]

You can shoot .38 Special in a .357 Mag revolver. Don't know about the .38 long stuff.

[gregintenn]

On 1/28/2017 at 4:47 PM, bucnball said:

A friend has a Savage 110 /FP bull barrel rifle that doesn't have iron sights. On the barrel it says 223 Remington . Being it's a bolt action rifle , what will shooting 5.56 mm military ammo do to it ? Any harm come from it ? Have heard that mil spec ammo is too stressful for a bolt action receiver/barrel combination. Also , found some foreign made (Russian) ammo that says it is 223 Remington with a bi-metal bullet .The cartridge case is zinc plated . Would it be safe to use in the rifle or not ? Maybe it would best to use US made 223 R ammo. Any info is appreciated. Thanks

It'll go "bang". That is all. Many will steer you away from shooting 556 ammo in a rifle marked 223, and I will not dispute that, but my experience has been that it works just fine.

Having said that, I do not own pressure testing equipment to verify pressure levels, and therein lies the potential problem.

Were i wanting to shoot 556 in it regularly, I'd probably take it to a gunsmith and have it rechambered to 556 or 223 Wilde. Even though the brass is the same, the leade in the chamber is different between the two rounds.

Edited January 30, 2017 by gregintenn

[TnShooter83]

The only time I ever had issues shooting 5.56 in a .223 chamber was in Ruger MK77. It was marked 223. I had a couple 5.56 that were were hard to eject by pulling the bolt back. That same day I attempted to fire steel case ammo as well. I literally had to hammer the bolt handle back to eject the cases. 

I'm not sure what was causing my issues. But none of the 223 ammo had this issue. Maybe it was a dirty chamber? Maybe it was the ammo? I never tried it again. 

That being said. I have shot 5.56 in a  Savage Axis with no issues. Should you? I don't know. But I have and did.....

Since you say his is a varmint heavy barrel. I'd stay a way from it. As it may have a little tighter chamber. Beating the bolt open is not something I like to do.

[TN Song Dog]

Harm may or may not come from it, but it's generally not advised. Bi metal bullets may also cause more barrel wear.

.223 brass cased with lead bullet ammo is cheap enough to not really warrant attempting anything 5.56 in a .223 chamber. PMC Brass is a good option for 55gr fmj bulk plinking ammo, and there are many others. There are several good options in Soft Point for affordable varmint and predator ammo, too. If target shooting on the cheap, look at the Privi 69gr (if 9 twist or faster). 69gr bthp puts a hurting on coyotes too.

[Dave Keenom]

I would and have shot it. The 110 is a very strong action.

If the gun is an early model with factory twist barrel do not be surprised if it does not shoot 69gr and up very well.

I bought one and had good luck sighting it in with cheap 55gr but 69gr match ammo was tumbling when it hit the target at only 100yrds.

It had a 1/12 twist from the factory.