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B

In article ,
says...
===

Earlier this year I was hit in the leg with a piece of shrapnel while
shooting at an indoor range in Ft Myers. It's not at all clear how or
why it happened but it took a little chunk from my shin and bled a
bit. The traps were over 20 yards away and seemed well constructed.

One of the indoor ranges I go to used to allow 5.56 on its high power lanes. Last time I was there, they told me I couldn't fire my AR with 5.56, only with .223. The owner said he had shrapnel come back and hit him in the leg from a 5.56 round, and it barely missed the femoral artery. That's a wakeup call.

The difference between a .223 and a 5.56 NATO is very small. The
physical characteristis of the case are slightly different and .223
follows the SAAMI standard where the 5.56 NATO does not. The 5.56 NATO
spec requires the neck of the cartridge to be annealed where the .223
doesn't. They are effectively the same cartridge.

You can shoot both 5.56 NATO and .223 out of the same chamber/barrel. I
have a AR-15 pistol that I had to shoot a couple of hundred rounds of
..223 thru before the chamber and bolt would accept a 5.56 NATO headspace
go gage.

Was someone shooting at the target holder from about 10 yards away?
Could happen with any caliber.

Bill[_12_]

B wrote:
In article ,
says...
===

Earlier this year I was hit in the leg with a piece of shrapnel while
shooting at an indoor range in Ft Myers. It's not at all clear how or
why it happened but it took a little chunk from my shin and bled a
bit. The traps were over 20 yards away and seemed well constructed.

One of the indoor ranges I go to used to allow 5.56 on its high power
lanes. Last time I was there, they told me I couldn't fire my AR with
5.56, only with .223. The owner said he had shrapnel come back and hit
him in the leg from a 5.56 round, and it barely missed the femoral
artery. That's a wakeup call.

The difference between a .223 and a 5.56 NATO is very small. The
physical characteristis of the case are slightly different and .223
follows the SAAMI standard where the 5.56 NATO does not. The 5.56 NATO
spec requires the neck of the cartridge to be annealed where the .223
doesn't. They are effectively the same cartridge.

You can shoot both 5.56 NATO and .223 out of the same chamber/barrel. I
have a AR-15 pistol that I had to shoot a couple of hundred rounds of
.223 thru before the chamber and bolt would accept a 5.56 NATO headspace
go gage.

Was someone shooting at the target holder from about 10 yards away?
Could happen with any caliber.

The difference is actually pretty big. The 5.56 nato runs more powder, as
the rifle throat is 1/8â€ longer allowing the extra powder and maxing
pressure at about 58,000 psi. The 223 is designed for 55,000 psi.
Shooting 223 in a 5.56 rifle will give less velocity as the pressure does
not build as much, because of the throat length. Shooting a 5.56 NATO in a
223 gives excess pressure as the chamber is that 1/8â€ smaller and you can
blow out the primer, etc. so, buy a 5.56 chamber rifle and target
shooting, you can shoot anything.

Its Me

On Friday, July 31, 2020 at 2:48:24 PM UTC-4, Bill wrote:
B wrote:
In article ,
says...
===

Earlier this year I was hit in the leg with a piece of shrapnel while
shooting at an indoor range in Ft Myers. It's not at all clear how or
why it happened but it took a little chunk from my shin and bled a
bit. The traps were over 20 yards away and seemed well constructed.

One of the indoor ranges I go to used to allow 5.56 on its high power
lanes. Last time I was there, they told me I couldn't fire my AR with
5.56, only with .223. The owner said he had shrapnel come back and hit
him in the leg from a 5.56 round, and it barely missed the femoral
artery. That's a wakeup call.

The difference between a .223 and a 5.56 NATO is very small. The
physical characteristis of the case are slightly different and .223
follows the SAAMI standard where the 5.56 NATO does not. The 5.56 NATO
spec requires the neck of the cartridge to be annealed where the .223
doesn't. They are effectively the same cartridge.

You can shoot both 5.56 NATO and .223 out of the same chamber/barrel. I
have a AR-15 pistol that I had to shoot a couple of hundred rounds of
.223 thru before the chamber and bolt would accept a 5.56 NATO headspace
go gage.

Was someone shooting at the target holder from about 10 yards away?
Could happen with any caliber.

The difference is actually pretty big. The 5.56 nato runs more powder, as
the rifle throat is 1/8â€ longer allowing the extra powder and maxing
pressure at about 58,000 psi. The 223 is designed for 55,000 psi.
Shooting 223 in a 5.56 rifle will give less velocity as the pressure does
not build as much, because of the throat length. Shooting a 5.56 NATO in a
223 gives excess pressure as the chamber is that 1/8â€ smaller and you can
blow out the primer, etc. so, buy a 5.56 chamber rifle and target
shooting, you can shoot anything.

Thanks, you beat me to it. There are .223 only rifles that aren't safe shooting 5.56 because of that extra pressure and difference in the chamber/throat size.

The indoor range in question is 30-40 yards, and it was probably somewhat of a freak accident, but the range owner felt he should stop the use of 5.56.. Were they shooting 5.56 out of a .223? I don't know. It's his range, so I'm OK with his rule.

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