Black Hills 5.56 77 Gr TMK in Ruger American Gen 2 Predator 223

[ShortMountain91]

Just bought a Ruger gen 2 predator for my son to shoot this season. Has anyone shot the Black Hills 5.56 77 TMK factory ammo in one of these? Does it fit the magazine? We're there any pressure signs with the Black Hills being a 5.56 round? Does it jam into the rifling when chambered?

 

[xsn10s]

I have not shot that ammo in a Gen II, or any other rifle. But I'm sure others have and if you are seeing pressure signs then I'd stop using it. As far as I know it should fit in a standard magbox. I couple of things you can do is post pictures of the primers and brass on here. Tell us if you had hard bolt lift or other signs/ symptoms that concern you. You can also contact the ammo manufacturer and Ruger. One thing is since it's 5.56 ammo they may tell you that you shouldn't shoot it in a .223 Rem rifle/ chamber.

 

[t_carlson]

Dude.

With all of the options out there today, why do feel the need to shove 5.56's down the magazine of a .223 and then hand the rifle to your son?

What percentage of shots do you think he will take that the 5.56 load will handle but a different .223 load will not?

 

[mt100gr.]

The roll mark on Gen1 Ruger Americans is 5.56....are the Gen2 stamped .223??

 

[xsn10s]

The Gen II Standard and Predator is .223 Rem. The Gen II Ranch is 5.56.

 

[mt100gr.]

The Gen II Standard and Predator is .223 Rem. The Gen II Ranch is 5.56.

I'll be darned. Thanks for the info!

 

[xsn10s]

I'll be darned. Thanks for the info!

No problem, I believe the Gen 1's are the same way.

 

[xsn10s]

The OP might not have shot this in his son's rifle yet. Rather he's looking for others that have done this already. I suffer from sleep deprivation so I might have missed this in the beginning of the thread.

So to answer I doubt the bullet with touch the rifling, most factory rifles are throated long. It should fit any AR15 mag. Others have shot it in their .223 rifles. But I wouldn't recommend it especially for your kid. YMMV.

 

[zdc1775]

I plan to try some this weekend to see how accurate it is in my rifle so I'll let you know afterward.

As far as pressure signs using 5.56 in the rifle, I have around 150 rounds of factory ammo through this one so far and I don't think that a single one of them was labeled 223 and haven't seen anything to indicate even moderate pressure. In fact most of the ones I have checked appear to have lower pressure than my handloads.

 

[ElPollo]

Dude.

With all of the options out there today, why do feel the need to shove 5.56's down the magazine of a .223 and then hand the rifle to your son?

What percentage of shots do you think he will take that the 5.56 load will handle but a different .223 load will not?

I and my daughter have shot literally thousands of rounds of 5.56 through 223 bolt guns. I don’t know of a single case where that has caused an issue. If you know of a documented case, please provide it. People always bring this up, but no one has ever demonstrated a problem. What modern bolt action doesn’t stand up to 5.56 pressures?

 

[t_carlson]

I and my daughter have shot literally thousands of rounds of 5.56 through 223 bolt guns. I don’t know of a single case where that has caused an issue. If you know of a documented case, please provide it. People always bring this up, but no one has ever demonstrated a problem. What modern bolt action doesn’t stand up to 5.56 pressures?

Put gas in your diesel while you're at it

 

[ElPollo]

Put gas in your diesel while you're at it

Not remotely the same thing. You are spreading dogma for which there is no supporting information.

 

[t_carlson]

Not remotely the same thing. You are spreading dogma for which there is no supporting information.

Please cite one legitimate source, other than an anonymous person on the internet, who says there is no problem with shooting 5.56 in a .223?

 

[ElPollo]

Please cite one legitimate source, other than an anonymous person on the internet, who says there is no problem with shooting 5.56 in a .223?

I think I asked you that question in reverse first. Tell me one occasion where it has legitimately caused a problem in a 223 bolt action. I give you about 2,500 where it has worked out just fine in my own personal experience. I’ll bet plenty of others will chime in here with higher round counts than me.

 

[Bowfinn]

.

Please cite one legitimate source, other than an anonymous person on the internet, who says there is no problem with shooting 5.56 in a .223?

I found this on the cz-USA website and apparently they think it’s safe. From what I understand they say the CIP 223 is the same dimensions as the 223 but with 556 pressures. Google CZ-USA 223 and you should find the link if you wish.

 

[Grundy53]

I've shot a lot of the Black Hills 77gr TMK through my Tikka. It shoots great. No problems

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[ShortMountain91]

Sorry guys been busy on a home project today. Just to answer a few things that have floated in this thread. I have not shot any of the Black Hills ammo through the gun yet. I don't even have the gun yet. Waiting on it to show up at the FFL.

So everyone always says "5.56 runs way higher pressure than 223 Rem". My understanding (and someone correct me if anything here is incorrect) is the 223 Rem is rated with the SAAMI standard at 55k PSI. The 5.56 is pressure rated with a NATO standard which is closer to the CIP standard. When 223 Rem and 5.56 NATO are tested to the same CIP standard they both give a rating of ~62k PSI but that test is not directly comparable to the SAAMI rating. Plus I'm sure any modern rifle is tested way above the NATO standard of 60-65k PSI. The issue comes because 5.56 NATO chambers have more freebore and a couple other small differences so some 5.56 rounds chambered in a 223 Rem "could" jam into the rifling cause way higher pressures.

All of this is to say why I asked the question. Has anyone done it in a Gen 2 Ruger American, did you see any pressure signs, did you see rifling marks on the bullet after chambering? If it's not jamming into the rifling I see no reason there would be any issues / pressure signs.

@zdc1775 when you try it out, let me know what you see.

 

[Bowfinn]

The issue comes because 5.56 NATO chambers have more freebore and a couple other small differences so some 5.56 rounds chambered in a 223 Rem "could" jam into the rifling cause way higher pressures.

According to Hornady the way higher pressures is approximately 65,000.

 

[Pilsner]

I'm nearing 1k rounds of 5.56 out of my .223 marked RA Gen 2 using mixed ammo including several hundred 77 grain offerings.
Zero issues or pressure signs.
All shooting has been done suppressed.
In fact I had to go grab the rifle out of the safe to see if it was roll marked 223 or 556. Lol.
Never gave it any thought.
You should be fine.
With the cheapest 77 grain ammo I could find in bulk (forgot the brand) I was still getting very repeatable 1 to 1.25" 5 shot groups.

 

[Bama67]

5.56 is fine in a .223 LOL

My Ruger American Gen 1 is actually labeled 5.56