Eight Mistakes Buyers Make With Mainstream Rifle Ammunition
Eight Mistakes Buyers Make With Mainstream Rifle Ammunition
The most popular cartridges cause the most common mistakes. These eight come up again and again.
1. Treating the .223 as a 5.56A rifle marked 5.56 NATO accepts both the .223 Remington and the 5.56. One marked only .223 Remington should be fed .223 loads. Anyone who wants to buy 223 ammo should check the barrel marking first.
2. Assuming the 224 Valkyrie fits a .223 rifleThe 224 Valkyrie shares the .224-inch bullet diameter but uses a different case, and it needs its own barrel and bolt. Hornady's loads are at hornady 224 valkyrie ammo.
3. Mixing 300 Blackout and 5.56The 300 Blackout is made by necking a .223 case up to .30 caliber, so it shares magazines and bolts with the 5.56. That is the danger. A 300 Blackout cartridge will chamber in a 5.56 rifle, and firing it can wreck the rifle and injure the shooter. Mark magazines clearly and read the box before loading. Winchester's loads are at winchester 300 blackout ammo.
4. Confusing the .243 Winchester with the 6mm RemingtonBoth fire a .243-inch bullet, but the cases are different and the cartridges do not interchange. The .243 Winchester's loads are at 243 ammunition.
5. Mixing the .280 Remington and the .280 Ackley ImprovedThe two cartridges are not interchangeable. An Ackley Improved cartridge will not safely fit a .280 Remington chamber, and each rifle should be fed only the cartridge stamped on its barrel. The .280 Remington's polymer-tip loads are at 280 polymer tip ammo.
6. Assuming every .270 is the sameThe .270 Winchester shares a bullet diameter with the .270 WSM and the .270 Weatherby Magnum, which have different cases. The 130-grain .270 Winchester loads are at 270 130 grain ammo.
7. Mixing .300 magnumsThe 300 Winchester Magnum, the 300 WSM and the other .300 magnums fire the same bullets from different cases. The 300 Winchester Magnum's loads are at 300 win mag ammo for sale. The 300 WSM's are at 300 wsm ammo.
8. Treating the .303 British as a .308The .303 British uses a .311-inch bullet in a rimmed case, and the .308 uses a smaller bullet in a rimless one. The .303's 150-grain loads are at 303 british 150 grain ammo. The .308's hollow-point loads, at 308 hollow point ammo, belong in a .308 rifle only.
General guidance only. Never fire a cartridge in a rifle that is not marked for it, and confirm the chambering, current stock and state shipping restrictions before ordering.