Is a .223 Wylde chamber and steel-cased ammo a bad combo?

steveNChunter · October 14, 2014, 05:48 PM

I'm shopping around online trying to find exactly what parts I want to go with for my AR build.

I already have the lower and all associated parts put together and ready for the upper. I'd ideally like to go with a complete upper assembly partly for convenience and to keep from paying shipping several different times ordering different parts.

I'm considering a couple that come with .223 Wylde chambered barrels. My question is, will having a Wylde chamber make it any harder to cycle steel cased ammo? I know there are instances where some AR's don't eject steel cased ammo well because the chamber may be a little on the tight side.

I don't want to prohibit myself from being able to use steel cased ammo because in the event of another shortage/panic/SHTF I want to be able to shoot any and all ammo I can find. Also it's cheap and good for keeping cost down when I'm just having fun at the range.

So is there any greater chance I'll have issues with steel cased ammo with a wylde chamber instead of 5.56?

marine6680 · October 14, 2014, 08:42 PM

The difference in the chamber types in in the "throat" area. This is the area in front of the chamber where the bullet sits before you fire. The throat is a transition area from free bore, to the rifling. Its cone shaped, and the allows the bullet to transition smoothly to the rifling.

5.56 has the longest throat, 223 the shortest, and wylde is in between,

A tight chamber is just a product of tolerances, and will be luck of the draw.

Most likely, you will get a barrel with a chamber somewhere in the middle of the tolerance range, and you will be fine.

The biggest issue, wylde chambered barrels tend not to be chrome lined, and most steel cased ammo uses bimetal jackets on the bullets, and they wear the rifling faster, plain steel would not last as long before accuracy is affected.

steveNChunter · October 15, 2014, 02:06 PM

I understand about the length of the chamber throat with the wylde being between the .223 and 5.56, what I was unsure of was if the wylde chamber was tighter in the body of the chamber where the brass actually touches.

Quote:

The biggest issue, wylde chambered barrels tend not to be chrome lined, and most steel cased ammo uses bimetal jackets on the bullets, and they wear the rifling faster, plain steel would not last as long before accuracy is affected.

How does a melonite barrel hold up against bimetal jackets, as opposed to chrome lined?

marine6680 · October 15, 2014, 11:03 PM

The case is the same, so the main chamber area will be the same.

A melonite barrel should hold up as well as a chrome lined or better.

steveNChunter · October 16, 2014, 09:25 AM

Quote:

A melonite barrel should hold up as well as a chrome lined or better.

Where would a stainless, non-coated barrel fit in the mix?

MarkCO · October 16, 2014, 09:47 AM

Most .223 Wylde chambered barrels are stainless match barrels. As such, the bi-metal jacketed bullets WILL wear them faster than jacketed bullets and are therefore discouraged.

The two match barrels I designed typically are $100 or so more than a Cro-Mo barrel, coated or not, but Cro-Mo will last a little longer than stainless and the coated even longer. We shot a stainless match barrel out with about 4K rounds of steel jacketed bullets when copper jacketed go about 10K, which is maybe 1/3 the life of a coated Cro-Mo barrel. I am not talking benchrest, just in the 2MOA or less area and when they open up past that.

You will also find that most match .223 Wylde chambered barrels have chambers a little tighter than the typical 5.56. When I designed the two barrels I use, I did go with a .223 Wylde chamber, but went with a slightly looser chamber to increase reliability.

So if you plan on shooting a lot of steel cased ammo, I would steer you towards a 5.56 chambered melonited Cro-Mo barrel. If occasionally, then you might get by with a .223 Wylde, but in most cases, understand you will have to clean the chamber or suffer some malfunctions past about 300 rounds or so.

steveNChunter · October 16, 2014, 01:48 PM

Thanks for the advice guys. I believe I'm going to play it safe and go with a 5.56 melonite coated barrel. I have .223 bolt actions for when I need precision.

marine6680 · October 16, 2014, 10:31 PM

Yeah... As Mark said... a wylde chamber tends to be used on better barrels, and they will usually be of higher tolerances, so the variations will be less and lean to the tighter side of the specs.

I recently got a melonite barrel, and I do think I like it better than chrome lined.

While most very high end target barrels are not melonited, as they claim the process can cause distortions, and prevent barrel "break in"... I do not have the skill to notice either, nor do I hold much stock in the beak in thing. (though I do know that a barrel needs to be fired a few times after a good cleaning to get back to normal, a special process when it is new, I do not think is necessary)

Besides, a good quality melonite process will not distort the metal, so accuracy potential should remain the same as before the process.

October 14, 2014, 05:48 PM	#1
steveNChunter Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2012 Location: Southern Appalachian Mtns Posts: 1,520	Is a .223 Wylde chamber and steel-cased ammo a bad combo? I'm shopping around online trying to find exactly what parts I want to go with for my AR build. I already have the lower and all associated parts put together and ready for the upper. I'd ideally like to go with a complete upper assembly partly for convenience and to keep from paying shipping several different times ordering different parts. I'm considering a couple that come with .223 Wylde chambered barrels. My question is, will having a Wylde chamber make it any harder to cycle steel cased ammo? I know there are instances where some AR's don't eject steel cased ammo well because the chamber may be a little on the tight side. I don't want to prohibit myself from being able to use steel cased ammo because in the event of another shortage/panic/SHTF I want to be able to shoot any and all ammo I can find. Also it's cheap and good for keeping cost down when I'm just having fun at the range. So is there any greater chance I'll have issues with steel cased ammo with a wylde chamber instead of 5.56? __________________ DEO VINDICE

October 16, 2014, 09:47 AM	#6
MarkCO Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 1998 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 4,307	Most .223 Wylde chambered barrels are stainless match barrels. As such, the bi-metal jacketed bullets WILL wear them faster than jacketed bullets and are therefore discouraged. The two match barrels I designed typically are $100 or so more than a Cro-Mo barrel, coated or not, but Cro-Mo will last a little longer than stainless and the coated even longer. We shot a stainless match barrel out with about 4K rounds of steel jacketed bullets when copper jacketed go about 10K, which is maybe 1/3 the life of a coated Cro-Mo barrel. I am not talking benchrest, just in the 2MOA or less area and when they open up past that. You will also find that most match .223 Wylde chambered barrels have chambers a little tighter than the typical 5.56. When I designed the two barrels I use, I did go with a .223 Wylde chamber, but went with a slightly looser chamber to increase reliability. So if you plan on shooting a lot of steel cased ammo, I would steer you towards a 5.56 chambered melonited Cro-Mo barrel. If occasionally, then you might get by with a .223 Wylde, but in most cases, understand you will have to clean the chamber or suffer some malfunctions past about 300 rounds or so. __________________ Good Shooting, MarkCO www.CarbonArms.us

October 16, 2014, 01:48 PM	#7
steveNChunter Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2012 Location: Southern Appalachian Mtns Posts: 1,520	Thanks for the advice guys. I believe I'm going to play it safe and go with a 5.56 melonite coated barrel. I have .223 bolt actions for when I need precision. __________________ DEO VINDICE

October 14, 2014, 08:42 PM	#2
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	The difference in the chamber types in in the "throat" area. This is the area in front of the chamber where the bullet sits before you fire. The throat is a transition area from free bore, to the rifling. Its cone shaped, and the allows the bullet to transition smoothly to the rifling. 5.56 has the longest throat, 223 the shortest, and wylde is in between, A tight chamber is just a product of tolerances, and will be luck of the draw. Most likely, you will get a barrel with a chamber somewhere in the middle of the tolerance range, and you will be fine. The biggest issue, wylde chambered barrels tend not to be chrome lined, and most steel cased ammo uses bimetal jackets on the bullets, and they wear the rifling faster, plain steel would not last as long before accuracy is affected.

October 15, 2014, 11:03 PM	#4
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	The case is the same, so the main chamber area will be the same. A melonite barrel should hold up as well as a chrome lined or better.

October 16, 2014, 10:31 PM	#8
marine6680 Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2012 Location: Parker, CO Posts: 4,594	Yeah... As Mark said... a wylde chamber tends to be used on better barrels, and they will usually be of higher tolerances, so the variations will be less and lean to the tighter side of the specs. I recently got a melonite barrel, and I do think I like it better than chrome lined. While most very high end target barrels are not melonited, as they claim the process can cause distortions, and prevent barrel "break in"... I do not have the skill to notice either, nor do I hold much stock in the beak in thing. (though I do know that a barrel needs to be fired a few times after a good cleaning to get back to normal, a special process when it is new, I do not think is necessary) Besides, a good quality melonite process will not distort the metal, so accuracy potential should remain the same as before the process.