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Anyone ever come across a mismarked 223?


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Halfway through two conversions and just discovered that the pilots for the annular cutter and threading die won't enter the muzzle on one of the rifles.  They do on the other .223. Both are marked .223 but were purchased probably a decade apart.  Could one of them (it's the newer one) actually be a 5.45x39?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

FraserMaine

 

PS. I really want a .223 one!

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Bore diameter for 5.45x39 is about .214 so at .222 your bore is still too large.

 

Now the really weird thing is that .222 Remington is still a somewhat popular cartridge in Europe where in some countries "military calibers" like 5.56/.223 are restricted, but I have NEVER heard of Izhmash manufacturing a .222 Remington barrel. If you somehow ended up with a .222 Remington Saiga it would probably be the first I've ever heard of.

 

What I understand is that bore diameter for 5.56/.223 can vary some, .224 is supposedly ideal but some barrels are manufactured as tight as .219.

 

Does the rifle actually chamber a live .223 round?

 

Here are two .223 rounds inserted into 5.45x39 chamber stubs. If your suspect rifle looks like this with a .223 round inserted, you probably do have a 5.45x39 barrel, or somebody at Izhmash mistakenly reamed a 5.56 barrel for the 5.45x39 cartridge.

 

 

d0t6Uds.jpg

Edited by mancat
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Thanks, mancat!

 

I'll look for the box with the paperwork in it, and see what it says. I'll also try to get a picture of the barrel with a .223 cartridge in it.  I'm also looking for a 5.45x39 cartridge, to see if it chambers.  I've never owned one, but a guy I know probably does.

 

So it sounds like I either have a .223 with a tight bore, or a 5.45 with an oversize bore.

 

The rifle is currently at another guy's house, I'll pick it up and take some pictures.

 

FraserMaine

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It's a .223 with a tight-ish bore. The factory proof paper says 4 shots in 137mm!  Maybe he wasn't trying very hard? End of a long day?

 

We used a pilot for the 5.45x39 with the annular cutter to remove the shroud, since the .223 pilot wouldn't go in.

 

thanks to all for your help!

 

FraserMaine

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