Many decades have passed since the introduction of the 223 Remington and its acceptance by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) in 1963. Since that time, many companies have attempted to capitalize on its success by building cartridges that meet the 2.260-inch overall length restriction for function in AR-15 rifles. The widespread military adoption of this cartridge as the 5.56 NATO undoubtedly added to its popularity. It also meant that surplus ammunition, brass and bullets were plentiful for those looking for a cheap option for plinking and practice. The 223 Rem/5.56 NATO has been the most popular .22-caliber centerfire cartridge for decades running. ...Read More >

Let’s get one thing straight, right off the bat – Shooters World Match Rifle is an excellent propellant in the 308 Winchester. You have probably noticed that powders that perform well in 308 Winchesters also seem to perform well in the 223 Remington/5.56 NATO. This is certainly true in the case of Match Rifle. If you have ever wondered why these two cartridges, with very different case dimensions and bullet weights can share propellants, the answer is that they share similar critical ratios, a dynamic called conformation. ...Read More >

Q: I recently acquired a USFA Single Action fitted with three cylinders. The barrel is marked .38 Special and it has two auxiliary cylinders in 9mm Luger and 357 Magnum. The 38 Special and 9mm cylinders shoot and work fine with factory-loaded ammunition and my handloads. However, about half of the 9mm cartridges tend to blacken the firing pin indents. This occurs with both factory loads from Hornady and Federal and my handloads that consist of the Hornady 124-grain XTP with 5.2 grains of Hodgdon CFE Pistol powder. Using magnification, I can see a tiny hole in each blackened primer, but I cannot see daylight through that hole. ...Read More >

The heyday of wildcats began a few years after World War II (1945 BC – Before Chronographs, or at least affordable ones). There then existed a pent-up demand for sporting arms, quickly fed by “The Golden Age of Military Surplus.” America was one of the few countries in the world whose citizens had the unfettered right to own as many rifles as they wished. Literally boatloads of obsolete, discarded, abandoned or captured bolt-action and single-shot military rifles came to the U.S. from countries who needed the money for post-war reconstruction. Rifles in really bad shape were disassembled for just the action, which led to an interesting situation. ...Read More >