5.56x45mm NATO (no ontology)

From Mazeworld

Latest revision as of 23:14, 25 November 2018

5.56x45mm NATO (also known as 5.56 NATO, 5.56x45mm) is a rifle cartridge developed by Eugene Stoner in 1964 as a military derivative of .223 Remington (also referred to as .223 Rem or simply .223), a civilian varmint hunting cartridge. In fact, 5.56x45mm NATO and .223 Remington share the exact same dimensions, with the only differences being in powder load and maximum chamber pressure: 5.56x45mm NATO (62366 psi) is rated to develop roughly 13% more chamber pressure than its civilian counterpart (55000 psi). As a safety precaution, 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition should not be fired in .223 Remington firearms, much in the same way as .308 Winchester ammunition should not be fired in 7.62x51mm NATO firearms, despite the identical dimensions.

5.56x45mm NATO is one of the most widely used rifle cartridges in the world, being first adopted by the US military alongside the Colt M16 rifle, a military derivative of the civilian AR-15 rifle, originally developed by ArmaLite before the rifle design was acquired by Colt. The adoption of the new rifle and cartridge was done during the Vietnam War, phasing out the 7.62x51mm NATO Springfield M14 rifle and starting a trend across the world to favor lighter, smaller cartridges over longer, heavier ones, in order to allow an individual soldier to carry more ammunition for a given weight.

The cartridge was later codified as a NATO standard under STANAG 4172 (STANdardization AGreement) and ratified by its member states, leading to the vast majority of NATO member countries adopting service rifles capable of chambering 5.56x45mm NATO, with many of them being also compatible with the M16 magazines. A similar proposed standard, STANAG 4179, was meant to codify M16 magazines as the NATO standard, resulting in these magazines being called STANAG magazines, as they are compatible with a wide variety of firearms from many different manufacturers. Although STANAG 4179 was not ratified, leading to certain NATO member countries adopting new service rifles that are not compatible with M16/STANAG magazines, many member countries still adopted it as a standard.

Outside of its military applications, 5.56 NATO is perfectly suitable for other purposes as well, such as law enforcement, where 5.56 NATO rifles supplement pistol-caliber submachine guns and 12 gauge shotguns. It also enjoys widespread popularity among civilian shooters, particularly in the United States, where AR-15 rifles and derivatives are the most popular 5.56mm platform in civilian hands. Civilian applications are widespread: 5.56x45mm rifles are suitable for varmint hunting, some forms of medium game hunting (deer, boar), target shooting, competition shooting, personal and home defense, to name a few.

Mazeworld overview

How to read this?

• Available for purchase in a gun shop or a weapon shop in boxes of 20 or bulk cans of 1000.
• Available brands and projectile types:
  • Standard (Regular, SP): FMJ, Match, JHP, JSP, AP, SEG, UHS
  • Reduced Velocity (Regular, -P): FMJ, JHP, JSP
  • Milsurp (Surplus, SP): FMJ, AP
• Retail value of a standard round (Reg/FMJ/SP): 3 P$ /round
• Recoil level: 2 - Light

Handloading information

• Primer type: Small rifle
• Powder type: Rifle
• Projectile type: .224, 55 grain
• Standard load: 270 pwdr
  • -P load: 243 pwdr

• Cost of a 50 case box: 45 P$ (0.9 P$/case)
• Estimated cost to handload 1 standard round (Reg/FMJ/SP): 2.041 P$

Weapons compatible

Standard weapons

Total amount of standard weapons available in this caliber: 49

Class 1 weapons:

• ArmaLite AR-18, conventional rifle
• Beretta AR70/90, combat rifle
• BMS Milcam HB, precision rifle
• Česká Zbrojovka CZ-805 BREN A1, combat rifle
• CETME Ameli, machine gun
• Colt AR-15A2, conventional rifle
• Colt M16A1, combat rifle
• Colt M16A2, combat rifle
• Colt M16A4, combat rifle
• Colt M4A1, combat rifle
• DIO KH2002 Sama, combat rifle
• Enfield L85A2, combat rifle
• FN Herstal F2000, combat rifle
• FN Herstal FNC, combat rifle
• FN Herstal Mark 46 mod 1, machine gun
• GIAT FAMAS G1, combat rifle
• H&K G36, combat rifle
• H&K G41, combat rifle
• H&K HK33A2, combat rifle
• H&K HK416, combat rifle
• Howa Type 89, combat rifle
• IMI Galil AR, combat rifle
• IMI Negev, machine gun
• IZHMASH Kalashnikov AK-12-3, combat rifle
• IZHMASH Kalashnikov AK-101, combat rifle
• KAC Stoner 99 LMG, machine gun
• Končar-Arma APS-95, combat rifle
• Mossberg MVP Patrol, conventional rifle
• Norinco QBZ-97A, combat rifle
• Ruger AC556, combat rifle
• Ruger Mini-14GB, conventional rifle
• Savage Arms Axis, conventional rifle
• Savage Arms Axis XP, precision rifle
• SIG Sauer SG550, combat rifle
• SIG Sauer SG550 Sniper, precision rifle
• SIG Sauer SG551, combat rifle
• Steyr AUG A1, combat rifle
• Thales EF88 Austeyr, combat rifle
• ZID AEK-972, combat rifle

Class 2 weapons:

• Beretta ARX-160, combat rifle
• FN Herstal SCAR-L CQC, combat rifle
• H&K G36C, combat rifle
• H&K HK53A3, combat rifle
• IMI Galil MAR, combat rifle
• IWI Tavor X95, combat rifle
• SIG Sauer SG552 Commando, combat rifle

Maze Customs

• Customs weapon families: Available as a chambering for the AR-15, AK and Rem 700 families.
• Minor services: AUG A3 Enhanced (Tactical conversion for the Steyr AUG A1), EF88 Austeyr FS and EF88 Austeyr GL (Tactical conversions for the Thales EF88 Austeyr), FAMAS G2 (Tactical conversion for the GIAT FAMAS G1), G36 Custom (Tactical conversion for the H&K G36), Groza-3 (Minor rechambering for the KBP OTs-14 Groza-1), Groza-3 GL (Tactical conversion for the Groza-3), KH2002 Katiba (Tactical conversion for the DIO KH2002 Sama), L85A2 Enhanced (Tactical conversion for the Enfield L85A2), SCAR-L STD (Minor barrel conversion for the FN Herstal SCAR-L), SCAR-L LB (Minor barrel conversion for the FN Herstal SCAR-L), SG551-LB (Minor barrel conversion for the SIG Arms SG551)

Barrel length groups

Depending on the barrel length of the firearm, a multiplier to Pain and Limb damage is applied. Please refer to the lists of weapons or to the event lines to know your particular weapons' barrel length.

Gallery

5.56 NATO FMJ

See also

• Ammunition
• Weapon

Real life information

• Wikipedia article
• Timeline and background of 5.56x45mm NATO and .22 caliber military cartridges at The Gun Zone
• Breakdown of the differences between 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington at LuckyGunner.com