There are lots of other cartridges popular with AR-style platforms that are gaining ground on 5.56 and .223 ammo, such as .50 Beowulf and .300 Blackout, both of which offer considerably better close-range performance than the former entries.
But there is still a place for AR-style rifles chambered in .223, and quite a few good reasons that this cartridge is still so popular. Don’t jump ship just yet. Here are some reasons .223 remains a viable option for a sporting rifle.
A Wide Variety of Uses, One Gun
To put it plainly, there is a whole lot you can use .223 for. Loaded with appropriate bullets, it can be suitable for both sporting applications and home defense. It can dispatch both small and medium game effortlessly, and with proper shot placement (and where legal) can be used to harvest large game, too. Predator hunters know this well; .223 has long been hailed the king of coyote cartridges.
The .223 also produces a respectable ballistic coefficient and performance for its small size and low bullet weight, and it is very flat-shooting. It is inherently accurate and experiences little drop, and can be used for long-range shooting, unlike many other larger cartridges.
This cartridge also produces less recoil than other popular AR alternatives like .308, 7.62 Soviet, and 6.5 Creedmoor, while remaining highly accurate and suitable for long-range shooting. This makes it a preferred choice for drilling, competition, and the recoil-shy.
Wide Availability, Tons of Different Loads, Low Cost
On top of the fact that .223 ammo can be used for such a wide variety of shooting disciplines, there are many other reasons to love the cartridge.
Chief among these are the low cost and high availability. It might not be quite as ubiquitous as .22LR (which you can get in some convenience and hardware stores) but any gun shop worth its salt will carry .223, stockouts notwithstanding. Also, as far as centerfire cartridges go, it rules the roost on low price. There’s even steel-cased ammo that is more affordable, to keep prices down further.
The venerable yet humble .223 Remington is also a low-recoil round, making it ideal for new shooters as well as smaller-framed shooters and those who don’t respond well to recoil.
Because it is an older cartridge, there are a wide variety of producers that make a huge assortment of different types of loads, from match-grade ammo to frangible bullets to ballistic tip sporting ammo and standard FMJ, with everything in between.
Then, for you reloaders, .223 actually has a slight edge over 5.56, because the primer pockets aren’t crimped, so it’s usually easier to punch out the primer. That, paired with the fact that .223 offers effectively the same performance as 5.56 gives it a bit of an advantage in this arena.
With respect to the platforms themselves, you can take your pick. There are tons of sporting rifles chambered in .223 but if that’s not your bag, there are bolt actions and single-shots out there too. There are even some modern lever guns on the market now with detachable box mags, like Henry’s Long Ranger Express, that pair lever-action functionality with reliability, even with spitzer-bulleted .223 rounds.
Where to Stock Up on .223 Ammo Online
Here because you need another supplier to throw in the rotation? Bookmark Able Ammo for .223 ammo (and 5.56, and .308, and everything else you need). They carry a large assortment of handgun ammo, shotshells, and rifle ammo, inclusive of both rimfire and centerfire cartridges, and they offer bulk deals. Take a look at their catalog and stock up on what you need.
