I can't/won't answer your question with a yes/no answer, but I will tell you there are reamers that allow both 5.56 and .223 use. Mainly it has to do the lead to the lands... throat length.

5.56 nato chambers have a longer throat to reduce peak pressure with the longer heavier military loads.
This means that accuracy can suffer when lighter, shorter 55gr .223 loads are used.

If handloading for the rifle, it's a non issue as we specifically adj seating depth to compensate.

If you don't handload, you need to think about the loads you will buy/use.... 223 or 5.56, and what accuracy level you expect.

If you are buying primarily for longer range coyotes, I'd probably get a .223 match barrel and chambering and stock with .223 ammo. If you are wanting a QCB home defense M4 platform, this rifle would work fine.
hope this helps.
Hunt'nFish

 

I wish the gun manufacturers would do a better job of describing what their products are capable of. As an example, if you look at the DPMS website, most of their hunting guns are described as .223, but if you look at their guns in a gun shop they are stamped .223 & 5.56. I'm also looking at the DPMS Sweet 16. .223 is considerably more than 5.56 when shooting a bunch of squirrels.

 

There's a lot of confusion surrounding the civilian .223 and the military 5.56
I looked at the Remington propaganda on the above rifle and it is surprisingly of no help.

AR lower receivers are typically marked "Cal-Multi" because they are used for so many different calibers these days.
On an AR you have to look at the barrel markings.

Virtually no current AR gun makers will use a barrel chambered in .223 because of the very real possibility of someone feeding it 5.56
So, in this type of cartridge the chamber will be either 5.56 or .223 Wylde.
.223 Wylde will safely digest either round.

You would have to look at the barrel markings and/or call Remington.

Also, you didn't ask, but these "Remingtons" are re-badged Bushmasters and over-priced.
Freedom Group owns both brands.

Here's a C&P from another discussion on the same matter...

So when you fire a NATO/ 5.56mm round in a .223 chambered rifle the reaction is a bit violent?

I can understand that as it's a hotter round with slightly different dimensions.

From my research the RRA I have is the .223 Wylde.


c/22

I don't know if you'd get a KABOOM, but you might see the classic over-pressure signs or possibly get a stuck case.
.223 chambers are usually found in bolt guns while most all modern ARs are chambered in 5.56 (some are .223 Wylde)
With the popularity of these cartridges, it is important to know that the chambers are not alike and the cartridges are not "the same thing".

In the AR community, probably the biggest problem with .223 is that some of it is very weak and will not cycle a weapon set up for full power 5.56
You can tune them to run crap import ammo, but you don't want to test a new rig with crap ammo. Use full power Lake City 5.56 and get it running with that.

Chamber Comparison

 

I just purchased the VTR carbine with the magpul stock for a calling rifle. I got it for a very good price and love the way it handles. I was wondering the same thing. On mine the box says 223, the lower is marked multi cal, and the follower in the magazine is stamped 5.56. The magazine has Remington on the side of it so if it is an outsourced part it seems like Remington would be familiar with it at the very least. I did some online research and found that the people who called customer service got different answers depending on which customer service rep they talked to.

 

I did send the question to Remington, so I hope they get back to me. I'm aware of the Remington/Bushmaster connection, but for $699, I thought that is a very good deal. They also have the DPMS Sweet 16 in .223/5.56 for $819, so i'm kinda waffling back and forth.

 

I think all bolt actions should now be made 223 wylde
My dpms is 556 so no worries on shooting 223

 

Just got off the phone with a Remington rep who sounded very knowledgeable about the .223/5.56 capabilities. He informed me that the R-15 uses a match barrel and is designed only for .223 Remington ammunition for best accuracy. He also stated that I could have the barrel reamed to accept both 5.56 and .223

 

It's weird that they are chambering these in .223
For a rig like that I would want a .223 Wylde chamber.

 

Ok, I went back to Sportsman's, they still had them both, the price was great, so I bought em both!:meme:Two questions, should I get the .223 reamed to accept 5.56? and anyone have a ballpark cost to do it? seems like all the gunshops are closed on Mondays.

 

Personally... I wouldn't ream the 223 to 5.56.
Kinda defeats the accuracy of the .223.
Hunt'nFish

 

If you want something to shoot both and still maintain fairly good accuracy, get a barrel in Wylde chambering. I built an AR with a Wylde chamber and it has amazing accuracy, especially with hand loads. I've shot both standard military 5.56 rounds as well as .223 rounds. No issues. The only difference in the standard xm193 5.56 military rounds and your out of the box .223 is that the 5.56 are loaded hotter than the civilian version. Hotter rounds is higher pressures. Higher pressures are not a good combination with tighter chamber tolerances. Wylde chambers are the best of both worlds.