Has anyone tried loading 223 subs?

[mRad]

I have so much money in my setup I can't clone it to another upper. Still kind of the same thing though where it's still just not quite the same. Different mags, different ergos.

Well, you’re going to have to make the compromise somewhere. Cartridges not designed to be subsonic don’t function well in semi-autos. They are dirty and unreliable. They also don’t stabilize well. Your options are:

.300 Blackout upper
9mm upper and 9mm magazine insert
.22 conversion


Or buying expensive .223 subs or loading your own and experiencing a dirty, unreliable load that risks a baffle strike of your suppressor. I wish there was a better solution but there really isn’t one. I would suggest buying property out of town without neighbors but that’s probably also unattainable if a second upper is out of the question.

How many neighbors do you have and how close are they? Maybe explain what you’re doing and work out a time once every week or two when it will have minimum impact on them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[themonk]

Did 20 as a joke years back for a buddy that had a 223 bolt gun. You are not going to get them to cycle an AR. This is one of the reasons 300 blackout was invented. Build a 300 blk upper and it will be quieter.

I agree with the previous post about a 22lr conversion kit (CMMG makes a great one) which is probably your best bet if you only 556 can. If you run 500 rounds of 22lr through a 556 can and then do a mag dump or two of 556 it will clean out any crap from 22lr.

[1168]

I did already mention that my primary goal here is to be able to shoot at night without bothering the neighbors.

I wish you well in this endeavor. Please update if you get anywhere. It’d be a cool pest control gat.
I ended up putting an OWL on my 9mm short range training analogue where the MAWL is on its counterpart. And a Romeo4t instead of a T2. Same can, different bore.

[Bimmer]

I've seen there are a few manufacturers who are successfully producing 223 subs that don't squib and actually seem to cycle. I was wondering how they are doing it, and how a home loader might be able to replicate it. Are they using some kind of filler to take up the extra case volume, or are they using a powder that just takes up that much space?

Who manufactures ammo like that? Physics tells me (as little as I know about it), that it's basically impossible to have subsonic ammo cycle an unmodified AR...

There are guys using Trail Boss to load subsonic rifle rounds (not only .223, but also .308, .30-06, etc.), but those won't cycle your AR.

But if I did, I would use a heavy ( long) bullet like a 77 grain, pistol powder like H110, and preferably an adjustable gas regulator. I would experiment with lighter buffer weights.

Hmmm... IIRC H110 was the original .30 Carbine powder, where it pushes a 110gr bullet 2,000fps.

Pushing a 77gr bullet <1,000fps is going to be a big step down in energy, and that would be a mostly empty .223 case.

I expect you'd need to ruin your barrel by hogging out the gas port and then run an empty buffer and a lighter buffer spring to get this to work...

It would be easier just to get a .22 conversion.

Have one, but it's not the same. And they get the rifle FILTHY! I mean failed trigger resets within 200 rounds kind of filthy, and it schmoos up the gas tube and everything, too.

I have a CMMG conversion, and it's good for 200-300rnds before it's so filthy it starts choking.

Of course it's not the same... You know the only thing that's the same as shooting .223? Shooting .223.

You might try different ammo: All .22lr is dirty, but some are dirtier than others.

[Vegas]

A 300BLK upper is the answer you seek I messed around with trail boss just for fun but obviously zero chance of cycling.

[Twilk73]

Have one, but it's not the same. And they get the rifle FILTHY! I mean failed trigger resets within 200 rounds kind of filthy, and it schmoos up the gas tube and everything, too.

My m&p 15-22 is suppressed and it doesn't get that dirty or have failures until maybe 500 rounds or more. But now I have two rifles setup alike. So that's a bit of an extra cost. Also you could convert to 300blk and that gets real quite.

Edit my 22 gets a good deep clean every 2-3 range trips. I shoot maybe 200-300 rounds per trip. I do usually throw some lube on the bcg every trip though. I mostly shoot federal, but I've had some Winchester in it and a few other brands. 22 is dirty but this is my experience.

[okie]

Well, you’re going to have to make the compromise somewhere. Cartridges not designed to be subsonic don’t function well in semi-autos. They are dirty and unreliable. They also don’t stabilize well. Your options are:

.300 Blackout upper
9mm upper and 9mm magazine insert
.22 conversion


Or buying expensive .223 subs or loading your own and experiencing a dirty, unreliable load that risks a baffle strike of your suppressor. I wish there was a better solution but there really isn’t one. I would suggest buying property out of town without neighbors but that’s probably also unattainable if a second upper is out of the question.

How many neighbors do you have and how close are they? Maybe explain what you’re doing and work out a time once every week or two when it will have minimum impact on them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is out of town, but not like Alaskan outback kind of out of town. I envy people who live in Arizona and have all that wide open space.

[Bimmer]

It is out of town, but not like Alaskan outback kind of out of town. I envy people who live in Arizona and have all that wide open space.

I think lots of nighttime gunfire would draw unwelcome attention, no matter where you were...

If you're in Oklahoma, then why not buy a can?

Or find a nearby range that'll let you shoot nights? (Mine would, if I wanted to do so, and I'm in California.)

[markm]

I envy people who live in Arizona and have all that wide open space.

It's not THAT great in AZ. Especially when they shut shooting down due to wild fire restrictions.

[okie]

I think lots of nighttime gunfire would draw unwelcome attention, no matter where you were...

If you're in Oklahoma, then why not buy a can?

Or find a nearby range that'll let you shoot nights? (Mine would, if I wanted to do so, and I'm in California.)

I have a can, but it's still pretty loud. Wanna do some nods shooting with the Mk18. It would absolutely draw unwanted attention, but with subs it would be fine.