5.56x45mm NATO
- Bullet diameter
- 5.70 mm
- Case length
- 44.70 mm
- Max pressure
- 430 MPa
- Introduced
- 1980
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who designed it and what else it is called.
- NATO designation
- 5.56x45mm NATO
- Cartridge type
- Rimless
- Introduced
- 1980
- Designer
- FN Herstal / NATO
- Parent cartridge
- 223-remington
- Also known as
- .223 Rem, .223 Remington, .223 Remington (chamber compatible), .223 Remington (parent), .223 Remington (similar), .223 Remington compatible and 23 more
DimensionsThe case and the bullet, to a hundredth of a millimetre.
- Bullet diameter
- 5.70 mm
- Neck diameter
- 6.43 mm
- Shoulder diameter
- 9.00 mm
- Base diameter
- 9.58 mm
- Rim diameter
- 9.60 mm
- Rim thickness
- 1.14 mm
- Case length
- 44.70 mm
- Overall length
- 57.40 mm
BallisticsWhat a typical load does, and the pressure it runs at.
- Max pressure
- 430 MPa
- Max pressure, psi
- 62,366
- Typical bullet weight
- 4.00 g
- Typical muzzle velocity
- 940 m/s
- Typical muzzle energy
- 1767 J
ConstructionWhat the case, primer and projectile are made of and shaped like.
- Case shape
- Bottleneck
- Case material
- Brass
- Primer
- Small rifle
- Projectile
- Bullet
- Bullet profile
- Spitzer boat tail
- Mouth closure
- Bullet
- Specification standard
- nato
Loads
The loads it is made in
7 loads, each drawn from its own figures and solved downrange on its own page.
Rankings
5.56x45mm NATO rankings
Documentation
Working with cartridge data
This page is one record. These are about the endpoint behind it.
- API referenceEvery cartridge endpoint, its parameters and what it returns.
- SDK methodsThe same calls in JavaScript and Python, with working examples.
- Reading ballisticsWhich figures are measured, which are typical, and how to compare loads.
- Data qualityHow complete the cartridge records are, and where the figures come from.
Provenance
Where these figures came from
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Confidence in this record
95%
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/calibers/5-56x45mm-nato' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'