THE .223 REMINGTON AND THE 5.56X45MM NATO: Origins, Evolution, and the Future of America's Cartridge (Historic American Cartridges) Hardcover – April 1, 2026

The complete reference guide to the .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO — history, ballistics, handloading, platform, and terminal performance.The .223 Remington is the most popular centerfire rifle cartridge in the United States and the standard military cartridge of NATO. It is also widely misunderstood — by critics who dismiss it as underpowered and by advocates who oversell its capabilities alike. This book gives you the full picture.What’s Inside• The complete military history: from the Hitchman Report through Vietnam, the M16A1 corrections, NATO standardization, and the current NGSW program• The .222 Remington family and Eugene Stoner’s AR-15 design — how the cartridge and platform were engineered as a matched system• The .223 Remington vs. 5.56×45mm NATO distinction explained in full — chamber specs, pressure differences, the Wylde chamber, and what’s actually safe• Internal, external, and terminal ballistics in depth — including the fragmentation mechanism, velocity dependency, and the barrel length tradeoffs that define real-world performance• Factory ammunition guide across all categories: training FMJ, varmint, match, and defensive loads, with specific product recommendations and comparison tables• Complete handloading guide: brass preparation, powder selection by bullet weight, primer choice, bullet selection tables, and ten specific recommended loads with charge weights and velocities• The full AR-15 platform guide: barrel length, gas system length, twist rate, triggers, free-float handguards, and suppressor-ready build specifications• The derived cartridge family: .300 Blackout, .300 Whisper, .22 Nosler, .224 Valkyrie, 6.8 SPC, .458 SOCOM, and .50 Beowulf — what each does and why it exists• Suppressor performance, gas system tuning for suppressed use, and the post-Big Beautiful Bill regulatory landscape, effective January 2026• A direct engagement with the cartridge’s critics — the combat performance debate, the barrier penetration question, the “underpowered” argument — and an honest, data-based defenseAlso by Scott L. Buttrick — Firearms Reference• Cocked & Locked: The Complete Guide to the 1911• .45 Colt: An American Legend• .45 ACP: The American Cartridge — A Complete Guide• The Suppressed .22LR Handbook• The Ballistics of the .22 Long Rifle Cartridge (2nd Edition)• Precision Rimfire: The Budget .22LR Build• Arms of the Republic: American Military Small Arms 1754–2024• The Winchester Model 1912• The Gunsmith’s War Read more