Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tikka T3X Lite Compact 223

This rifle is stamped 223 on the barrel and I’ve tried researching as to whether it is safe to fire 5.56 in it. Nothing that I can find tells me if it will handle the 5.56. The owner's manual is not caliber specific so that doesn’t help. There are differences of opinion from various online comments.

Does anyone know for sure if the T3X Lite 223 will safely shoot 5.56?

Thanks

Here's what Hornady says

Hornady says (see link above) you could get excessive pressure firing 5.56 ammo in a .223 chamber. How bad would depend on how the individual chamber was cut, and that appears to be what your specific question is (i.e., specific to that particular brand and model). Typically barrels cut to chamber 5.56 ammo are stamped either 5.56 or Wylde, so short of checking your individual chamber and taking on the potential risk on your own, the answer is no, it wouldn't be considered safe to fire 5.56 in a .223 chamber.

My question is why you would want to fire 5.56 ammo in that particular gun outside of an emergency situation because most 5.56 ammo is ball ammo, and any 5.56 match grade ammo probably isn't any cheaper than the equivalent .223 ammo.

I reload so I don’t fire any factory ammo unless it’s to get a newly mounted scope on paper and it’s the cheap stuff that I don’t mind wasting.

The reason for my question is Hornady’s online reloading manual only lists 223 loads for 62 grain bullets and under whereas their 5.56 load data shows loads for the heavier bullets and don’t publish the pressures for a given load.
Hornady is only one of several manuals that I use for load development and have been using the manuals, other than Hornady, for heavier bullets.

Use Hogdons site:

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center

or

https://ramshot.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/WesternPowdersHandloadingGuide8.0_WEB.pdf

There are resources to help with reloading 223 with heavier bullets. Even more than these 2.

Yep, already been using those and more.

Have you asked Tikka?

If you are asking due to powder charges (my understanding) I wouldn't give it another
thought. Follow the work up procedures and rock on!

The concerns are throat and pressure.
5.56 bullets are seated out, and higher pressure,
get the bullet jammed into the throat and pressure gets higher still.

Assuming you seat your bullets sensibly, you are golden.

Competitors push 223 pressures well beyond anything you will find in a manual.
Out of AR rifles.

Work up.
Watch your brass.


If you really want it smoking, get a bigger round. Competitors push the 223
because of game rules. You have a Tikka. It could be rechambered into
a 22-300Win if desired. A 22-250 is available from the factory.

I sure wouldn't do it just to save a few bucks. You'll likely jam up your action with the over pressure 5.56mm hardball.

You can find some low cost .223 ammo to sight in with. Then take it from there.


41

If I owned that rifle I'd shoot anything in 5.56 that didn't jam bullets into rifling

You’re GTG.

I’m just a random dude on the internet but in all serious your rifle will be fine. The only time that I’d give even a second thought would be in a custom chambered .223 Rem barrel with a tighter than commercial spec dimension.

Tikka says it's fine to use 5.56 - check their website
They should know.

I couldn't find that on the Tikka website. Could you point me to it (provide a link) because I am interested.

Interesting - I can no longer find it either. A few years ago I bought a T3 (not T3x) and wondered about 5.56. At the time I found a statement on their website saying it was OK. Maybe they changed their stance or simply left it off the website.