IMI 223 vs IMI 5.56 vs Federal 5.56 

The rifle I used was a Colt AR15A2 chambered in 5.56 Nato with a 1/7 twist.

If you zoom in on that bee, you'll see it was smoking a cigarette, then it wasn't.

You have to appreciate someone who has 600k plus subs without shilling for anyone, getting handed guns, ammo, or optics, doesn't blow stuff up or act a fool. None of the usual stuff that drives clicks. That is entertaining at times, don't get me wrong, but the fact that Paul is where he is by providing entertaining and informative content without BS or clickbait, is truly awesome. I mean, he makes chronograph testing enjoyable for goodness sake. He should have 1M plus subs though, so let's get out there and get spreading the word and share.

Paul: “Today we are going to compare two boxes of the exact same ammo to each other.” Me: “hell ya, Im in”

Had to drop what I was doing and watch the newest video! I can get married some other day.

That fly at 9:03 was feeling lucky. HOLY HELL THE BEE AT 10:07 NEARLY SAW GOD.

"That low shot was just me, I couldn't help shooting the stinger off that bumble bee." "He'll be feeling that in the morning."

Paul Harrell, is someone you could have a conversation with about anything, in a calm, polite, informative manner, and feel good about the whole discussion. A rarity in todays times.

That bumble bee almost got nailed on that last low shot. LMAO!

8:49 little sky buddy playing a *dangerous* game. Nopes out in time, fly away sky buddy. Fly away. 10:05 Bumble Buddy comes in to help make fruit and honey. Bumble buddy comes within a whisker of vanishing in a puff of pollen. Fly away Bumble Buddy. Fly away.

10:07 Paul almost shoots the nuts off a honey bee at 100yds

Back at the hive: "Pour me another one, Buzz." "Make it a tall one."

Paul focusses the camera on the target then shoots from 200 yards away. Says it's only 100 so we don't feel so bad. Thanks Paul.

I have to be regularly tested by the federal government on my ability to instruct (for my job) and maintain an instructor certificate, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Paul has completed at least one or two courses on human behavior, effective communication, the teaching process, and/or the learning process. Either that, or comments on RU-vid have turned him this way. His presentation style is extremely effective and mimics what the best and most successful instructors in my line of work do.

RU-vid should promote channels like this, not shadow ban them

That bee told his friends, "I ain't scared. I'm going to buzz the white part." Then he said to himself , " I did it & I'm out-a-here".

Those flies had no idea just how close they came to meeting their end. So, if you're reincarnated as a fly, just remember: When flying about Paul's range, stay out of the center of the target and you'll be fine. Probably.

10:07 That bee is one lucky bastard, I tell you what...

That 2nd bee just missed bee-ing hit.

Someone on the Internet: Asks a question Paul: I am going to do an intense scientific analysis of this.

Aww, no meat target. Oh well it was still a thousand times better than any other gun-tuber video I’ve seen this week.

I wish half the car review channels put in just half the amount of work reviewing cars as Paul does reviewing ammo.

Man, Paul has got some eagle vision reading that chrono. And I've always thought Federal Ammo was the good stuff.

I don't have this ammo. I don't even have a 5.56, but I would watch Paul talk about paint drying. So, here I am.

Paul's track record means...he drops a video, it gets a like. Then I sit back, relax and enjoy being right.

I'm almost certain that both imi ammos would have annealed cases. The difference is that the 223 cases were polished after annealing.

I've never claimed to be a sharp shooter or a marksman but my 100yd groups never turn out like the federal group through irons ..

BTW, the 223 ammo was heat treated just like the 5.56, it's just polished off in a tumbler after loading to remove the color bands. Looks better for the people who don't know any better.

Federal had very low deviation in speed from shot to shot. That probably also helped with consistency in accuracy.

When Paul gives a positive ammo review, bet the farm none will be available for the next 3 months....

That was the luckiest bee on earth. I'm pretty sure he's got a smooth spot on his rear end now.

No insects were harmed in the making of this RU-vid.

Paul added, with a classic Shatneresque pause, 'I'm not sure why that bumblebee keeps circling my target.' As he covers his bullet holes with more skittles flavored stickers.

Every bottle neck cartridge case gets annealed in the manufacturing process. It is just simply required when brass is shaped so heavily as it work hardens. So the 5.56 ammo is not "heat treated" it is just that with civilian ammo the manufacturers tumble the cases or even the finished cartridges after the heat treating in order to make them look "pretty". This is not required in the military 5.56 standard and left out also in order to save costs. As far as I am aware it is even required for military ammo to look a bit dull so they aren't so shiny and reflective and cause sun glare.

Paul : " We don't debate difference between 5.56 and 223!" People in comments : " Ha .. but WE definitely will ! "

That bee does not know how lucky it is.....

After a long hard day I get to sit down in my recliner and watch a Paul Harrell video. This made my evening :-)

I would say that the .223 was seated a bit deeper for bolt-action rifles versus the 5.56mm being out further for semi-auto rifles. The 5.56mm rifles tend to have a longer leade to aid functionality versus the .223 rifles having a shorter leade to aid accuracy. Leade is the portion of the rifling that isn't fully rifled, it's sort of shallow. Shorter leade, the bullet engages a tiny bit quicker, and that aids accuracy. Longer leade, it engages a fraction slower, but in a semi-auto rifle, that little "jump" helps run ammo that might not be as consistent. And that's likely why IMI packaged those differently, for different market segments. I'm sure someone with a gunsmithing degree can explain it better, but that's my understanding of the difference.

Dude shot iron sights with that federal XM193 like a boss

Almost nailing that bee with the 223 was worth the price of admission for me at 10:08 ...Paul you're an amazing shot!

What timing! I was just watching the Thanksgiving special when notification for this popped up. Thanks Paul.

You have no idea how many arguments I have resolved with these videos. Thank you Paul keep up the good work.

Superb video, as usual from you Paul...thank you.

Mr. Bee almost got a taste of Paul’s forbidden pasty flowers

As an instructor......Paul Harrell is without a doubt one of the sources of “actual “ no bias firearm information I have found. Great!!!

Impressive shooting as always Paul!

Thank for a great presentation and analysis!

Really cool comparison that I was thinking about but couldn’t find any good articles tackling the subject. I’m enjoying going through a few hundred of your videos while I’m off work for a few days. Cheers!

That low one was just me trying to hit that bee at one hundred yards! Paul frowns!

excellent content from Paul, as always.

Paul, thanks for the awesome videos! Also thanks for any viewers who helped procure ammunition for the testing in these interesting times.

Watching Paul on a Saturday, reading Paul on Sunday. Another straightforward video thank you Paul.

Just like a Marine, more questions than answers... seriously, enjoy your content Paul. New to shooting/ owning my 2 ND. So thankful for trainers/devotees/Patriots/regular (people my age/mentality) still teaching. Learning a great deal from your experience. I imagine you are/were one hell of a trainer. Thank you again for your service

Disappointed it was not raining. Just can't have a Paul video without rain or snow.

Thanks for making this one Brother. The IMI 556 is my main stock and it's been very consistent in all my years shooting with it.

Awesome, ty for the share Paul

If you would stop trying to kill the insects flying around the target you might get a tighter group. Hahaha

Suggestion for video topic: Selecting after market optics and sights. I think we would all like to hear what Paul has to say on the topic, and I can see it being done with not too much ammo usage (a good thing in a time of shortage).

Paul: "There's no replacement for shot placement" Paul: Shooting off-hand at 100 yards 5:45 Rumor has it, Paul is blacklisted from "Shoot Out the Star" and other carnival games involving guns.

Great video. Thanks Paul !

I recently sighted in my AR pistol with the IMI stuff. Everyone claims it's better than the ammo from Lake City. It was more accurate than Armscor, (from a bench rest, 2.5" groups at 25 yards vs. 3-4 inches with the Armscor - not making any great claims about my marksmanship, btw) but I couldn't find any Federal to compare it to at the time (although I did find some afterward). Glad you did this video.

Yes I actually needed this review

Great information. Thanks for the video

Good, practical information. Thanks for sharing, Paul.

My more "budget" AR has never shot a group smaller than 3 MOA with any kind of ammo. Bought a bunch of IMI 77 gr in 2020 for a different rifle, shot some in my budget AR last week and it shot 3 different 5 shot groups at 1/2 MOA. Surprised the heck out of me

Might also be worth noting that your A2 might simply prefer one loading over the other two. Swapping out the rifle might well turn in a different result with respect to which ammunition shot more accurately. Regardless, I'd be happy as heck to be able to drop a hundred-yard iron sight group that good with *any* ammo reliably. Thank you for the good presentation!

thanks paul for the video and thank you for the 556 federal ammo. keep up the good work!!

I watched your video when it was first released and it definitely interested me in the IMI. I have sent bought quite a bit of 55gr 556 and I'm shooting it out of a 16in 556 1/8 twist rifle...I am so glad you made this video Paul, because it is a tack driver out of my rifle, it really does perform remarkably well. Thank you Paul I don't know if I would have ever bought in this ammo if it hadn't been for your video review.

Great video and observations of build between Mil-Spec and Commercial ammunition. Being your AR is of a 5.56mm chamber dimension, it will safely digest anything of these two types (.223/5.56) you care to put through it without issue other than accuracy differences you've shown here. However the differences between caliber designations only truly show when one attempts to fire a 5.56mm through a rifle chambered for .223 Remington. Because 5.56mm chambers are slightly larger, with a longer throat (runout) area between the chamber and bore. The 5.56mm ammunitions projectile Ogive is set farther forward than a typical .223 round. Inversely the chamber throat of a .223 Remington chambered gun will be slightly shorter. So when you place a 5.56mm into the .223 chamber the projectiles Ogive will contact the bore of the barrel before lock-up. And it is because of this that the pressure on firing will spike. This normally results in the primer being blown leaving a hole the size of the bolt faces firing pin hole in the primer. The piece of the blown primer will normally be blown backwards through the bolt face ending up lodged inside the bolt body. The effect of this damage is cumulative on the guns service life. The pressure of 55,000 PSI being vented back against the bolt face is like a blow-torch. This will result in severe erosion of the firing pin hole leading to the eventual need to replace the bolt itself (very expensive). Also the deposited primer pieces can and will cause malfunctions such as light strikes to primers. I base these observations on 42 years as a gunsmith, 12 of which was at Weatherby Inc. I have personally serviced well over 200 Weatherby .223 rifles for this very thing of blown primers because the owners were attempting to use, at that time cheaper surplus 5.56mm ammunition through their .223 rifles. The point begs repeating, shoot only the ammunition your firearm was made for.

I was hoping Paul was going to say that 3082 is a lot more than 3081 with his trademark sense of humor just to tweak the comment commandos.

Nicely done sir

Thanks for making the IMI 223, IMI 5.56 and Federal 5.56 video.

Good Saturday just got better!!!!! Just got back from my FFL!!!

"We are not talking about 5.56mm vs .223"... But, umm, maybe, ummm *touching fingers together* can we, Papa?

Great video Paul

Thanks Paul!

Tedious chronograph testing to me is a very peaceful way to enjoy the day !

10:23 "And the one shot thats really low...that was just BEE!"

I love your videos mr. Harrell, some truly amazing and entertaining stuff. You keep the right amount of discipline where you don't spend time in the videos on useless crap, but you do throw in some things that are funny, especially for people who watched your videos for a long time. Keep up the great content!

love these comparisons

Did anyone else kinda expect to see some deer in the background?

Whoohoo! New vid from Uncle Paul! Strap in and enjoy the ride! I'm betting on the Federal XM193 working better - let's find out! And as usual, worth the trip! That bumblebee had a death wish, didn't she? :) And as I thought, The XM193 comes out on top. I can live with that. (glances over at ammo-can full of Federal XM-193 and smiles)

Honestly you are one of favorite gun channels. Its so refreshing to watch a gun channel where you know your stuff. You know you know your stuff we know you your stuff instead some channels where the you tuber had no military training unlike your self however they played to many call of duty games watched to many films put a fancy assault vest and helmet on and think they are SAS or something.

As always, very informative, but I'm sure it will raise more questions than it answered. Thanks Mr. Harrell!

"tedious chronograph testing" lol that's our favorite part!!!

I would imagine waiting for a new iPhone model to drop for Apple crazies, is just like us fans of Paul Harrell waiting for a Paul Harrell video to drop.

Very helpful. Thank you

Paul reminds me of a guy named Greg, from the YT channel Greg's airplanes. Super knowledgeable, articulate and can talk for hours without boring you all the while teaching you stuff you thought you knew but didn't. Greg taught me more about WW2 fighters than I ever thought I would even care to know. Paul is kinda like the gun version of Greg.

Good thing he isn't reviewing Winchester XM193. All four of my packs were shorted on ammo, he may not have been able to finish this video.

Hi Paul, just an idea for another video: I know you like the iron sights but can you do a comparison with different sights on the AR15? Iron sights vs Red Dot vs ACOG vs 1-8x Scope - accuracy and speed difference. Greetings from Austria :)

Great video....thank you 👏

thanks Paul!!

Damn it. I don't have time for this! I will make time...

As I understand, most bottlenecked ammunition is heat treated. Commercial ammunition is then polished. Military isn't polished as a cost savings measure.

I know I'm way off topic here but I'm happy and had to tell it I just ordered a gun that I've been wanting for about three years now It's the traditions kentucky rifle DIY kit

As always...great video. 😎

Will "Paul Harrel's book of Caveats" be released in time for Christmas?

Finally here early, i bought a ruger mini 14 and need to learn all about 223 and 556

Keep it up, Paul. Love your videos.

Thanks Paul.