imported post
Big Gay Al wrote:
UCWT wrote:
"While there is a difference in the size of the cartridge, I can tell you, the diameter difference between the bullets is not enough to tell the difference just by looking at the end of the barrel.
Both are considered twenty-twos. Generally speaking, a .22 caliber (or calibre) is a small, rimfire cartridge used for hunting small game and in Texas unlawful for large game. Rifles, pistols and revolvers are chambered for this cartridge. It is a straight case cartridge in that it does not have a bottle-neck like its larger, center-fire cousins.
In the standard twenty-two there is the 'long rifle,' 'long,' and 'short,' and all three variations differ only in length therefore can generally be used in the same firearm. A variation of this is the longer .22 magnum which does not interchange with the standard twenty-twos, nor is it legal in Texas to hunt big game.
The .223 caliber is also known as the 5.56 AR-16 (or M-16) standard US military cartridge also used by most US police departments. It is still a .22 diameter bullet, or projectile, that is discharged by this round, but it is much more potent than the standard, or even the .22 Magnum. It is a center-fire, bottle-necked cartridge.
The .223 still belongs to the family of .22s because the bullet discharged is .22 of an inch in diameter, It is in the large, center-fire categorey and differentiated by the final '3' to not be confused with the rimfire variety. In this category there also is the .222 Remington; the .222 Remington Magnum and the .22-250, to mention a few.