Tell me about Wylde chambers for ARs

S

sigcurious

New member
In my search for parts, I keep seeing uppers with Wylde chambers. A search for what that is left me with basic information. Some sort of hybrid chamber and something about being particularly liked for long range shooting because it pairs particularly well with 88gr bullets.

Beyond that information got conflicting, some people saying it's no good for regular 5.56 ammo only use handloads or .223, others saying its fine for everything. So...Whats the deal on Wylde chambers?
 
If I understand the concept properly (I've never actually looked into it), I assume it must be the following:

A chamber capable of firing both .223 Rem and 5.56x45mm, but without the sloppy tolerances of a standard military chamber.

To accomplish that, I imagine you would take a standard .223 Rem chamber (which is tighter than a standard 5.56x45mm chamber), and give it the longer throat of the 5.56.
 
I think it is just like FM said.

The idea is that you can shoot 5.56 ball ammo with no problem. But you can also shoot 223 ammo with more accuracy than a similar rifle with a standard 5.56 chambering. Supposedly, a standard 5.56 chamber is not quite as accurate with high quality 223 ammo.

My Rock River 16" barrel has a standard 5.56 chamber, and I get 1" groups at 100 yards with Winchester 223 64 grain soft points. That is better than I get with M193 and M885 ball ammo. So for me, the wylde chamber does not seem that important.
 
A few AR15 manufacturers incorporate the use of a hybrid chamber specification known as the Wylde chamber. Designed by and named after Bill Wylde, the Wylde chamber was designed to accurately shoot the military ball ammo of the day while still feeding reliably. Coincidentally, it shoots the longer 80 gr bullets commonly used in the sport of Highpower Rifle Competition very well and is one of the preferred chambers for that use. While the Wylde chamber allows for optimal seating depth of 80 grain bullets over .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO, it is capable of accepting both ammunition types. The Wylde chamber is used by a few manufacturers who sell "National Match" configuration AR-15 rifle.
 
RRA uses it on what I call their Hunger series (Predator pursuit, Coyete and ATH)

They guaranteed a 3/4 MOA.

Wylde chamber Ups the ante a bit, but then you up it with that series gun as it has stainless barrel to go with it.

For anyone considering it, the ATH is a very nice blend of tactical full top rail and a varmint gun. I think it mixes both world nicely.

Its moved to be my backup house gun and I can target shoot with it. Good hand grip. Nice stock.
 
I have a custom with a 'wylde' chamber. When I was talking to the smith about it he said there are about 100 different chambers for the 223/5.56, should one want to get technical. The wylde chamber works for me, it's in a custom AR.
 
Although I haven't shot my Wylde chambered AR enough to really gauge it's accuracy, I will say the intial shooting has been disappointing. This is a higher cost upper than some others I have that shot great right out of the gate and I was expecting better.
I'm hoping another 100 rounds brings it around to better performance. At this point, I wouldn't spend the $$ for the Wylde option compared to a standard 5.56 chamber.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top