5.56 vs 7.62×39: One Has a SAAMI Standard, One Does Not
SAAMI standardises .223 Remington and 7.62×39 — but not 5.56 NATO. And it tests them in different barrels: 24 inches against 20.
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6.5 Creedmoor vs 308: Same SAAMI Pressure, and the Bullet Does the Work
Under SAAMI the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .308 Winchester carry the identical 62,000 psi maximum average pressure. The .308 starts with more muzzle energy; the 6.5 recoils less. Match the bullets and the .308 wins at 1,000 yards — on the makers’ own published numbers.
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9mm vs 45 ACP: The Two FBI Papers Everyone Cites Disagree With Each Other
Buy the 9mm — more rounds, far less recoil, half the practice cost. But the popular reason why is a misreading of the document everyone cites, and the FBI’s own earlier paper says the opposite. We quote both, because they disagree.
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380 vs 9mm: The Comparison Is Rigged Before Anyone Writes a Word
9mm wins on the numbers — 1.63 times the pressure ceiling, roughly 1.8 times the energy once barrel length is controlled. But the comparison is measured dishonestly at the source, including by SAAMI and by the ammunition makers, and almost nobody says so.
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300 Blackout vs 556: One of These Will Destroy Your Rifle
A 300 Blackout round will chamber in a 5.56 barrel and destroy the rifle — that is the one fact in this comparison that is not a preference. Under SAAMI both cartridges carry an identical 55,000 psi ceiling, and SAAMI tests them in barrels eight inches apart.
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223 vs 556: The Pressure Numbers Everyone Quotes Aren’t Measured the Same Way
The pressure figures used to compare .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO come from three standards measuring at three different points, and CIP rates .223 at the exact number cited as proof 5.56 is hotter. The real difference is 0.077 inches of chamber leade — plus what happened when a lab actually measured it.
