Several of these cartridges began in military service, and the story shows in their shapes. Others are civilian originals. Separating the two helps you read the shelf.

The .303 British

The .303 British was adopted in 1888 and served in Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifles through two world wars. Sellier & Bellot, a Czech maker founded in 1825, still loads it, and those loads are at sellier & bellot 303 british ammo. Its .311-inch bullet is wider than the .308-inch bullet of the .308 Winchester, and the cases differ too, so the two cartridges are not interchangeable.

Military twins

The 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge, adopted in 1954, is the military twin of the .308 Winchester, whose civilian loads are at 308 ammunition.

The 5.56x45mm NATO is the twin of the .223 Remington, whose 55-grain loads, at 223 55 grain ammo, are the traditional practice weight. The pairs are close but not identical. Military 5.56 loads run at higher pressure than .223 Remington loads, so a rifle chambered only for .223 Remington should be fed .223 loads, and the .308 owner should check the barrel marking as well.

Built with the military in mind

The 300 Blackout was designed with military and suppressed use in mind, and its 125-grain loads are at 300 blackout 125 grain ammo.

The 300 Winchester Magnum was a civilian cartridge from the start, but it has served as a military sniper cartridge as well as a hunting round. Its hollow-point loads are at 300 win mag hollow point ammo.

Civilian originals

Not everything came from the arsenal. The .270 Winchester, from 1925, made its name in the hunting field, and its loads are at 270 ammo for sale.

The .280 Remington was introduced in 1957 for Remington's Model 740 autoloader and has stayed far less common than the .270. Its loads are at 280 ammo.

The .243 Winchester, a 1955 civilian design, has Federal loads at federal 243 ammo. The 300 WSM, from 2001, was built as a short-action magnum, and anyone who wants to buy 300 wsm ammo needs a rifle chambered for it.

The newest of the group is the 224 Valkyrie, a Federal design announced in 2017 for the AR-15 platform, whose hollow-point loads are at 224 valkyrie hollow point ammo.

Military and civilian versions of a cartridge are not always interchangeable. Match your rifle's chambering to the box, and confirm current stock and state shipping restrictions