Is the .22 Nosler the next “The Next Best Thing” for the AR-15? Here are the pros and cons of this new cartridge.

by Joe Carlos

The first I ever heard of the .22 Nosler was a very informative article by Aaron Carter in the July 2017 issue of American Rifleman. I suggest you review that article for greater detail because I have no intention of paraphrasing it. I will hit on a few areas where Mr. Carter and I are in disagreement, however.

According to Carter’s article, Nosler wanted to introduce a new round that would magazine feed in the Mouse Gun with a higher velocity than the old .223 Remington. Supposedly, Nosler wanted the velocity of the new round to equal that of the .22-250, a round not commonly used in Stoner-platform firearms. In order to achieve such a tall order, Nosler designed a new case that has the same length as the .223 Remington but is fatter, allowing it to hold more powder. This fatter case of the Nosler won’t feed properly in regular AR-15 magazines so 6.8 mm SPC magazines must be substituted.

Read more in the March 2019 issue.

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