.223/5.56 - Would you own it if not for a semi?

Both, as I first bought a HBAR for DCM service rifle matches

abd to give CLINTON and Sarah Brady the FINGER,
then a bought a 1978 are T/C Contender and most of the Octagon barrels available.

Then I got two 21" T/C barrels [30/30 Win & .223Rem], so I use that for varmint hunting and coyotes, just need to use .223 commercial.

Recently, have used the HBAR for coyotes.

So, both.
 
Yes........my current yodel dog medicine is a Browning A-Bolt in 25-06.Little much for the grandkids so a RAR in .223 is on my to buy list.I've owned several 223's over the years..........Remington,Savage,Ruger.All were accurate but right handed,I hate a right hand bolt gun but back in the day left hand rifles were very limited.I'd get tired of the bolt being on the wrong side and sell or trade it away.My opinion is,in the right hands the 223 will do anything any other small caliber center fire will but always less expensively.

Oh and that RAR 223 on my list.........it'll be left handed as well.Grandkids will be firing it in single shot mode anyway.
 
I had gotten my wife a Rossi R243 several years ago. She was darn accurate with it, but didn't like that it broke open for every round.

This fall i ran accross a Savage 110 FP for the low price of $250.
Traded the Rossi for it.

1:9 twist 24" heavy barrel.
Trigger pull was set at 6lb.
Nice crisp 3 now.
Atlas knock off bipod.
Vortex Diamondback "Tactical" 4-12X40 scope.
Still needs bedded.
She's shooting 69gr. Matchkings. ( I'll have to check distributor to see if they habe TMKs).
 
Blade37db asked:
...would you own/buy/shoot .223/5.56 if you didn't have the semi platform to shoot it out of?
Click to expand...

You make it sound as if the purchase of the semi-automatic rifle forced the choice of 223/5.56 upon me. It did not.

I had another semi-automatic platform already; 30 Carbine, which was more than adequate for the under-200 yard ranges I was shooting. When I decided that I wanted a more powerful cartridge, I had my choice between 223 in the Mini-14/AR-15 or 308 in an AR-10 or a Remington 30-06 semi-automatic that a friend had modified to use Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) magazines.

I chose the 223 for a number of reasons and having made the choice of cartridge decided on the rifle to fire it. At the end of the day, that decision was ultimately made primarily on the basis of price and I bought a Mini-14.

I later added a Savage Axis rifle to my collection and got it in 223/5.56 as well.
 
I’ve got two AR’s in .223, and a bolt gun.

I’ve also got a .22 Hornet, had it for about 8 years before I ended up with a .223. I really had no desire for a .223 since my Hornet did everything I needed it to for squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, etc.

Ended up being gifted an AR lower, then an upper, and then enough left over parts from my two brothers AR builds to build an AR for $75 out of my pocket, so I did. Was then gifted an original SP1 and a Weatherby in .223 from my father.

If I hadnt got the .223’s as gifts, or almost free, I wouldn’t have a .223 at all. I don’t have anything against.223/5.56, and enjoy shooting the rifles I have, but the Hornet came first, and was doing just fine for what I use it, and the .223, for.
 
I had a pair of.223 Rem. bolt guns for several years before I bought my first AR, an original S&W M&P 15 Sport. It joined my Remington 700 SPS Varmint and Weatherby Vanguard Varmint Special. The AR carbine was almost as accurate as the Weatherby, while giving up both accuracy and velocity to the 26" barreled Remington. To try to bring the auto loader closer to the bolt gun, I bought a Stag Model 6 Varminter capable of near Remington accuracy and it's 24" barrel much closer in velocity as well.
A few months ago, I saw a great deal on a Stag Model 4 Rifle Kit and grabbed one along with an Anderson stripped lower and had my son assemble it. I like having an A2 20" rifle for less than $525. I still have all 3 AR's and both bolt guns (although my son has "borrowed" my Weatherby on a semi-permanent basis). If AR's were banned, I would still keep my .223 bolt guns, as they are my primary varmint tools. I plan on keeping all of them, eventually maybe re-barreling my Remington to .223 Ackley Improved.
 
Nearly twenty five years ago I was in a pawn shop buying a Browning Model 5 12 ga with bird and deer barrels, Parkerized. On the counter was a box of cast lead, lubed, sized, gas checked 58gr .224 caliber RN bullets I've never counted them, but just by weight I estimate there were about 1250 bullets, for five bucks. I did not want to shoot them through my Mini14 or Colt HBAR Match due to leading concerns, so about ten years later I ran across an H&R single shot with a cheap scope affordably, so bought it. Came in real handy during the .22LR crisis and shortage. Compared to ARs and the like, a very relaxing, leisurely way to plink, kinda like muzzle loaders and cannons. I do have an AR pistol I built that has become my truck gun and daily meandering around gun, along with a sidearm, of course. And building two more ARs, another pistol and a rifle, in 25-45 Sharps.
 
The only .223/5.56 rifle I own is a single shot (TC Encore). I've owned a few semi-autos in the caliber and I'm not averse to owning one again, but the answer is yes. I would (and do) own a .223/5.56 rifle that isn't a semi-auto.
 
hdwhit - Didn't mean it that way.

My assumption (somewhat incorrect) was that most people started with .223/5.56 because of buying/owning a semi in that caliber. I was also curious to see how many shooters own rifles (bolt, single shot, lever) in the caliber without having a semi.
 
I have three bolt-action .223s; none being semi-autos. My first one is a Tikka 595, second is a Rem stainless 700 Light Varmint.

The newest is a 700 ADL I got NIB from a salvage store (Mardens) for $240, which I just couldn't pass up. After a bit of bedding/trigger adjusting it shoots about as well as the other two. I may get a better stock for it at some point, but it carries nicely with a sling, so it's being used as a walkabout rifle.
 
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It started with a Savage 222/20 gauge combination gun. Then I bought a 7mm mag bolt gun for deer. Used it for woodchucks and offhand matches. Sort of shot the barrel out with 115 gr bullets.

I wanted a centerfire rifle for the offhand rifle match I shoot every Saturday morning. A 222 would have been great. 223 looked better, ammo availability, similar cartridge, so I bought a Savage model 25 in 223. I really like it. Shoots a little over an inch with cheap FMJ 55 grain. Shoots 1/2" with handloads 100 yards. Maybe I could get better than that but have not tried many bullets. I buy 500 55 gr Spire point for $50.00 and load them on top of pull down 4895. I HAD an 8 lb jug. Its empty now.

For really accurate stuff I have a Remington 700VL in 22-250 I load with 53 gr HP.

The Savage 223 has a thumbhole stock and fits me like a glove. I shoot it a lot.

I have an M1A that sits in the safe. My only centerfire semi auto. The rest are bolt or single shot.

No real interest in an AR type rifle. I have witnessed some folks shoot well with them in military matches. I use my M1A.

David
 
Not sure i have anything additional to add other than to say i had a bolt action 223 and ended up rebarreling it. On a day with just about any amount of wind I couldn't hear it hit steel past about 150 yds and the wind sure pushes that caliber around (I never shot higher than 69 gr though). It became a 260 Rem for whatever its worth.

If you were using it for kids to shoot or you had ample varmint shooting to do then it could be a good option. I know people shoot it in competiton so its not a bad round... just not for me.
 
Personally, I never did get into the AR phenomenon, and up until a little over a year ago, I'd never shot one, either. Though I have been a couple of times near persuaded to acquire an AR, I never did, and now, most likely never will. I had the opportunity, and did, shoot one as I mentioned a little over a year ago, and I had the "green light" to clean out a 30 rd. magazine on a M4 carbine with a red dot sight on it. It was fun, but after about 15 rounds, I'd satisfied my curiosity on my own interest on an AR. I passed the rifle back to the owner, thanked him, and he went through the rest of the mag. We picked up the brass, and he put it away.

Since I believe you're not a hunter, this is just FWIW.

I do now own a .223 in a M700, ADL, and since it's legal to hunt deer and antelope in Wyoming with that caliber (60grn. bullet minimum restriction), I thought I'd buy one, and did. I reload, and have had more fun with that rifle; cheap to reload for, and no recoil. I have two M700s in '06 that are of the same platform as that .223, and other than the action length difference, all three rifles fit me almost exactly and as close as three different rifles could fit someone (all operating features the same, and all the triggers are set fairly equal, too). Needless to say, I can shoot that .223 pretty much all day, where either of those two '06s, a dozen or so rounds are most times quite enough to sit and shoot with at the bench.

My .223 is quite accurate for an "out of the box" factory rifle, and I'd have no problem hunting a whitetail with it, keeping the range under 200 yds. Had the Wyoming G&F not legalized the .223 for big game, I most likely never would have bought into that caliber. I'm glad I can hunt deer with it if I choose, and I'm glad it's been so much fun to shoot, easy to reload for, and as I've mentioned, quite accurate. Seems these days the .223 is chambered in a bolt gun from all the firearms manufacturers, so one has the choice of many. I really like my Remington, trigger and all, but I believe if I was to buy another, I'd probably go with the standard Ruger American.
 
My first ever rifle was a Savage 16FSS in .223. I mainly do target shooting and it’s relatively cheap, and available. I like it well enough so yep, I’d still have it without an AR.
 
My question is - those that shoot/own .223/5.56 because they own a semi for it (AR, Mini, AK/Saiga) - would you own/buy/shoot .223/5.56 if you didn't have the semi platform to shoot it out of?

While I can't speak for others I owned my 223 bolt gun long before I ever owned an AR. The bolt gun was built off of pices and parts of a Remington 222 rifle.

Ron
 
I shoot my .223 Sako rifles a lot more than I shoot my ARs. A precision bolt action in .222 or .223 is a real pleasure to shoot.
 
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