5.56/.223 bolt action recommendations?

The Ruger American is not currently offered in .223.


I'm not going to tell a man to do anything unsafe, but I think if shooting 5.56 ammo in .223 bolt rifles was a serious issue you would have heard numerous reports of people getting injured and kB'ing their guns. I have not seen or heard of any such report. Not even one, to say nothing of multiples. Take that as you will.
 
Thanks for the correction, tubeshooter. I remember now that 243 is their smallest caliber. They need to add 223, but I suppose they are bolt-face centered right now, since I think all their offerings are 308 case based.

Well, the OP still has plenty of choices and all of them are good. He just needs to go handle some rifles.
 
The vanguard and howa I looked at at scheels are both quite nice and are .223.... if I were to disregard certain things I think they would be very nice. The vanguard in particular has an extremely smooth bolt, unlike the savage I had looked at before. I practically had to beat that one with a hammer.

The vanguard has a adjustable trigger which I like the idea of. I'll have to read about the accuracy once I'm at home. The Howa that scheel's offers has a 3-5 to 12 or 14 scope, but it looks blurry at times, which I think is more because of the poor lighting in the store than anything else. I'm not sure if they offer it without a scope.

Too many good choices. Why Can't I just win the lottery? lol
 
The Vanguard and Howa are both good choices and would serve you well. I like my Howa and I would be hard pressed to find a better rifle for the money.
 
The Vanguard and Howa are both good choices and would serve you well. I like my Howa and I would be hard pressed to find a better rifle for the money.
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I would have to find a howa without a scope if I was going to buy one, I'm not thrilled about the scopes that come with rifles. The vanguard felt fine as well. I'll have to go sometime during the week though so I can get a better idea how it feels. Regardless of if there is a trigger lock on them, I still feel uncomfortable aiming a rifle down an aisle.... especially when someone comes around the corner and sees a guy aiming a rifle their direction. It's usually very empty during the week.

If I am buying 'regular' ammo 55gr .223 what twist should I be looking for?
 
I am still shopping for a CZ 527 Varmint. I contacted CZ and verified it is chambered for 5.56 NATO.

My reloading books show that the 5.56 is hotter, that is more powder than .223.

The way I think about it is like this: 5.56 is like .223 +P+
It is just an analogy, but one that I can remember.

Here is a quote from another forum on shooting 5.56 NATO in a bolt gun:

Back when I was younger and stupider , I didn't know they were loaded to different max pressures.

I had a very nice Remington 700 BDL Varminter in .223. I found some 5.56 and thought, "I wonder how accurate this stuff is compared to my reloads?"

I shot one round, and it blew out the primer, blowing the primer indent back into my bolt, tying up the rifle. I was through for the day.

Took it to a gunsmith and he disassembled the bolt and got the piece of the primer out. I learned my lesson.
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The website for the cz says otherwise. Ive heard others say similar things after 'talking with customer service'.

While i dont doubt what you were told, if 5.56 isnt stamped on the barrel then you are just taking a chance with firing 5.56 out of it.

Maybe i can just find someone to trade .223 for my 5.56 rounds..... Or just save them for an ar later.
 
I would have to find a howa without a scope if I was going to buy one, I'm not thrilled about the scopes that come with rifles.
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I agree, package deals with scopes are usually a waste of money IMO, you're buying the rifle you want and paying extra for a scope that isn't worth having. The Nikko Sterlings that come on those Howas are cheap junk.

If I am buying 'regular' ammo 55gr .223 what twist should I be looking for?
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I'm not a .223 expert but my Ruger M77 MKII target in .223 has a 1:9 twist and it shoots the 55 gr bullets VERY well. I'd say the 1:9 is about ideal for 55's and would also work well with heavier and lighter bullets, but anwhere from 1:8 to 1:12 should be ok.
 
If I am buying 'regular' ammo 55gr .223 what twist should I be looking for?
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The Howa 223's that I have seen are 1:12 twist. They will shoot ammo 55 grains and below fine. If you want to shoot ammo heavier than 55gr, look for a 1:8 or 1:9 twist. Both my Marlin X7VH and Savage 10FP are 1:9 and shoot 75 gr MHP's well out to 300 yards.
 
This is the reply from CZ USA:

I'm sure you know this already, but our rifles are built to CIP spec, which doesn't differentiate between .223 and 5.56, it uses the higher pressure of the two and considers them one cartridge. So our rifles are built to shoot anything from match .223 to surplus 5.56.
 
I also contacted Browning and was told theirs are .223 only.

I only trust what the manufactures state and not what I read online.
 
bolt

I'll comment that a bolt .223 is a useful rifle to have in the stable. Mine's a MarkX Mini-Mauser, but there are plenty of others.

One thought is to keep the rifle choice proportionate in size, ie,don't get carried away with an uber bull barrel and Hubble Telescope size optic. One of the joys of my Mini-Mauser w/ the 6x on it, is that its portable, easy to carry afoot and stow in the Bronco, and thus it goes places regularly. Conversely, my Ruger 77V in 22-250 is great shooter, but with its varmint tube and fixed 12x, is borderline crew served and only gets out for static shooting sessions.

I was at Gander Mtn the other day and there was some sort of Mossberg bolt there with a slender fluted barrel, synthetic stock, matte finish, in .223 that seemed very interesting, ...I don't know if it was the AR mag fed rifle or not.
Similarly, something like a Rem Model 7 would be in the same league. As mentioned the Savage Axis is another, and though a bit stout, the Hog Rifle in .223 could be another.....though a tad heavy.
 
first to sirgilligan, wasn't trying to call you a liar or anything. I just have seen plenty of people saying the same thing, though not for a $700 rifle like the cz, which is about the same as the mossberg mpv, so I am more inclined to believe it compared to the ones I've heard say that savage reps tell them 5.56 is fine also. I've called savage and been told otherwise which caused me to shy away from the axis I was going to purchase originally.

As for size concerns, I'm not really worried about size issues. I will only be using it for target/range shooting. I realize I can't get a tack driving super gun for the $300-600ish I want to spend, but something reasonable accurate would be great.

vanguard 2, mvp, maybe howa are dancing around my list. If I trusted my luck I would buy a cheap axis and fire whatever I wanted through it.

I really do wish that rifles could be returned if they sucked, but ah well.
 
The 5.56 NATO max pressure spec is 62,000 psi
The SAAMI .223 max pressure spec is 55,000 psi.
The C.I.P .223 max pressure spec is 62,000 PSI

I personally don't shoot 5.56 rounds out of my .223 rifles, I have contacted the manufacturers of my .223 rifles and they both said not to fire .556 ammo in them. the "possibility of dangerously high pressure" was cited by both.

I can tell you for a fact that there are instances where high pressure can result from this. A family member of mine shot 5.56 in his bolt action .223 rifle, the bolt would not open, he took the rifle to a local smith to have the bolt opened and case removed.
 
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I have 2 AR 15's, one is a colt match target competition with 1 in 9 20" barrel, the other is a S&W Sport with 1 in 8 16" barrel. With handloads they will both shoot Sub MOA @ 100 yds. I only shoot handloads using 223 load data, never bought any 5.56 ammo but the option is there. I paid 600.00 for the Smith and 1200.00 for the colt and I cannot see where one is any more accurate then the other. Now I want an accurate bolt 223 rifle just because I do not have a bolt gun yet. I really like the 223 round and am not very interested in any other caliber.
 
I didn't take it that anyone was calling me a liar.

This is one of those topics where I think one should contact the manufacturers and not trust others, it is just too important.

I have read that you can have the throat of a .223 REM chamber altered into a 5.56 chamber. I just couldn't do that to a rifle. There are plenty of good ammo choices for .223, the big concern is the twist rate.
 
as rebs said I have also just toyed with the idea of getting a colt first, but it seems a little overkill if I just want to have something as a range/target shooter. Honestly haven't looked into the accuracy of a colt at all. The only range near me is 100yds, though I think there is a 300yd range within 30 miles. It would solve my ammo dilemma but also costs 2x more than a bolt and would still need optics.

I don't know how accurate .223 is out of a 5.56 barrel, so all in all maybe it would be better if I just skip the 5.56 idea and drop down to .223.
 
The ONLY difference I have seen in hours of reading between a .223 barrel and a 5.56 barrel is how long the throat is. IE, the part of the barrel just before the threads start. 5.56, to my understanding is slightly longer throat than a .223 barrel. I also have researched and found MOST MODERN bolt actions will fire 5.56 with no issues. Companies have lawyers to CYA and have every right and expectation to do so. The ONLY issues I have come upon is the .223 target barrels in a AR style rifle may SLIGHTLY erode the throat becuase of HEAVY rapid fire and use of 5.56 ammo becuase of more pressure and heat from the slightly hotter loads. The case dimensions of the two are IDENTICAL. So using reasoning and research there is little to no damage in a bolt action .223 firing 5.56 becuase of the inherent slow rate of fire.

But if one feels differently than me that is fine. I am just sharing my conclusions to EXTENSIVE research and talking with people with actual experience and knowledge of said activities.

Take it for what it is worth.
 
I am shooting hand loads in both my AR's using Lake City brass loaded to 223 Rem data. No problems and very accurate, most of my hand loads shoot sub MOA @ 100 yds.
 
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