5.56/.223 bolt action recommendations?

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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If I'm not talking about hitting exact perfect bullseyes, what size of targets would be considered 'easy/moderate/difficult' at 100yds?


It's kinda of sad that this all started because I was looking at a savage axis for a 'starter' and it quickly escalated to something more expensive. I'm just worried if I take the 'cheap route' and buy an axis or something as low priced that it will end up being a waste of money, or frustrating to shoot.
 
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.
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You are just learning about this. The difference in 223 and 556 is the throat as described above. If you sit a 223 and a 556 cartridge side by side they are identical. It is the amount of powder inside that is different.

The twist rate of the barrel is what you need to decide. 1 in 7 is what I have for 60 grain bullets and heavier. 1 in 9 is what I have for 55 grain up to around 65 grain. My cousin has a 1 in 12 for the lightest bullets and it is very inaccurate when it shoots 62 grain bullets, they key hole the target.

Good luck, and there are other calibers, like the .243 which is a good general purpose cartridge.
 
The twist rate is the rate at which the bullet spins.
1 in 7 means that in 7 inches of a barrel with rifling the bullet will turn one time.
1 in 12 means that in 12 inches the bullet will turn one time.

Thus 1 in 7 is faster than 1 in 12.

In .223 / 5.56 the heavier the bullet the faster twist is needed to stabilize the bullet.

When my cousin shot the heavy bullets out of is 1:12 twist bolt action the bullets were not stable and when they arrived at the target they hit the target sideways (making what is known as a keyhole in the target).

I have some 35 grain .223 ammo I am going to shoot through my 1:7 5.56 rifle someday, haven't done it yet. I have been told that it will probably be inaccurate.

Following is just my opinion, but if you want a general purpose setup then go with a 1:9 twist.

Why don't you just get a nice .22LR bolt action rifle. It will be fun to shoot at 100 yards and more. If you are just shooting for fun and don't have a spotting scope then shooting past 50 yards gets to be too much work. You shoot some, walk 100 yards and look at your target, and if you are at a range you have to wait for others, but shooting at 25 - 50 yards with a 22 long rifle is excellent fun.
 
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Finally I found one and bought it.

The long search has ended!

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CZ 527 Varmint
5.56 NATO
1 in 9 twist
Set Trigger
 
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