bolt action in 5.56 or 7.62x39?

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usr1987

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I am considering getting my first bolt action but not sure what firearm to get. I kind of like the Ruger American Ranch but not sure if I should go with 5.56 or 7.62x39? What is cheaper to shoot with cheapest ammo(Tula) around? Can you guys help out on making this decision?
 
What do you want to shoot at? Cheap .223 is most likely more accurate than cheap 7.62x39.
7.62 is a 200 yard round while .223 is easily 2x that range.
 
Im in a similar quandary. I cant decide between a RAR in 556 or 300blk. Both rifles run out of AR mags. Both are threaded (so suppressor ready). I already load for both, so thats not a deciding factor.

The 556 would be cheaper to shoot. The 300 BO is silly fun with subs and Supers give 762x39 ballistics
 
I have bolt actions in both calibers, and it really depends what you are going to shoot as to which to get. I like both for different reasons.

Deer and smaller game animals? 7.62X39, hands down. It's fun, relatively accurate, relatively powerful, and cheap to shoot.

Varmints/coyotes/jackrabbits? 223. Not much recoil, and plenty accurate for 350 yds work on smallish targets.
 
Using the Tula ammo just be forewarned you might not be too happy with the accuracy or more to the point group sizes you get. If you need to be more precise upgrading to even the Hornady Frontier line or Federal plinking ammo will provide much improved results. Just an opinion.
 
Bfglowkey: I know, but difference between 1-2 inches to 3-5 max is not that bad and I am cheap when coming to shooting. If I want something better ill have around if I need it for more precise use.
 
If you are happy with 5 inch 100 yard groups, then you'll be happy with Tula. Probably won't be long, and you'll be looking for less than 1 inch groups like the rest of us.
 
I have a CZ 527 in 7.62x39 and using tulammo at 100 yards with a cheap 3-9x40 scope gets me 2 inch groups or better.

I have a bolt gun in each caliber and have way more fun with 7.62.

Unless you're in to precision shooting, both will do just fine.
 
Just my 2 cents opinion, take it for what it's worth. I own the Ruger in 223 and 7.62 and the CZ in 7.62 and all get shot quite a bit. The 7.62 is more powerful but not as accurate as the 223, the bolts on both 7.62 has a bit more play than the 223 (this bothers me). I bought the 7.62's because of all the talk of that caliber in a bolt rifle with steel case ammo and they are fun for sure. But for precision work and smooth operation the 223 shines every time. The 223 has plenty of power to reach out and touch and destroy, don't underestimate it. The 7.62 more so and it has power but with less accuracy, at least that has been my experience. After I got in much range time with all 3 rifles in both calibers (a years worth of shooting). The Ruger's are work horses and rock solid rifles with great accuracy. The CZ's are very beautiful and also very accurate and both impressed me very much. A friend let me shoot his Savage 11 in 223 (trophy hunter) and well it kind of changed everything for me. It's kind of hard to describe because the Savages aren't polished up and pretty, but the accuracy and smoothness won me over immediately. It does everything I want it to do with a wide variety of 223 ammo and accuracy is superb. Since then I bought a 2nd Savage in 223 (hog hunter) and Again the accuracy has blown me away. just my 2 cents worth of opinion.
 
I settled on the Ruger being shorter and wanted the 5.56 so I can shoot .223 if I want too. Thank you for the input.
 
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I think you made the right choice. If you ever decide to hunt small deer you can use a heavier bullet like a 75 grains or 80. Even they they do not fit in the magazine you can leave the magazine in place and use it as a single shot rifle with the heavier bullets. Have you decided what scope you will mount on it?
 
choice

The .223 is likely a more practical choice, although if I saw a lot of deer or hogs in my future, I might opt for the x39mm verison. I've got bolt rifles in each caliber,and the .223's see far more shooting. The x39 rifle is solely a deer rig for me.

I'd not overscope a Ruger Ranch rifle, by that I mean, no more the a 1" tubed 3x9x40mm sporting scope. To me, anything bigger would detract from the handiness of the tidy carbine. I ran a fixed 6x36mm on one of my Mini Mauser .223 for a while, and often felt as if I wanted more magnification for smaller, distant targets. The 3-9x40mm on it now is a bit topheavy, but makes for a more useful rifle.
 
I had a Redfield 2-7x33 on mine and it was good, but I like smaller scopes on my rifles. I think a 3-9 would be fine also on that Ruger rifle.
 
usr1987 said:
MS6852: I am not sure. Any recommendations? I am not someone that likes to mod guns, like to master them in their original form. I saw this https://hooktube.com/watch?v=gGZuTbh8wVc
Click to expand...
If you buy a bolt action 223 there is no modification required. It's just that the heavier the bullet weight the longer it is, so depending on the bullet weight and the type of bullet it may not fit inside the magazine, but you can still load a bullet directly into the chamber if you wanted to hunt deer with it. There are other rifles that do not have an external magazine like the Ranch Ruger that will handle any type of 223.

I too do not modify any of my firearms. My lever actions have no scopes and the rest of my firearms are all original factory but for one which is a 10/22 that I do just for fun. My hunting rifles are 50 years old and still shoot pretty good.
 
A. For me then of those two it's the 5.56/223. Lot less recoil and you can shoot a lot more. Don't know if the 223 is legal to shoot deer where you live but, just a though, the 243 probably is and recoil will still be way down. I've had a number of 22 cal CF rifles and liked them all, 222 Rem was favorite. All have been replaced with the 243. One thing the 222 Rem can do the other's can't is shoot the round and watch it hit through the scope. Just enough recoil in a 223 to bounce the scope off.
 
The American is available in AR magazines. The 7.62x39 Ranch is still stuck using Mini-30 mags.

If you already have an AR and mags, no reason not to get the 5.56 one. You can easily stretch out to 500 yards with that rifle, the 7.62 would be limited to 300 yards and Idk of any subsonic factory ammo for the x39.

I was very interested in the x39 Ruger American at one point, but when I thought about it, if all the foreign steel ammo gets banned from import then ammo price for x39 will double overnight (quadruple if buying from Cheaper Than Dirt) and if I was forced to reload a .30 caliber rifle, I'd rather do it for .308 Winchester than 7.62x39.
 
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