223 vs 7.62×39 vs 308
I’m looking at an AR platform or Mini-14 or Mini-30 firing a 223, 7.62, or 308. I have shot 223 and 308 from ARs and was wondering if anyone had experience and advice on the Ruger Mini series and the calibers listed.
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I’ve been lusting over a Henry lever action in 45LC… 😀
Hoot,
If your going to use a 45 LC rifle, why not use a Ranger 45? It is the same ballistics.
No Grand jUry will true bill you for killing an intruder with a BB gun. 😆
Anybody ever try the Interarms Cetme rifles? Basically an early rendition of a HK 91. I had one that I put a scope on, they are heavy and point like a T post, but are very reliable and accurate, with 125 grain Ballistic tips they would be a great anti personnal weapon.
Great low cost alternative if you live in the country.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Butcher45, a 30-30 has a trajectory like a rainbow, and you won’t get accuracy other, newer, rounds possess.
My main problem with home defense use is the 30-30 will penetrate every wall in your house, and may exit your home. “Collateral Damage” comes to mind. A 30-30 will kill an intruder, but even a light load is easily capable of killing your neighbor in bed next door, or a family member in another room…and that’s after passing through the intruder.
If you stick with the lever action 30-30, check out “Frangible” ammo. The slugs break up upon impact, and won’t kill the dog down the street.
If you want an all around short range deer rifle, and home defense weapon, think about the Taraus Circuit Judge in .45 Long Colt. It’s a revolver on a rifle platform, I believe it’s double action, but it shoots the .410 shotgun shell as well. However, the .45 LC can now be hand loaded to exceed .44 magnum ballistics, and most (not all) new rifles and pistols out there will accept the maximum recommended charge. This is an alternative comparable in cost to the 30-30, but more suited to dense woods deer hunting, and alternative home defense. It doesn’t take a 12 gauge to change an intruder’s attitude, the tiny .410 will blow his balls off just as fast.
Sub…from my 30-06 Savage I learned one important lesson….match your cartridge to why, and how much, you shoot it. The caliber .30 rifles are great. But the light ones have crippling recoil. That takes the fun out of an afternoon’s shooting in a hurry. It can be tamed, but it takes a heavy rifle to do it. That’s ok for bench shooting, but not for lugging around in the woods or mountains.
Unless you are a reloader, cost of ammo must enter into your decision. Military surplus FMJ is easily the least expensive round to find in bulk purchase.
One thing is for certain, this is a great time to buy a center fire rifle, as the options are practically endless, and the cost ranges from inexpensive to ridiculous.
Personally, I found the bolt action Savage rifles to be very accurate out of the box, but don’t possess a lot of sex appeal in the stock, except for the stainless action/synthetic stock models. I could live with one of those.
Keep saving dude.
Interesting thread.
Kindest regards,
‘Ol Uncle H 😯 😯 T
Not to bad either CP. How do you like the Stevens guns? Thought about one years ago when they came out but decided to wait to see all the reviews. And by HR i take it thats a Harrington & Richardson right? I used to have one long ago in believe it or not….30-30 and it was a tack driver with handloads consisting of 150 gr Nosler BT’s. I do miss that little gun but i see HR/NF is still around and going strong. Their laminated stock gun look pretty good now.
not to shabby there Tof!!!
Love the Tikka T3’s
man I used to love AR platforms but after shooting a Good bolt gun it is hard to go back
here is my Stevens mod 200 .223 with a 1-7 twist bbl and a 9 oz trigger pillar bedded and free floated
here is my HR Varmint hunter in .223 with a 1/12 twister and trigger job also a very accurate gun sub MOA but I also had it custom headspaced, barrel lapped and crowned trigger done and I only use Handloads in all my .223’s
Well FUCK, since all the talk of the 6.5, heres my baby. Did i mention i LOVE HER:
Tikka T3 in 6.5×55 that i just PILLAR bedded (my first time ever) and trying out some new loads:
Sorry for hijacking but i started to get a PB woody and just had to get everyone goin
So, I’m interested in cartridges with light/moderate recoil, and I don’t have a strong preference on the AR platform although I like the ones I’ve shot that have match triggers. If I can get a conventional looking auto loading rifle that would be great.
You all have experience that is helping shape my choice of caliber and then gun.
All right. Provided the local legislation allows you to hunt deer with a .223 then that would be a good choice. Very mild recoil, great potential for accuracy.
The new calibers, like 6.5*47 are truly great performers. But taking in account that this would be the first centerfire rifle, I’d stick with a mainstream caliber. The ammo would be much more easily available and affordable. Plenty of time to get all out of control with reloading later on. 😀
If an AR does not float your boat, there’s not a whole lot of choice when it comes to self-loading .223. The Ruger mini-14 Target has received good reviews, but having no personal experience with it, can’t comment further. The AR would, however, be a very flexible platform that would allow you to easily mod and tinker to your hearts and wallets content. Changing uppers, and calibers, is a breeze and the selection drop-in parts and accessories is virtually endless.
I shot a silhouette match on New Years day and came in second, would have got first but forgot to adjust my clicks at 35 down from 45 yards. 😡
Waiting for FT season to begin and the next silhouette match on the fist Sunday of February. 😐 Seems like forever.
In the mean time I have been playing with Chairgun a bunch to help set up the in between clicks at one yard increments, that program is pretty sweet.
Love Chairgun. I’ve found it to be pretty accurate if I get all the inputs correct.
It’s always FT season here in Alabama. I should practice more but I have a great time setting up matches. As a matter of fact, I don’t know if I don’t enjoy setting up more than I do shooting. I love living rent free in a shooter’s head.
A buddy of mine just set up a Sightron SIII on his Walther Dominator. I believe Jon Harris did his wheel. I had one as well, once upon a time before I started shooting Hunter class, and they are very nice scopes. Of course they’re no March scope, but what is. I liked the Leupy 35 Comp too. Call me when you get ready for glass. I can usually get a pretty good deal on Sightron and Leupold.
If you find yourself down this way, come on by and shoot. We’ve got a nice airgun park here in Heflin and I’m working on some permanently mounted FT targets over on the course. I’ve got about 13 or so in the trees right now, shooting for 30 before the year is out. Our monthly matches are on the first Saturday of every month and are listed as MCAFT on the AAFTA calander.
Paul
I got it before Christmas, damned thing is more accurate than my other USFT… Did some add-ons for ergonomics and set up the crap scope I have on hand. Waiting for some cf tubing to make a sweet cheek rest (I already raised the stock one about 3/4″).
I shot a silhouette match on New Years day and came in second, would have got first but forgot to adjust my clicks at 35 down from 45 yards. 😡
Waiting for FT season to begin and the next silhouette match on the fist Sunday of February. 😐 Seems like forever.
In the mean time I have been playing with Chairgun a bunch to help set up the in between clicks at one yard increments, that program is pretty sweet.
Yeah, airguns are relaxing and cheap to shoot. And sorting pellets is a lot less work than anal retentive reloading practices. I don’t sort cases, turn necks or anything like that but I do use good brass, anneal, weigh every charge and seat bullets by Ogive measurement, usually .010 off the lands for starters. I’m no expert by any measure but I cut my teeth on the short throated K31, which can be made shoot incredibly small groups for a milsurp rifle once the shoulder is bumped to it’s liking.
The rifle I had to sell before the 6.5 build was a FN SPRA2 in .308 that would shoot the lights out. It was a solid half minute shooter in capable hands and a 1/2-3/4 MOA rifle in my hands.
Most of my equipment is Lee with Redding and Forster dies. I’m not automated at all so it takes me a long time to load 50 rounds.
But usually I find myself picking up an airgun and doing some plinking in the basement. My HW100 will one hole with sorted CPH and I find that very satisfying.
Did you get your USFT squared away?
Yeah, airguns are relaxing and cheap to shoot. And sorting pellets is a lot less work than anal retentive reloading practices. I don’t sort cases, turn necks or anything like that but I do use good brass, anneal and weigh every charge. Cut my teeth originally on the short throated K31, which can be made shoot incredibly small groups for a milsurp rifle once the shoulder is bumped to it’s liking.
The rifle I had to sell before the 6.5 build was a FN SPRA2 in .308 that would shoot the lights out. It was a solid half minute shooter in capable hands and a 1/2-3/4 MOA rifle in my hands.
Most of my equipment is Lee with Redding and Forster dies. I’m not automated at all so it takes me a long time to load 50 rounds.
But usually I find myself picking up an airgun and doing some plinking in the basement. My HW100 will one hole with sorted CPH and I find that very satisfying.
Did you get your USFT squared away?
I was going to convert my 223 XR100 to 6x47L but I got into field target. As much as I love reloading, the actual shooting, logging all the groups, measuring the temperature of the barrel just while at the range is time consuming. Not to mention trying a new powder. 😯
I go nuts with everything though. I shoot two sets of five test loads at 0.2 grain intervals. I weight all my cases and shoot them from heavy to light in order. Each load is cataloged and the group size is charted to match the group. If I could find a reliable way to number each piece of brass i’d do it. I can’t just load and go, I have to turn it into a scientific study. And then I learned about neck tension adjustment dies and micrometer seaters… 🙄
But there is no better feeling than knowing you can set five shots into an opening about the size of a quarter all day long at 100-200 yards…
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/6×47-6-5×47-lapua-83042/
Word. 6.5×47 is the BOMB!!
I recently fell into a 6.5 build and had my choice of 6.5 calibers. A buddy of mine had a Bartlein barrel in .260 that was shot out. He offered to cut it down and rechamber it, I just had to pick the caliber. My first choice was the 6.5×47 Lapua but the cost of the brass sent me into shock. But from what I gathered with respect to 6.5 calibers is that the 6.5×47 is King but followed very closely by the rest of the pack, .260 Rem., 6.5×284, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5×55, etc. My second choice was the 6.5×55. He steered me away from it because the new finished length would be about 21″ or so. So I deferred to him and he recommended the 6.5 Creedmoor. Good barrel life, lot’s of support and components are readily available from Hornady.
I found a reasonable Rem 700 SA, he has the barrel and I picked up a take off HS Precision stock off of a 700P. He’s donating the work. I can’t wait to get it. The rechambered Bartlein should be good for another 2K rounds. No more than I shoot, that will last me for 4-5 years, maybe more. And if I get that many out of it, I may never buy another new barrel. Man, all this powder burner talk has got me pumped!!!
I have a Rem XR-100 in 223 (1:12 twist, 70 grain bullets and under) and it was good with off the shelf ammo, 2″-3″ groups at 100 yards. I started reloading trying to find a sub 1/2″ group and eventually found them but it was a journey and a half (lots of fun too!). 😀
Being that it is a bolt action single shot I would like to be able to use some of the heavier and longer bullets that are being made for the 223 platform but there just isn’t enough twist to stabilize the ball. So if you do go for a 223 and want to be able to shoot the heavier ammo (more takedown capability and less wind effect) get a 1:8 or 1:7 twist barrel. If you want to use the longer projectiles then the AR platform is limiting due to the overall length of the cartridge that will fit in the magazine and still feed reliably.
If you really want incredible long range accuracy with the ability to take down the occasional white or yote the Lapua 6×47 or 6.5×47 cartridge is hard to beat. But you’ll probably want to think about reloading your own carts, that particular type of ammo ain’t cheap… 😯
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/6×47-6-5×47-lapua-83042/
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I had a Marlin Cowboy in 45 lc for years and competed in SASS with it, put a few deer in the freezer with it too. That and a pair of consequtive numbered Ruger Vanquero’s and a 87 Winchester Riot gun was just plain fun.
I used to put a Leupold VXIII 3x10x50 with turrents on the 94 Marlin and shoot ground squirrels with it well beyond 200 yards.
Wonderful cartridge, I was very pleased when I found I could turn down the Ranger to match that magic 250 at 900 FPS with air power.
Regards,
Roachcreek