.223/5.56mm Rife questions. All help appreciated!

[C3Hove]

Hi everyone.

I am interested in buying myself a new hog/coyote rifle and was looking into .223's. This being my first rifle other than a .22, I'm clueless.

What is the effective range of a .223/5.56? (rough estimate/standard)
Other than AR types, what should I look into, manufacturer-wise? (kel tec, Ruger, DPMS, Bushmaster, etc.)

My budget is pretty low, I'm poor. I want to spend between $900 - $1,300 for a rifle/scope combo if possible. Any recommendations? (Doesn't need to be fancy, but functional.)

Any accessories that will make my life a bit easier? What ammo brands would be most accurate?

Any help is much appreciated, you guys seem to know everything about anything firearms so thanks in advance.

[Jdubya]

I believe 600yds is max effective range for .223s but to be honest I would not fire at anything past 400yds just because you don't want to wound the animal and have it take off on you then you'd end up tracking it for then next 2 days. But if your looking for a good quality AR I would check out Stag Arms. For one of their ARs your looking at about $900 and they also make them for rightys and leftys. They are out of where I live in CT and I have owned a few Stags myself. They are overall a great rifle and very reliable. Also accessories wise I think that its all about personal preference so thats really up to you everybody likes different shit. But as far as hunting goes theres really not very many rifle accessories that make hunting easier except maybe a bipod. Heres the link for Stag Arms. Feel free to ask me any other questions


www.stagarms.com

[C3Hove]

Thanks, JW. Those look like quality rifles. The righthanded Model 3 looks to be exactly what I'm looking for. I just talked with my buddy and he is taking me to the range with a few of his toys so I am going to get a hands on look at some AR's.

Any tactical 5.56mm rifles that aren't AR and worth looking at?

[Jdubya]

Yea I forgot to add that the prices on their is msrp too. I haven't seen very many that don't look like an AR but that doesn't mean they aren't out there but they probably are pretty expensive. Bushmaster also makes some good varmint 5.56s and depending on where you go you could also get one for around $900. You could also look online for better prices because thats how I bought my ACR was through a site online and had them ship it to my local FFL and I ended up saving $400 in the proccess. I got my ACR off a site called www.thegunsource.com might want to check them out as well.

[Jdubya]

I just looked and found a Weatherby .223 bolt action for around $700 on the gun source there is also some other bolt action .223s that are around $500 here is the link


http://www.thegunsource.com/Items.aspx?QID=3684

[C3Hove]

Well I'm looking for more of a semi-auto rifle even though that does look like one hell of a gun.


I've been poking around cheaperthandirt.com and they seem to have a few deals. Alot of different types of rifles/manufacturers.

Olympic arms reliable? They have pretty low prices.

[Jdubya]

Well I'm looking for more of a semi-auto rifle even though that does look like one hell of a gun.


I've been poking around cheaperthandirt.com and they seem to have a few deals. Alot of different types of rifles/manufacturers.

Olympic arms reliable? They have pretty low prices.

I've never heard of them but I wouldn't buy your rifles based all on price you really need to go out to a dealer and get your hands on some. Hold it check it out and see which one you like best. But buying a gun off a site called cheaper than dirt from a manufacturer that you know nothing about reputation and quality wise I wouldn't do. When Bushmaster or Stag puts a price like $1,000 on their guns its because they back it up with high quality and a good warranty. I also just took a look at their site and their prices are the same as Stag and Bushmaster. I would go with a more reputable brand considering they cost the same. The prices on the olympic arms website are MSRP same as Stag and Bushmasters sites so ultimately at the dealer they will cost about the same.

[C3Hove]

CTD sells bushmaster and other prestigious brands. That's where I buy all of my .22 gear and they haven't failed me yet. This weekend I'm hitting the range with my buddy. He is letting me test his Colt AR and his Armalite. Sorry about that.

[Jdubya]

Its no prob. At least you get to go and handle and shoot an AR-15. Most handle and shoot about the same but overall an AR-15 is a great gun to own and I'm sure you'll be satisfied with it regardless of brand.

[olewhiskey]

Theres a company in Georgia that makes ammo I shoot when I'm home. They do custom loads and make a ripping 55grain poly tip that my buddies use Coyote and hog hunting. It will turn the yotes inside out and go clean through the hog's shield before opening up like a death flower n the boiler room. They have a website and will even pickup the phone when you call !
www.gunnammo.com

[Sarnesr]

Olympic Arms is located right down the road from me in Olympia WA (USA). They make good reliable weapons with a lot of extras. Fort Lewis WA is 25 miles north of the company and I know that a lot of the soldiers go there for weapons and add ons. They have a great warranty on thier products too.
If you have a special design or request, the company can handle most of them and at a fair price.

[base64]

Other than the obvious 'build an AR-15' solution for .223 which can be done fairly cheap, I'd have to say that for your pricerange the Remington 700 might be a good choice. Velocity of this round drops off pretty steep beyond 500 yards but I guess it depends what you're shooting.

Google search for: Model 700™ Varmint-Tactical Rifle (VTR™)

[Jefrova]

It soulnds like you want to stay with the M4 platform, but if your hunting with it I'd go with a traditional varmit caliber rather than .223. I'd got with a .243 or a .260. Most manufactures make their M4's in a variety of calibers. Also if you can afford it go with a heavy barrel and get the upgraded trigger group. AR15.com is an excellent resourse with tons of links and knoledgable articales....Good luck on your purchase....Jefro

[TangoMango]

Other than the obvious 'build an AR-15' solution for .223 which can be done fairly cheap, I'd have to say that for your pricerange the Remington 700 might be a good choice. Velocity of this round drops off pretty steep beyond 500 yards but I guess it depends what you're shooting.

Google search for: Model 700™ Varmint-Tactical Rifle (VTR™)


The VTR is actually discontinued. They did not acheive what they wanted to with the triangular barrel. I did just pick up a desert Digital model VTR for 180 bucks with a hand gun trade in. So it was worth if for me. I have not shot it yet.

May I recommend the Remington R-25 or maybe the Over Kill 600. the Overkill 600 offers as much “reasonable margin of error” as you can ask for haha.



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