.223 or .308 for target shooting

bhanot

bhanot

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Hello Gunnutz
i want to buy my first rifle, i wont be hunting at all all I need is something for target shooting.
My biggest concern is the ammo pricing so i can cheap ammo availability...as what i have read surplus for both .308 and .223 will be cheap than factory ammo.
i want some advise on what calibre to choose so i can enjoy my new hobby without breaking making ding in my wallet.
Maximum i will shoot will be something like 500-600 yards.

Next is the surplus steel casing okey with the guns?


Please provide ur expert advise on this.
 
Rarely is it that most long range shooters would put accuracy and cheap surplus ammunition within the same sentence, for anything remotely approaching competition grade accuracy. This is the universe of handloading to save on cash expenditure and most importantly, producing your own specific handloads that will perform to an acceptable degree on distant paper targets.
Even if you never compete in a match, I think the surplus ammo route will be somewhat disappointing for you, once you develope some measureable degree of personal shooting skills.
In your situation, a good bolt action .223 married to a custom barrel (IMO the single most important factor) might be the better choice of the two. To get further insight I suggest you visit 6mmbr dot com.

my opinion only
 
Brutus said:
Rarely is it that most long range shooters would put accuracy and cheap surplus ammunition within the same sentence, for anything remotely approaching competition grade accuracy. This is the universe of handloading to save on cash expenditure and most importantly, producing your own specific handloads that will perform to an acceptable degree on distant paper targets.
In your situation, a good bolt action .223 married to a custom barrel (IMO the single most important factor) might be the better choice of the two. To get further insight I suggest you visit 6mmbr dot com.

my opinion only
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This is some very solid advice.... I would also suggest that, when you choose a rifle you choose an action that you can build on.... You are likely going to want to buy a new stock... upgrade etc as time goes by to get that extra 1/8"... and then... when you have taken it as far as you can you are going to do what ther rest of us do.... buy something new and start over.....lol
 
.223 all the way. Inexpensive to plink with, but you can make or buy better quality ammo for longer range shooting. Low recoil, less price = more trigger time.
 
.223 is way cheaper. It is also much less torture after hundreds of rounds. I have 3 rifles in .223 Rem and I use them all the time. My Savage .308 never gets much range time.
 
bhanot said:
Hello Gunnutz
i want to buy my first rifle, i wont be hunting at all all I need is something for target shooting.
My biggest concern is the ammo pricing so i can cheap ammo availability...as what i have read surplus for both .308 and .223 will be cheap than factory ammo.
i want some advise on what calibre to choose so i can enjoy my new hobby without breaking making ding in my wallet.
Maximum i will shoot will be something like 500-600 yards.

Next is the surplus steel casing okey with the guns?


Please provide ur expert advise on this.
Click to expand...

:cool:ahhh... I think you need a 22lr for starters(to learn to shoot first).you won't be shooting 500-600 yards anytime soon.
.223 is cheaper
.308 is better
Surplus steel casings are junk. Normally berdan primed(non-reloadable) and are hard on chambers. The bullets coming out of them are bi-polar.
Shooting 500-600 yards with any accuracy will cost over two grand minimal. Rig with scope, spotting scope, range kit,reloading press,dies, decent bullets.etc.. bubble busted yet? :( Its all about controlling variables...the more you can dial in the better you can shoot. Not a cheap sport. Don't be cheap. You'll never get past 100.
Sorry.:D
V:I: Sorry.
V:I:
 
If you are strictly into target, not hunting big game, maybe varmints later on and it is your first rifle, go with a 223 - all the way.

Mine was relatively cheap, save for the stock, but in total cost me $750 plus scope. It is a Remington SPS Varmint - without the SPS (added a Hogue).

Picture001-10.jpg
 
If ammo cost is a deal breaker go with .223
Understanding the limitations of surplus or bulk ammo, you can still have alot of fun at 500 yards. Give yourself a very generous target and learn how to hit it. :D
What rifle and scope are you looking at?
 
Definitely go with the .223 and learn how to reload. Head over to the precision rifles part of this website and do some reading.
 
Brutus said:
Rarely is it that most long range shooters would put accuracy and cheap surplus ammunition within the same sentence, for anything remotely approaching competition grade accuracy. This is the universe of handloading to save on cash expenditure and most importantly, producing your own specific handloads that will perform to an acceptable degree on distant paper targets.
Even if you never compete in a match, I think the surplus ammo route will be somewhat disappointing for you, once you develope some measureable degree of personal shooting skills.
In your situation, a good bolt action .223 married to a custom barrel (IMO the single most important factor) might be the better choice of the two. To get further insight I suggest you visit 6mmbr dot com.

my opinion only
Click to expand...



I agree:agree:
 
If its your first rifle buy a 22lr and shoot it out to 100 yards and then will give you alot of the fundamentals you need for shooting for cheap before moving into the expensive stuff
 
roseau river rat said:
i would go .223 with a 1 in 9 twist stevens 200 would be cheap.
faster twist allows you to go with heavier bullets for increased accuracy at longer range.
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Good place to start. Give it a tune up & a good scope. Forget about factory ammo and take up reloading. Upgrade rifle later. Keep the good scope for the next rifle.

.
 
9x19p said:
If ammo cost is a deal breaker go with .223
Understanding the limitations of surplus or bulk ammo, you can still have alot of fun at 500 yards. Give yourself a very generous target and learn how to hit it. :D
What rifle and scope are you looking at?
Click to expand...

For rifle i might go with xbolt composite...still deciding on scope....any recomendations?
 
I am partial to the 308 but the 223 is a great caliber, surplus will take yo nowhere near 600 yards shooting, learning to load is a must for accuracy and cost saving (maybe)... JP.
 
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