Any fun bolt action rifle can shoot 5.56?

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VinnyQC

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I'm "stuck" with thousands of rounds of 5.56, which I bought to shoot through an AR. We all know how that turned out. My new plan is to purchase a fun little bolt action, but they all seem to shoot only 223.

I could pull out all the bullets and reload them to 223 standard, but it would take quite a while for very little. I could hardly sell the ammos cause I pulled them out of their original packaging to store them into an ammo can, so I know for a fact they're newly-manufactured 5.56, but I could never prove it to anyone else.

Any bolt action can shoot 5.56? Preferably one that's not a piece of junk.
 
Ruger american ranch. There are also a few straight pull action options like the Renegade, if you want something similar to the AR15.
 
^these, or, sell your stock of ammo and get a different rifle/caliber you'll shoot more? No slight against the 2 models mentioned above, but I'd need to have a very large stockpile of .556 in order to buy a different/specific rifle just to consume it.
 
VinnyQC said:
I'm "stuck" with thousands of rounds of 5.56, which I bought to shoot through an AR. We all know how that turned out. My new plan is to purchase a fun little bolt action, but they all seem to shoot only 223.

I could pull out all the bullets and reload them to 223 standard, but it would take quite a while for very little. I could hardly sell the ammos cause I pulled them out of their original packaging to store them into an ammo can, so I know for a fact they're newly-manufactured 5.56, but I could never prove it to anyone else.

Any bolt action can shoot 5.56? Preferably one that's not a piece of junk.
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I've never had an issue running it through the three Remingtons I've owned that ostensibly were in 223. - dan
 
Perhaps consider the MRA Renegade. .223 Wylde, so you can run 5.56 through it. It's not traditional bolt per se, but straight pull is close enough, I would think. And ergonomically it would be a fun gun in terms of the controls. If the government puts the ban hammer on all my 5.56 semi autos, that Renegade is what I'd use to use up my 5.56 ammo.
 
.22LRGUY said:
^these, or, sell your stock of ammo and get a different rifle/caliber you'll shoot more? No slight against the 2 models mentioned above, but I'd need to have a very large stockpile of .556 in order to buy a different/specific rifle just to consume it.
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My only bolt action is a 300WSM, and I want something much less powerful to let new shooters try their hands. It was either 17HMR or 223. Still undecided, but if I can get something that'll eat the stash I already have, it would be a plus.

My stash is worth more than the price of either of these rifles (American Ranch or Mossberg MVP). Remember when we could buy 556 for 330$/case of 1000 and there used to be a mail-in rebate? Good times. Looking at my old (2018) receipt that said:
Case of 5000 rounds of 22LR: 300$
Case of 1000 rounds of 556: 330$
Case of 500 rounds of 45ACP: 150$

The 556 had a mail-in rebate for 40 or 50 USD. I stacked them to the ceiling.
 
VinnyQC said:
My only bolt action is a 300WSM, and I want something much less powerful to let new shooters try their hands. It was either 17HMR or 223. Still undecided, but if I can get something that'll eat the stash I already have, it would be a plus.

My stash is worth more than the price of either of these rifles (American Ranch or Mossberg MVP). Remember when we could buy 556 for 330$/case of 1000 and there used to be a mail-in rebate? Good times. Looking at my old (2018) receipt that said:
Case of 5000 rounds of 22LR: 300$
Case of 1000 rounds of 556: 330$
Case of 500 rounds of 45ACP: 150$

The 556 had a mail-in rebate for 40 or 50 USD. I stacked them to the ceiling.
Click to expand...

Ah, those were the good old days, even though it was only four years ago.

I don't know what I was thinking two weeks ago - I went out and bought some of those Winchester 5.56 M883s but they were a value back of 30 on stripper clips. I was so enthralled with the stripper clips until I realized I could have just bought them separate and put my existing ammo on those and save some money. Similarly my LGS got in some PPU Rangemaster 5.56 and I bought a number of boxes of those as they were on sale...then I got home and remembered I'd be stuck with all this stuff with only the Renegade to use, should it come to a ban on 5.56 semi autos. I too have been thinking the same as you in terms of what else would these run through
 
For some reason the folks replying are giving you the bargain brands.

What is it you mean by ''fun''

Tikka/CZ/Remington/Savage and many other large manufacturers make great 5.56 (223rem) rifles, with twist rates that will accomodate most bullet lengths available.

I've had several that are tack drivers, including a couple I still have, such as the Mossberg MVP.

After getting rid of the Barska scope and bipod, installed at the factory and replacing the scope with a decent Leupold, it shoots just about everything, even the cheap and berated Chinese 5.56 well

The Tikka T3X isn't at all fussy and shoots everything better than I can hold at any distance.
 
Hmm, these 2 rifles seem ok, I already have the mags and they're available. Thanks for the recommendations, people. Will most likely grab the Ruger.
 
bearhunter said:
For some reason the folks replying are giving you the bargain brands.

What is it you mean by ''fun''

Tikka/CZ/Remington/Savage and many other large manufacturers make great 5.56 (223rem) rifles, with twist rates that will accomodate most bullet lengths available.

I've had several that are tack drivers, including a couple I still have, such as the Mossberg MVP.

After getting rid of the Barska scope and bipod, installed at the factory and replacing the scope with a decent Leupold, it shoots just about everything, even the cheap and berated Chinese 5.56 well

The Tikka T3X isn't at all fussy and shoots everything better than I can hold at any distance.
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The Tikka/CZ/Remington/Savage are all marked as 223 as far as I know (might be wrong). I understand the chances of catastrophic failure are only marginally increased by shooting a 556 in a 223 chamber in a modern rifle, but since it's gonna be used by younger and inexperienced shooters, I'd also like to avoid malfunctions such as blown primers, stuck rounds and such.
 
I have shot plenty of 5.56 through my CZ 527 with no issues.

From the CZ website:

"Built to CIP specifications, our .223s will happily eat 5.56, since CIP doesn’t differentiate between the two cartridges and just has the higher pressure as its standard. So our .223s will shoot everything from the cheapest Russian steel to match .223 brass ammo."
 
Gator0387 said:
I have shot plenty of 5.56 through my CZ 527 with no issues.

From the CZ website:

"Built to CIP specifications, our .223s will happily eat 5.56, since CIP doesn’t differentiate between the two cartridges and just has the higher pressure as its standard. So our .223s will shoot everything from the cheapest Russian steel to match .223 brass ammo."
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Thanks. I'll put the 527 on the list. I like CZ for pistols.
 
Gator0387 said:
I have shot plenty of 5.56 through my CZ 527 with no issues.

From the CZ website:

"Built to CIP specifications, our .223s will happily eat 5.56, since CIP doesn’t differentiate between the two cartridges and just has the higher pressure as its standard. So our .223s will shoot everything from the cheapest Russian steel to match .223 brass ammo."
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I do wonder in cases like this, why don't the manufacturers just advertise it as .223 Wylde instead of .223 Rem.
 
It is the same. Years ago when the DCRA shot issued (by DND) ammo many people built .223 rifles to shoot 5.56 IVI ammo. This was before Bill Wylde developed his Wylde chamber reamer. If shooting 5.56 ammo through .223 chambers were an issue there would be hundreds of pictures all over the internet showing blown up guns. Maybe someone can post links to all those pictures.
 
dan belisle said:
I've never had an issue running it through the three Remingtons I've owned that ostensibly were in 223. - dan
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Same experience here. I know they aren't exactly identical and we're a bunch of irresponsible cowboys with our 5.56-shootin' .223's, but my Rem 700 has eaten a bunch of 5.56 headstamped factory ammo and it shot fine. I have about 2000 rounds through that rifle and still going strong.
 
I owned both the 16.25" Ruger Ranch and the 12.5" BCL Bison.
Sold the Ruger as I prefer the Bison and bought a few of their 20/20rnd mags to go with my stash of AR15 mags.
 
Tinmasher said:
The mossberg mvp patrol comes in 5.56. Not a bad little gun. Kinda cheap though.
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The Mossberg feed system is a little finger that pops down to engage the top round. It isn't a straight run with the bottom bolt lug or a feed ram. Suggest a Ruger American set up for AR magazines.
 
thegazelle said:
I do wonder in cases like this, why don't the manufacturers just advertise it as .223 Wylde instead of .223 Rem.
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Because about 95 % of all potential customers, would think it was something other than a .223/5.56.

Honest truth is, any firearm made to modern specs, is not liable to have any issues swallowing 5.56, and there is not, for the most part, enough difference between the two, to worry about.
 
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