Cheaper to feed hunting rifle
- Thread starter DGY
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Pick a 223 with a 1:8 twist you like and go for it. Cheap, plentiful bass (even the match stuff) same for bullets. 75 grain Hornady BTHP is hard to beat for the money. 24-25 grains of Varget will drop those in a ragged hole all day long and hammers yotes and even small whitetail at reasonable ranges.
I can nail a 4" plate at 500 meters with my Tikka in 223 using Hornady 52grain projectiles and H335 powder. (with a vortex crossfire 6x 18)
For fun I ran some of that same ammo through my Savage axis (BSA $200 scope don't recall the model) just holding it approximately 6' high and was able to consistently hit a silhouette gong at 500 meters. I did not try the axis at a smaller target but I believe I could do it.
For fun I ran some of that same ammo through my Savage axis (BSA $200 scope don't recall the model) just holding it approximately 6' high and was able to consistently hit a silhouette gong at 500 meters. I did not try the axis at a smaller target but I believe I could do it.
I disagree. 22ARC is crushing it stateside...and popularity stateside is really all that matters to North American ammo/component manufacturers.
Night hunting with thermal optics on gas-guns is massively popular down south, and the 22 ARC allows flattened trajectories without having to worry so much about range which is hard to estimate in the dark.
Meanwhile,here in Canada the Howa Mini is scaled perfectly to the 22/6 ARC and they are well-built little rifles once the bottom metal is sorted.
Tikkas are always a solid choice if going .223 heavies but you will need to address the short magazines...I run Waters rifleman mags out of Australia that allow a generous COAL but i think there are Canadian options now available like NDR and the 3D printed guy.
Problem with Tikkas is all that metal and extra length of the one-size fits all action which admittedly irritates me how it swallows the little 223.
I form my ARC brass from 6.5G which is readily available in Canada and has been for a long time.
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Sounds more and more like the Howa Mini in 6 ARC was designed and manufactured just for you!
Lots of options to choose from such as stock material (Walnut,CF, Plastic ...etc.) Barrel lengths and contours (20"HV or 22"std) all currently in stock at one of the best dealers in Canada.
You can run the stock mags for awhile as they are perfectly serviceable and don't hinder performance like the stock .223 with heavies.
"I disagree. 22ARC is crushing it stateside...and popularity stateside is really all that matters to North American ammo/component manufacturers."
Until it doesn't.
The charts are full of flash in the pan wonder cartridges that didn't really have anything to offer over what was already available.
6.5 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Express (280 Rem), and many others.
The 22arc has admirers, but I've seen these hyped cartridges come and go for several decades. I could be wrong, but it has all the signs at this point.
Until it doesn't.
The charts are full of flash in the pan wonder cartridges that didn't really have anything to offer over what was already available.
6.5 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Express (280 Rem), and many others.
The 22arc has admirers, but I've seen these hyped cartridges come and go for several decades. I could be wrong, but it has all the signs at this point.
If only running factory ammunition I will agree this is a problem, if you’re a reloader you can form 22ARC from its popular and plentiful parent case 6.5G in a single pass through a Hornady FL die.
I can’t speak to the 6arc as I haven’t personally sized it from 6.5G but that is the parent case nonetheless.
+1
It sounds like you have a sizeable collection of hunting rifles already. A rifle in .223 with a 1:8 twist will alow you to shoot a wide variety of bullet weights, brass is plentiful/has a long reloading life, barrels last a long time, and it meet your criteria of 24 grains of powder.
Less than 10% of shooters hand load.
Ask anyone with a discontinued cartridge how they like having a safe queen that is often worth half the price of the same rifle with readily available off the shelf ammo.
Try finding that stuff in small stores on hunts, when you forget your ammo at home, or think you're going to "pick some up along the way."
Back in my .223 days, I quickly found out that if you want to shoot accurately, you need decent ammo; you either pay considerably more for "good" stuff, or you reload (what I did)
Cheap, bulk stuff like Federal American Eagle, Tula, Norinco, and a host of others are pure garbage. Cheap ammo is rarely a good deal.
6.5 Creed is abundant, good ammo can be found reasonable, and the rifles generally shoot very well. I will never own one as I have multiple rifles in 6.5 x 55 and I load all my ammo.
Cheap, bulk stuff like Federal American Eagle, Tula, Norinco, and a host of others are pure garbage. Cheap ammo is rarely a good deal.
6.5 Creed is abundant, good ammo can be found reasonable, and the rifles generally shoot very well. I will never own one as I have multiple rifles in 6.5 x 55 and I load all my ammo.
funny- i went this route-- ideally the 7.62x39 with a .308 barrel....... would be the best!
i went for the 7.62x39 because of legalities in this Country , state Regs....
however im now looking for a Night only Thermal cartridge- Fox- Roo occaisonal deer (neck close range)
im thinking of going the .223 - bcause its a obvious option- but i am torn between, .223... 22-250.. 22 Arc.. .243win..
because id like little powder but reasonable projectile= 70-80gr i pictured...
but was ok with 55-75 gr SP for 200m -\+ and the 22-250 swung in
but may be leaning toward 223 an 55gr
Howa is proberly my cuppa tea also for budget priced but solid. weight not issue here.
howa mini a candidate too.
ironically - i have the 222 rem Sako A1, but i want to use it for Day time shooting so no fitting thermal. also want a little more oomph.
I went with a CZ600 Alpha in 7.62x39 when they came on sale last spring. Gun was $600, I threw on a cheap Bushnell scope, reloaded some 123gr Hornady SSTs and I am enjoying a cheap to fire gun that will do 0.5moa at 100yds. I would limit my shots to less than 200yds due to the cartridge’s ballistics. It’s a great WT gun….. now if I could only find a WT.
I have a Howa, with detachable mag, chambered for the 7.62x39.
It has a rubber coated composite stock, which isn't my first choice, but the rifle is reasonably priced, very strong, and will safely shoot bullet diameters from . 308-.312 without pressure issues, while still maintaining acceptable accuracy for hunting out to 150 yds.
It shoots the .308 bullets from 100-150 grain weighs, with flat base, round nose bullets about as well as I can hold when shooting off hand, which is the intended purpose for this rifle, when hunting in areas with limited visibility.
It will shoot .310 bullets of 125-150 grain flat base spire point or round nose better than I can hold, but off the rest/bags/bench will put them into a 2cm group.
I've only shot .312, 150 grain, flat base spire points out of it at paper, from rest/bags/bench out to 100yds, at our local range. The groups are just under 4cm, which is fine, because the chances of shooting that far, where I hunt with the rifle are nil.
Velocities with 150 grain bullets of any diameter are around 2400fps with CCI 250 primers over RL#7 powder, which is better than 30-30Win suggested loads, for Winchester Mod 94 actions.
The reason is, of course, much higher pressures for the 7.62x39, that the Howa 1500 Mini Action has no issues with.
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