The most underrated catridge on the planet.
- Thread starter Bustercluck
- Start date
- Location
- Okanagan Valley B.C.
That's all we shot till I was `14 , my Dad wouldn't buy any LR , no need on chickens .The 22 short
Man I had countless hours of fun sitting on the old wagon behind the barn and shooting blackbirds, crows, pigeons and tons of sparrows when they came to the corncrib with the little 22 short. Those were some good days.
- Location
- Delta B.C.
Cuz anyone can hit a squirrel in the head at 1000 yards with umm.... anything...
Uh.....you're obviously mistaken. As you can see, the experts agree, and the science is settled.That is too much firepower for a lowly little moose
- Location
- Delta B.C.
So in all fairness I did a quick giggle view... In case your just talking accuracy... assuming your not trying to hurt a squirrel at distance....
believe it or not 6arc resists wind more than 308.
if we are talking about underrated cartridges, the cartridge itself, not classifications or cost, yes it’s expensive because it’s underrated and it’s a tiny bit more recoil maybe 30% for way more accuracy.
but i agree id rather own a 223 and a bolt 300 win mag or automatic 308 for the cost.
Another candidate for Most Underrated Cartridge, due to all the razzing it gets, would be the 6.5 Creedmoor "manbun". It's actually a very decent accurate cartridge with loads of market support, and the easiest route for a new shooter to get on the paper at 1000 yards. It's recent enough that a lot of research was already done before the specification for this cartridge was written out, so twist rate and bullet weight range haven't had cause to evolve much from where they started. Coyotes aren't going to complain about it either unless you use an ouija board.
But 223 has gotten probably the most development over the last several decades due to being the NATO cartridge and thus being inexpensive and popular on the civilian side too. That development does mean keeping one eye on that twist rate vs bullet weight chart, though.
But 223 has gotten probably the most development over the last several decades due to being the NATO cartridge and thus being inexpensive and popular on the civilian side too. That development does mean keeping one eye on that twist rate vs bullet weight chart, though.
On the contrary, I think the 6.5 creed is incredibly popular despite all the razzing it gets from some misinformed people ! LOL
Cat
the 223 is not cheap to shoot if you want it as a performance cartridge in fact it is very expensive .
I agree that the 223 is slept on. Easy on powder, easy on barrels, easy on the shoulder and easy to load for.
Close second IMO are the small 6mms - BR, dasher, GT. Standard 308 boltface, incredibly easy to load for, excellent brass, minimal recoil, decent barrel life. Few people pay any attention to them with the larger creedmoors being so popular.
Close second IMO are the small 6mms - BR, dasher, GT. Standard 308 boltface, incredibly easy to load for, excellent brass, minimal recoil, decent barrel life. Few people pay any attention to them with the larger creedmoors being so popular.
Bustercluck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort McMurray
I know it’s not as cheap as some of the plinkers out there, but I think it’s probably the cheapest cartridge to get into any kind of precision long range shooting? What would be cheaper?
Bustercluck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fort McMurray
I don’t know how the 6br isn’t more popular than it is.
It would be nice to see some of those cartridges like the 6gt make it into the hunting rifle world with mainstream factory ammo and factory rifles chambered in them.
Are we on the same planet? Because I see lots of people who think 223/5.56 is the king of cartridges. Just look at any black gun or AR oriented forum, in their minds it stops charging elephants and blue whales dead, is super accurate like a lazer and is amazing.
From a target shooting perspective, ya people might question its merits, but over all 223 outsells any ‘target cartridge’ by miles.
That said. About six years ago i had a 223 built, 26in stainless bull barrel, marksman style stock etc, just for the reasons you mention, cheap ammo, no recoil, easy to find ammo etc. what a bucket of poop. Cheap ammo is usually just that, and I gave up and sold that rifle after ammo issues, bullet weight issues related to twist, and accuracy issues as well. To top it off by the time I got to gongs at 300yds you couldnt hear the impact, and needed a good bench scope to track the impacts. Wind susceptibility at my then range was awful, especially at 500m+, and all that is why I went back to the boring 308, and 300wm. Much better rounds, and in a dedicated heavy target rifle the recoil isnt bad at all.
For teaching kids at 300m and less its a fair cartridge, beyond that I would give it a solid pass, and maybe try 22-250
I love the 223/556, and i would hardly call it underrated. It's been handing out dirt naps to all manner of critters both 2 legged and 4 legged for almost 70 years. Obviously (except for the truly skilled or lucky) if you need to anchor something bigger than a deer, you should probably step up in power. If the 223 has anything against it... it's that's it is boring (it is everywhere, literally the Toyota Corolla of cartridges; the 308 would be the Ford 150/Chevy Silverado) and underestimated by those who fall prey to marketing.
I dunno, I have a 1:9 twist .223 on one of my rifles and even prone with the irons I have no issues hearing the cheapest 55 grain FMJ ammo hit the 500 meter steel.
I have had several new shooters use one of my 1:7 twist rifles off the bench with the same ammo and they were on the steel at 600 meters with no issues.
Cat
Yes, it's a disappointment to have a really good 223 rifle and discover it can't shoot cheap 55gr AR fodder worth beans, and you have to step up to the expensive heavier-bullet target ammo, or even reload that yourself. Once you're there it's awesome, just not cheap!
Everyone needs a fairly basic rifle that can happily munch on that case of 55gr ammo.
223 is a great cartridge, loved it in my AR…
Then I got stuck with an amount of ammo with no purpose so a cheaper bolt gun was the answer.
Until it wasn’t.
What’s the line, “only accurate rifles are interesting “…
Accuracy wasn’t horrible but far from what I would accept in a bolt gun so being the guy I am I decided the cheap barrel was the culprit.
The barrel, chassis and trigger all helped but in the name of burning money heavier quality components were secured and with handloads got down to a very good outcome, especially from me.
Accurate at the ranges I plink at and a joy to shoot as it has almost zero recoil (heavy gun with a brake).
But at this point the only thing affordable left is the small amount of powder it consumes.
The only thing I don’t like about it is all the components are too small and finicky for my hands and eyes when reloading; larger cartridges are just easier to see and grip which makes the reloading hobby (for me) much more enjoyable.
Then I got stuck with an amount of ammo with no purpose so a cheaper bolt gun was the answer.
Until it wasn’t.
What’s the line, “only accurate rifles are interesting “…
Accuracy wasn’t horrible but far from what I would accept in a bolt gun so being the guy I am I decided the cheap barrel was the culprit.
The barrel, chassis and trigger all helped but in the name of burning money heavier quality components were secured and with handloads got down to a very good outcome, especially from me.
Accurate at the ranges I plink at and a joy to shoot as it has almost zero recoil (heavy gun with a brake).
But at this point the only thing affordable left is the small amount of powder it consumes.
The only thing I don’t like about it is all the components are too small and finicky for my hands and eyes when reloading; larger cartridges are just easier to see and grip which makes the reloading hobby (for me) much more enjoyable.
