Thinking about a Rem. 700 XCR Tactical -what ammo should I go with?

[nickorette]

I was thinking I'd go with .308, but the thing is bulk/surplus .308 is so hard to come by. There can be months at a time where you can only buy commercial here in Canada. I really don't have the time for reloading, so buk/surplus is really my only option.

That's why I'm thinking .223 might be a better option. It does have about half the M.E. of a .308, but it is a faster round, it is readily availible, and it is less expensive.

What do you think?

 

[foxbat]

Why would you buy a 'precision' rig, and then 'feed' it with bulk/surplus?
A Rem700, in either .223 or .308 needs quality factory 'match' ammo...or better still, from an accuracy and cost point of view, handloads suited to the rifle.
Accuracy comes at a price..otherwise, stick with a Mini-14 and 'spray' away to your heart's content!

 

[darko]

Why would you buy a 'precision' rig, and then 'feed' it with bulk/surplus?
A Rem700, in either .223 or .308 needs quality factory 'match' ammo...or better still, from an accuracy and cost point of view, handloads suited to the rifle.
Accuracy comes at a price..otherwise, stick with a Mini-14 and 'spray' away to your heart's content!

Maybe he's shooting at distances where it really doesn't make a difference?

 

[nickorette]

Yeah around 50-100 yards mostly. Alot of people I've talked to says reloading is the way to go, but I've heard reloading can take up to 1 hour for just 20 rounds. But anyways, that's a different story.

Any recomendations for caliber though?

 

[tiriaq]

50-100 yards, and cheap ammuntion.... Time for a .22.

The .223 would make more sense. Bulk pack varmint ammunition isn't too expensive, and white box ball can be had. Just as accurate as the .308.

 

[nickorette]

Yeah I've already got a rimfire...

For plinking it's good but I need something for yote hunting if I see fit. And no I have no plans to be using surplus ammo for hunting, lol. Just if I decide to get some use out of my gun, and have some fun, I'd like to without breaking the bank or spending 5 hours reloading before hand.

 

[Syxx15]

I did some range testing with my 700 XCR Tactical at 100 yards and the bullets I tested for it were 55gr FMJ, 60gr V-Max, 62gr HPBT, 75gr A-Max, 77gr SMK and finally 80gr SMK. The best result I got from all though bullets were the 80gr SMK at .500" 5 shot group. Or it was just a little under the 1/2MOA group. I found that the 80gr also held the best tight bullet group (5 shots in one hole).

The other bullets held 5 shots with 5 different hole groups. The 77gr SMK held a pretty consitent group as well.

 

[BC_Guy]

I'm thinking you'd be better off getting a super cheap used .308 or .223 for 50-100yd shooting with surplus ammo. No point getting an expensive rifle to shoot surplus ammo, especially if you're concerned about 'breaking the bank'.

 

[wild1]

You would probably be happy with a .223 if shooting around 100 yards. You can buy umc bulk .223 for around 70 bucks for 200.

 

[nickorette]

Well, the thing is I can always buy expensive ammo or reload later down the line. If I buy a crappy gun, then down the line I'll be stuck with it, and will end up buying a precision rifle anyways.

Besides, how bad is bulk/surplus ammo? Are we talking 6" groups at 100 yards?

 

[Duck_Hunter]

If your just planning on short range target shooting and coyote hunting then I'd go with the .223 you'll have an easier time with the ammo, and the recoil will be milder (not that a .308 is a heavy hitter)........and then in the future by another 700 in .308
Group size will depend on what your gun likes but 6" at 100 yards isn't even close, try 1.5"-2"(or better). You could also stock up on match ammunition.

 

[wild1]

To give you an idea on ammo costs I was shooting .223 umc bulk ammo at $70 for 200. Not sure how much .223 match ammo costs but a quick visit to wss website would give you an idea. I just bought a box of .308 match ammo for 39 bucks for a box of 20. I have seen it sold a little cheaper elsewhere but the service I get is worth an extra few bucks. Typically .308 stuff is close to double the price of .223. You are kinda in the same boat I was in this last summer. I had a .223 but was not happy with it at 300 meters with bulk ammo so I am going to try out a .308 with match ammo and a decent scope now. Hopefully I will be happier with this setup.

 

[nickorette]

whoa whoa whoa.... I just found out about progresive reloading presses....

500-600 rounds an hour!!! Well .308 here I come

Geeze I was told 20 rounds an hour was average for reloading

 

[Beater]

ive had an 7.62 XCR for a bit now. it shoots dam good with all the surplus i have put through it. hertenberger/ FNM/ south african/ and a few i cant remeber. the southafrican and the hertenberger are almost a tie. if i do my part, i can stay right around the inch at 100. i can only do a bit better with the proloads

 

[maynard]

20 rounds and hour-ya maybe if that included taking the press out of the box,mounting it to the bench and setting everything up from scratch

For accuracy reloading is the only way to go. Remember-garbage-in, garbage out. For the price of 10 boxes of match ammo you can have yourself set up with a pretty nice reloading kit.
While some guys rave about how great their ammo is, made on a progressive press, I will continue to use my single stage. An average year for me is between 800-1500 rounds, mostly .308 with some .223 thrown in. Once all my brass match prepped I can load about 100 round/hour, and I weigh every charge to as close as my digital scale can get.

 

[Vic777]

Why would you buy a 'precision' rig, and then 'feed' it with bulk/surplus?

Exactly, make the time for reloading .... even if you only reload 100 rounds at first .... you can still shoot surplus at other times. Once you see the benifits of reloading. You will start to shoot fewer but better rounds. You will not want to shoot "worse" than MOA.