talk me out / into a 223 rig

[Exodus343]

You don't HAVE to wear out the 308 barrel before you rebuild the gun.
I have rebuilt LOTS of rifles with only 300-500 rounds through the original 308 barrel.
Just get a PTG one piece 0.703" diameter bolt and a barrel blank ordered so you are ready once they come in...

that is very true
I do feel I can still learn lots from the 308 before I DO decide to rebarrel into a different caliber and experiment

However, another part of me just wants a cleaner/better 308 barrel lol

[jetman624]

I have a 700P in .223 and probably would not go that route again. IMO, the only thing a .223 bolt gun really has going for it is that it is cheap to shoot.

It is hard to find one that has barrel twist that will shoot the 75gr+ bullets, but even if you do, you pretty quickly become limited by case capacity. And of course most of these heavier rounds would have to be single shot unless you want to eat up MORE case capacity stuffing the bullet in there to get it to feed from a mag.

I would save the money and shoot the .308 more, or put it towards the parts like Randal said for an upgrade.

[mark501w]

Accurate economical real squirrel & coyote killers If your looking for a .222 type varmint gun there great.

[JMP]

I want one to practice fundamentals with and to bring new shooters in

Yes, this is a good idea. I do not think you can afford NOT to own a .223. I have a 700 in .223 that I shoot all the time...it can be very challenging to shoot in the wind.

As far as new shooters...well, I consider the .308 a fluff round, so if they can't learn on that, they may not be worth the effort to teach.

[vincewarde]

The biggest problem with .223 bolt guns is that they are handicapped by the twist rate, it's hard to find one with a twist faster than 1/9. I bought a Howa 1500 varmint a few years ago cheap, I didn't realize at the time it was a 1/12...
I still love to shoot it, 52-53gr bullets go into little ragged hole groups a bit over 1/2 moa consistently and you can shoot it all day long.

Yep - that's the biggest problem with my Rem. 788 in .223.


As for cost of ammo, in the past I have found I can reload quality .233/5.56 for about the same cost as a .17 HMR. Needless to say, I would rather shoot a .223.