Best rifle for me

[Bob A]

Hi. Its not much fun for me to shoot heavy caliber rifles anymore. Kind of leaning to a .223 or .17. This is just for target shooting. The .308 and .303 are a bit much after awhile. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
Bob

[58thecat]

a nice walnut stocked and scoped out 22 might fit the bill if its just target shooting 100 yards or less...shoot all day on a dime per say....some nice classy riggs out there;

starters;

https://cz-usa.com/product-category/rifles/rimfire/

[catnthehat]

Pretty tough to beat a .223 and bulk ammo out to 500 meters for plunking and stuff
Cat

[Stinky Coyote]

look at a ruger pc carbine perhaps?

the types of target shooting you're most into could be a consideration, ie; distances you like to play, steel or paper...you may like a louder impact on steel targets, also maybe you want to feel a bit of recoil or 'real gun' feel when you touch the trigger off?

but ya start with the most common ammo choices in the world as price and availability will be best with those

the 9mm is the most common pistol caliber in the world and lots of bulk availability at good price per round, and the little carbines sure look like a lot of fun, i'll have to have one soon but effective ranges shorter like a .22 lr, up to 100 yards but you can still have fun hitting steal further than that

.223 would be one that would go long better, 300 yards and beyond (good for coyote hunting also)

7.62x39 might be another, get you to 200 yards, good for some big game to say 150 yards

the .22 lr would be hands down the most affordable powder burning shooter, similar ranges to the 9mm

i think those are the top choices, i'd probably go for 9mm over the rimfire magnums myself

[morinj]

Many competition shooters like the .243 for target shooting, you can google it and come up with a lot of info!https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/...range-shooting

[bsmitty27]

You can have a lot of fun with a 22 and can reach out alot further than most think. I play at 100/150/200y with irons, and am itching to get a 250/300y gongs set up for the little rimfire.

[kujoseto]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Pretty tough to beat a .223 and bulk ammo out to 500 meters for plunking and stuff
Cat

What bulk ammo is recommended to look into for this purpose?
This thread really has me thinking I want to get a 223 for exactly this purpose now.
I don’t like that the kids can’t shoot a deer with it, so something like a Grendel is enticing, but low cost high volume trigger time is just tough to disagree with.

[kujoseto]

Funny because the first thing I thought was we’d hear more waxing poetic about the virtues of a Grendel from Stinky Coyote (aren’t they all stinky, can we just call you coyote?)
Kinda in the same boat where I’m looking for something I could blast off at the range for much cheaper than my big game rifles. What I don’t like about the 223 for me is it is pretty much just a range gun and not for hunting, aside from the occasional coyote. I’d love a Grendel for its multi purpose and low recoil. But the cost to feed the 223 is just so tough to argue against. And to not have another cartridge to take my time with reloading is a big factor for me.

[Stinky Coyote]

Originally Posted by kujoseto

Funny because the first thing I thought was we’d hear more waxing poetic about the virtues of a Grendel from Stinky Coyote (aren’t they all stinky, can we just call you coyote?)
Kinda in the same boat where I’m looking for something I could blast off at the range for much cheaper than my big game rifles. What I don’t like about the 223 for me is it is pretty much just a range gun and not for hunting, aside from the occasional coyote. I’d love a Grendel for its multi purpose and low recoil. But the cost to feed the 223 is just so tough to argue against. And to not have another cartridge to take my time with reloading is a big factor for me.

Lol, i'll recommend it where i think it's a good choice. It's versatility is hard to ignore, when you really look at all it can do it's got a very broad range of uses and appeal.

And ya, if the mods will change my name to Coyote i'd be ok with that, i was about the oxymoron's when i signed up back in 2007 i guess.

As for the reloading, i don't know personally as i don't reload but if a cartridge finally does get me into that, it will be the Grendel. I understand like other new 6.5's it's real easy to reload for and find loads quickly. It's been around since 2004, gobs of reload data on the 6.5 Grendel Forum and other typical gun/hunting forums. It's wildly popular in the usa. Also...factory ammo is 52,000 psi for auto-loaders, you can get another 100 fps out of it reloading for bolt guns as you can run higher pressures. So i've read anyway.

For this thread, and assuming factory ammo still, pretty tough to beat the white box .223 and a readily available/affordable/accurate bolt gun from variety of the usual manufacturers.

[Stinky Coyote]

I'm quietly waiting for Chuck to retire the .223 for a 6.5 Grendel so it's not just relegated to varmints and target practice but still light enough hitter for introductory goodness and good fun.

I'd love to see what he does with reloading for the Grendel!

As well as a few other sharp shooters here...be interesting to see what you guys would get out of the 6.5g with all the experience and accuracy i see on this forum.

[Pathfinder76]

:-)

[kujoseto]

It sounds like the solution is really a 223 AND a 6.5 Grendel. My eldest is shooting a lower velocity load in the 7mm-08 and if I wasn’t so far into that cartridge (bought the guns for me not for the kids) I’d start the kids off with a 223 and hunting with a Grendel. Too bad Cooper doesn’t make the Grendel. I sure like their rifles. These are her first 6 shots ever with a cartridge larger than 22-250.


(I’m covering my fouling shots from earlier, her name, and incorrect load data I wrote down on the wrong target)

[Stinky Coyote]

Great shooting!

I'll be able to rest in peace if sns2 sips the 6.5 Grendel kool-aid one day, knowing all the good I helped bring into the world.

Goals

[Bob A]

Appreciate all the input. Think I will lean to the.223.

[curtz]

17's are so accurate and a lot of fun to shoot.

[Bob A]

Yes a friend has one that I’ve shot. Liked it but I don’t know a lot about rifles and not sure that it has the range that I may want. I would probably like to try longer distances. Thanks

[kujoseto]

Or if not bulk ammo, what weight of bullets do people prefer for 300-500m range work?

[32-40win]

In just what I've noticed, bulk ammo only seems to be available, in 55gr FMJ. I could be looking in the wrong places though, can't say I've searched hard for them. It seems to me there should be a market for a varmint load in 55gr and 40gr. 40gr will get real close to 22-250 w/55gr loads. You would also think there would be enough market for a heavier one with a match grade bullet of some form for the fast twist barrels. But, I'm no marketing whizbang, either. Something like a 55 or 70gr partition or a TTSX would make a good hunting round up for Wile E and deer, even lopers. The bullets are out there, just seems the mfgrs don't want to offer them, although they may be available from some custom mfgrs, but I'd guess they likely are not all that cheap, compared to the 55gr FMJ.