From what I have been reading on the interweb, you can get very similar results from a high quality AR upper as you can from a bolt action rifle. I am ready to start reloading in 223, so I sold my never used bolt action 308 on the forum and will have money in hand soon. I am trying to figure out whether I would be better served getting a quality AR upper (White oak, Rock River Varmint, etc) or a bolt action (Remington 700P) rifle in 223. I shoot indoors way more than outdoors these days, but hope that will be changing in the near future. I would like to be able to shoot at 200-300 yards with a high (not insane, and insanely expensive) degree of accuracy. So I am posting a poll...

You will always get better over all accuracy out of a bolt action as far as I am concerned however

there are so many guys getting into longer range competition with the AR platform that they are hitting

easily at these ranges. I think it's really a wash either way you go you will be okay, however you can get

the bolt action much cheaper then getting the AR.

 

You do not even have to go with a 700p with the Remington they make some nasty accurate varmit rifles in

.223 already for a few hundred cheaper. If you are going to reload then why not just keep the .308 and get the die's to

reload that round, you can do more with it for longer range shooting then the .223?

I thought about keeping the 308, but money is short for me these days so I am taking one caliber at a time. I am leaning towards the bolt action, but I'd still like to be able to bring my 223 rifle along to BA on Wednesdays to shoot. The bolt action seems a bit overkill at a 25 yard indoor range. At least with an AR Upper I can take off the scope mount and use flip up sights indoors.

 

You will always get better over all accuracy out of a bolt action as far as I am concerned however

there are so many guys getting into longer range competition with the AR platform that they are hitting

easily at these ranges. I think it's really a wash either way you go you will be okay, however you can get

the bolt action much cheaper then getting the AR.

 

You do not even have to go with a 700p with the Remington they make some nasty accurate varmit rifles in

.223 already for a few hundred cheaper. If you are going to reload then why not just keep the .308 and get the die's to

reload that round, you can do more with it for longer range shooting then the .223?

I too want a bolt-action system, but truth is that unless I hunt (elsewhere, not in this state) or do some long range shooting (again, not in this state probably), I'd rather have an AR platform. You already know the flexibility an AR system can have. If you get say a mid-length or rifle sized upper (which are starting to really make a come back), you can easily touch 300M with iron sights with the proper fundamentals. With more practice, a magnified scope, maybe a free-floated competition barrel (like those available from White Oak), and the proper ammo... well, when you find out the limits of said AR, let me know

I just went through the same dilema. I picked up a Colt Match Target MT6700. It has a 20" HBAR I can shoot indoors with the iron sights, or slap a scope on it and do some long range shooting outside if I want. I can also buy another upper if I want a shorter barrel length.

 

I'll probably still pick up a bolt action at some point, but for right now the AR serves me better.

That's a good point that Sigman brings up. Even if you invest in a 18''+ upper at first, you can always get another upper (as long as its NJ compliant) without going through the process of purchasing another firearm. Its actually something that I'll probably be doing myself as soon as I have some more money in the next few months.

There are some nice 24" Rock River Varmint Uppers out there I'm looking at.

There are some nice 24" Rock River Varmint Uppers out there I'm looking at.

 

 

They are nice, if your looking to shoot indoor then ditch the bolt action, 25yards with a 4-6 power scope isnt

really to fun, go with the AR, you can also slap a .22lr upper on it to shoot super cheap.

I have a Spike's dedicated 22LR upper. Love it!

 

There are some nice 24" Rock River Varmint Uppers out there I'm looking at.

 

 

They are nice, if your looking to shoot indoor then ditch the bolt action, 25yards with a 4-6 power scope isnt

really to fun, go with the AR, you can also slap a .22lr upper on it to shoot super cheap.

+1 for ar 20" rr varmint upper 6x24 scope for longer range and a 16" dpms a2 upper for 25-50 yards with a older triicon acog

my lower is a no name lower-started with a dpms parts kit but replaced pistol grip with an over molded one and put is a jewell 1.5 lb trigger and i love it nice light short and crisp

An AR with iron sights and good fundamentals/training can be very good at 500m (man sized target center mass). This is easy from the prone position compared to 200m standing.

Bolt actions in 223 will have a much slower twist than the standard AR 1 x 7 to 1 X twist. Heavier bullets will not stabilize although lighter 50 grain and less will be fine. At the range most shoot at, the AR platform is fine. I use my RRA DCM out to 600 yards with reloaded match ammo and it's fine. A bolt would not provide much better performance in that caliber. I'll use the 700P if I'm going further. up here 900 yards is the max on a organized range. Even that isn't shot all that much.

Well, I went with the 24" barrel Rock River Varmint. I got the version without the elevated optics platform so that I could throw on some BUIS (backup iron sights) and shoot her indoors too. Does anyone have any recommendations on what ones to get? I don't know if I should care if the front sight is a flip or fixed since you can't even see it in a scope anyways. The one limitation is that it has to be gas-block mounted height because I would be mounting it on the short rail atop the gas block.

As for the rear sign, I have no requirements except that it be flipup.

By the way, here is what I got.

http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm? ... ory_id=228