Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

[nightdawg]

Maybe my mind is foggy today, but gotta ask... is there any advantage of having the LTR in .223 as opposed to a larger caliber? Is there anything that caliber can do that the .30 cannot do?

Attempting to thin the herd...got both and can't think of a reason to keep the .223.

 

[BlackWhiskey]

Re: Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

Yes it can do a few things that a .30 cal can't:

-It has less recoil
-Cheaper ammo
-And a .223 can punch smaller holes than a .30 cal

But on a seriously, if you have both, just go with the .308 and spend your money on more ammo.

 

[Alderleet]

Re: Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

If you try to justify it via price, it doesnt work out either.

FGMM 77gr 223 costs damn near as much as FGMM 175gr 308.

For plinking, 223 is cheaper, because xm193 generic bulk can be had anywhere. For any sort of precision work, you'll use match ammo. Since the costs are so close, it doesnt make sense to go 223.

Reloading costs are marginally more for 308 too...


I picked up a 223 so I could work on my positioning and recoil handling skills. Other than that, its fairly worthless.

 

[BCP]

Re: Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

223 bolt guns make decent target rifles, I know a couple guys who use them in 600 yard comps and they do very well. The cost is also a little lower and when you're dealing with new shooters who aren't used to recoil they will prefer the 223. I have several bolt 223's but never shoot them anymore; if I'm going to shoot a 223 it's going to be an AR.

 

[ut755ln]

Re: Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

The .223 as others have stated are very good practice guns. Very little recoil, inexpensive to operate, long barrel life.

 

[Kalman]

Re: Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

Unless you're looking for a coyote or less gun, there's not much reason I can think of.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Re: Q: Any advantage of LTR in .223?

Man, no love here!! Just kidding guy's I'm sure the .223 has a special place in every heart. It was my first centerfire, and currently my last. I think that while all you guys have mentioned here is true and should be considered, I think the .223 is underestimated.
Here is an example borrowed from my range report: Yesterday myself, chubbles, and goathead1096, went out into the west Utah desert to stretch out a bit. The wind was bad (from 0 to 20 MPH and back to 0 all day long) so it was no surprise that we spent alot of ammo, but we learned alot about doping the wind. We setup many steel targets but the one I'll focus on was the 18"X24" mild steel silhouette set up at <span style="color: red"> 1240 yds </span> , confirmed by Swarovsky and Bushnell rangfinders.
We shot at it quite a bit, doping the constant changing wind was a challenge so we missed left right and otherwise. I was shooting my recently built .223 custom 20" Remington with 75 Amax's (more info in my signature build thread) Chubbles was shooting his custom .308 Remington, as was Goathead1096 firing 175 SMK's and 178 Amax's respectively.
The first hit on the freshly painted steel came from my little .223, the dings were impossible to see at that range and the .308's were just barely visible. But we knew when a hit was made, the dry desert dirt made quite the signature with every miss. While the steel made none whatsoever. After we collected my steel when we finished, we analyzed the hits, and while it may not be very scientific I believe we got it nailed down. Up close you can actually see the melted red plastic tips of the Amax.

My dope says that my 75 Amax's should be doing around 1100 FPS at that range, not much, but nothing to scoff at either. I would love to repeat the process with no wind and see how many hit's I could get.