Hunting with an AR15

.23 is bigger than .223. so I guess you can't use your AR to hunt.

Ah, I see.

As luck would have it, I just did a workup with those bullets. Using an Armalite 16" barrel AR-15, I worked up loads with Varget and CFE-223.
Speer brass, Rem 7 1/2 primers. I found best accuracy at max listed load of CFE-223, with another node (not as good) at about .8 grain less.
Varget was disappointing in this application, with no groups below 2.2 MOA. Best CFE group was just above 1 MOA. All groups (5 shot) at 100 yards.
10 separate aiming points, 1 shot from each loading per point and repeat for a total of 50 rounds fired. CFE 223 best group was at about 2850 FPS.
Here in sunny Florida .223 is legal for deer.

Me, I'd stay with 55 grain bullets for coyote, groundhogs, and pests. Should be very close to the same point of aim as your 55 FMJ's. I load Hornady 55 FMJ's and Hornady 55 gr. Spire Points with the same loads and no change of scope settings. You may need a few clicks between FMJ's and SP's but not major corrections. Depending on the ranges you expect to shoot but for small targets the scope would be better. The Strikefire red dot should do well on small targets out to 100 yards but the red dot while covering 4" at 100 yds. at 300 yds it covers a foot?

You mentioned "paying for itself". Would it be worthwhile to get a .300 blackout (or whatever they call it today) barrel? About $200 and you are over the .23 line and can hunt larger game that will put meat in the freezer.

I'd use 55 also. I like the V-MAX bullets.

Seems a little big for squirrels unless they are bigger then those around here.

However I'm sure you know to be carful shooting that thing up in the trees.

If your not wanting to spend much money I'd look into Chinese glass off eBay. They are actually pretty good.

You are better off getting a cheap name brand scope than an expensive off brand one. $100 will get you a cheap Nikon.

Jackal said:

You are better off getting a cheap name brand scope than an expensive off brand one. $100 will get you a cheap Nikon.

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I have to disagree. Cheap name brands are going to be junk. By the time you pay for the name nothing is left to pay for the glass. You can get a nice Chinese scope for $30-$40. I just bought one for my son that was $40. It's about a 28x zoom. Very clear glass that doesn't even have to have a focus adjustment. I have a nice 40x that was about $200 & been using it for years. I'm tired of paying for a name & getting junk. You couldn't make me go back to those over priced tubes.

In my opinion 1-4x optics are very over rated. They arent as fast as a red dot or as accurate as a full size scope. They really dont excel at anything. I have tried a few (Vortex, Leupold) and still own the 1.5-4x Leupold. I can shoot just as accurately with my 2moa red dot as I can with the low magnification scope. The cheap 1x-x scopes also have terrible fish eye distortion. The fish eye is the reason I sold 2 Vortex Strike Eagle's.

Hornady 55 V-Max is a great varmint bullet and will work great on coyotes and groundhogs. Good fragmentation and expansion plus accurate. Note that the V-Max does not have a cannelure and does not need a crimp. I've had good results with 55 FMJ and Spire point bullets in 1/7 and 1/9 twist AR's. Worth trying in your rifle. I too would recommend a 2x7, 3x9, 4.5x10 power scope. Good for normal hunting range and not too much magnification that you can't find your target. I love my Leupold 1.5x4 Patrol Firedot scope on an AR. Possibly my favorite scope of all. But if shooting groundhogs at 300 yards and only able to see part of the target then more magnification is better.I believe my 1.5X4 Leupold VR-X Patrol Firedot would work well enough for most shooting.

badkarmamib said:

But, not in 1-4. In the scope are, I was trying for a close to do-all, which I believe is impossible.

Also, would V-Max work well for coyote?

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The cheap one my son got would be a good do it all. Starts about 4x

V-MAX work well on deer here so they should work for you.

I haven't seen VA regs, but many states don't allow centerfires of any caliber for small game, Coyote in most places are considered non-game or in some places varmints and there are usually few if any regulations on what you can use. I hate it for guys living in states with crazy hunting regs. But even if legal a 223 rifle just isn't a good small game choice. Coyote or possibly feral hogs yes depending on how VA regs read. As long as it is loaded with big game bullets however it is more than adequate for deer size game at reasonable ranges. Last time I looked at the regulations there were only 4-5 states that forbid 223 for deer if they also allowed any rifle. A few places are shotgun/muzzleloader only.

badkarmamib said:

2.) What would be good recommendations for groundhogs and squirrels?

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Just out of curiosity, are the "squirrels" you're talking about ground squirrels or tree squirrels?
I don't know of anyone around these parts who hunts tree squirrels (we probably don't have the right kind here in Idaho) but I and my buddies have shot thousands of ground squirrels over the years. What we call "ground squirrels" are little chipmunk type varmints that live in the ground and can be a real plague on crops if there's enough of them.
At any rate, when we're out ground squirrel "hunting" (shooting) we use .22 LRs on the ones that are closer than 50 yards or so. The .223s and .22-250s are for those that are further out. I've never used my AR on them, but my Ruger .223 works great on ground squirrels with inexpensive FMJ, 55-grain factory loads. Those loads even work on the much larger rockchucks (very similar to what you call "groundhogs") that we have around here. Although, I don't shoot rockchucks very often anymore unless they get into our vegetable garden. Most of the time they hang out in the lava rocks, way out on the back part of our place, and not doing anyone any harm.
When I'm actually out coyote hunting on purpose, I use a .22-250 loaded with Hdy 52gr BTHPs over charges of H380. But I'll bet your AR loaded with those 65gr Sierra GameKings over charges of H4895 would work swell too.

badkarmamib said:

Around here, we have Eastern Grey Squirrels. About a pound in weight.

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Yeah, I don't think the Rocky Mountain Red Squirrels we have around here are anywhere near that big.
I remember when I was a kid (12 or 13) and we were on a family camping/fishing trip, I shot a squirrel with my pellet rifle and took it back to camp, hoping that my mom would cook it up for dinner - like I'd read about in outdoor magazines. I also remember my mom's reply - "No! I'm not going to cook a damned rat for you to eat! Get that thing out of the tent!"

I use the 55gn V-max in my AR with the same specs as yours and they are very accurate and good for coyotes. I use W748 powder. I like a 22lr for squirrels

Tree rats are tasty.

I also use W748 in ARs but that was because it was cheap which isn't the case anymore.

17HMR is nice to touch them in the head 100 yards away.

I've had very good results with H335 and A2230 using the bullets you mentioned. The 55grn V max is great on coyotes and groundhogs.