Has anyone tried something like this from a 22” or 24” barreled bolt action rifle? I’ve been considering a 223/5.56 bolt action and have a couple loads that replicate the bullet weight and approach the velocity of these rounds. I would expect they’d do well but don’t remember seeing anyone try them. I’m thinking something like a Ruger American, CZ, or Savage type bolt gun with a 20+” barrel.
Mk 262 in a Bolt Action
- Thread starter DMW1116
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I fire both MK262 and Hornady 75 gr BTHP match from my suppressed Mossberg MVP thunder ranch with excellent results.
It certainly will work. Do you see some advantage to using a bolt over an AR-15? Personally, if using a bolt-action and reloading anyway, I would step up to fast-twist.22-250 or .224 Valkyrie, if your intent is to use the heavy .224 bullets developed in the last 25 years.
I have a fast-twist .22-250, a 224, and have standardized on Mk 262 for my 5.56x45mm serious work. The one drawback I see to getting a bolt gun in a different caliber is purchase cost: .223 is much easier/cheaper to find than a 1 in 8" .22-250 or .224. If you were willing to go the AR route, though, you could get an upper from Bear Creek or Palmetto in .224 Valkyrie almost as cheaply as in 5.56mm.
John
I have a fast-twist .22-250, a 224, and have standardized on Mk 262 for my 5.56x45mm serious work. The one drawback I see to getting a bolt gun in a different caliber is purchase cost: .223 is much easier/cheaper to find than a 1 in 8" .22-250 or .224. If you were willing to go the AR route, though, you could get an upper from Bear Creek or Palmetto in .224 Valkyrie almost as cheaply as in 5.56mm.
John
Hesa Hard1
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A 70grn .223 TSX bullet over Varget (or even as factory loaded) will harvest you some venison all day every day.
A 77grn OTM @ typical Mk 262 Mod 1 velocities will work too, but fragmentation can ruin a lotta meant depending on where you put the bullet. Accordingly, Pros-in-da-know who hunt deer with that load counsel head shots only.
A 77grn OTM @ typical Mk 262 Mod 1 velocities will work too, but fragmentation can ruin a lotta meant depending on where you put the bullet. Accordingly, Pros-in-da-know who hunt deer with that load counsel head shots only.
My 1 in 9 .22-250 shoots 68 grain hollow points at about 3,200 ft per second. A nice, sedate load that hits hard, but won't burn my barrel out quickly.
My .224 V shoots a 90 grain bullet at 2700 ft per second.
My "bump in the night" 5.56 mm ARs are loaded with Mark 262. As HH pointed out, it will definitely kill a deer, but in most shot placements, you'll have a lot of meat destruction.
John
My .224 V shoots a 90 grain bullet at 2700 ft per second.
My "bump in the night" 5.56 mm ARs are loaded with Mark 262. As HH pointed out, it will definitely kill a deer, but in most shot placements, you'll have a lot of meat destruction.
John
No advantage over an AR other than maybe a little more velocity. I have been thinking about a bolt action to go with my AR, ideally to share mags as well as ammo. The bolt action would also allow greater variety in loading for maybe cast bullets or 22 mag or 22 Hornet type loads that won't run an AR. A 30-round magazine in a bolt action might last me a year of recreational shooting.
C-grunt
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Ive shot hotter 77 SMK loads out of bolt guns to around 1100 yards. You need to hold some wind for sure but it's not hard to make hits at range with that load.
I have a good 77 grain load I use in my 20" rifle but its an iron sighted rig so I doubt I'd send anything that far. A scope on a bolt gun seems more than capable out to the max distance I regularly have available. That particular load shoots very well out of 2 different rifles already, so hopefully that trend would continue if I were to make the leap into bolt action territory. I haven't seen any actual Mk 262 for sale in nearly 2 years, so I'm forced to do it myself at this point.
I guess the real point I and a couple of others are making is, that if you're rolling your own anyway, there's no need to limit yourself to a Mk 262 clone load. Now, that's assuming you might want to hunt deer with it. If harvesting meat isn't in your plans, by all means, SMK away.
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