Need some rifle advice from a relaoding perspective

[raddiver]

I will be building a carbine length upper within the next month or so.
I already have a bolt action 223.

I dont really have a defined purpose for it. General purpose i suppose, target shooting, self defense, SHTF, and possibly hunting.

Out of the following calibers, which would you choose and why?

5.56
300 AAC
6.5 Grendel
6.8 SPC

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

5.56 because free brass is laying on the ground nearly every time I go to the range.

 

[Captcurt]

For the carbine I would go with the 300. If it was a 20" I would probably try the Grendel. Although Colt has a good point.

 

[snd]

Yep. I pick up .223 brass at the range every time I go out. Up until the recent panic, bulk .22 bullets were very available. For me, economics and keeping it simple were an issue for me and I chose .223 ...

Scott

 

[jim243]

Whichever has the most ammo available. That would probably be the 5.56

Jim

 

[SlowFuse]

My view on these calibers may differ from others...
Cheap: 5.56
Long Range: Grendel
Hunting: 6.8 or 300 BLK

I keep going the 5.56 route because of the above reason. The 6.5 and 6.8 have really peaked my interest but I can't get out of the 5.56 rut!

 

[Kachok]

I like the 6.5 Grendel simply due to the VASTLY better ballistic of it's 120-123gr bullets over the 110gr 6.8s and 125gr 30 cal. The difference is night and day past 150 yards, though if you are shooting inside 100yds the 6.8 lends itself to a carbine barrel, that was what it was designed for after all.

 

[GLOOB]

General purpose i suppose, target shooting, self defense, SHTF, and possibly hunting

All except for hunting or long range target shooting, 5.56. For hunting or long range shooting, I'd get a bolt action in the 308 or 30-06 family over any of those listed calibers.

Hunting only requires 20 rds a year. Why increase your costs for the other stuff, just so you can "possibly" hunt?

 

[raddiver]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. it is much appreciated.
This has at least helped me rule out 300 BLK.

Im leaning towards the possibility of some or all of FeinWench's bill being being passed, and with that i figure ammo will be harder to come by. Even in 5.56. So i expect handloading will be required. Which is obviously why i raised the question here.

Thanks again for the feedback.
-Rad

 

[GrandpaBear]

don't stop thinking about 300 Blkout, yet

I have looked at all those others and unless you're buying a 20+ inch bbl you should concentrate on the one round designed for a short barrel--the 300. You have two choices, huge sub-sonic rounds (like the .45 ACP, lots of mass, sub-sonic speed) and lighter rounds at higher speeds, but still slow enough to use cast bullets. All with a single upper with a 16-inch barrel. And reloading dies are already on the market. Brass is readily available weather you buy it or make it. If you have a problem with your BCG you can use the one for your .223/5.56 since the heads are the same. What's not to like?

 

[Walkalong]

If you go with the .223, then you will have great commonality with many weapons with ammo for it everywhere. (Except lately)

If you go with .300 BLK, you can still convert the readily available (Usually ) .223 brass to .300 BLK, and use a heavier bullet.

I like both, and really enjoy shooting the .300 BLK, but if I was getting my first AR, I would go with a 5.56 marked barrel for shooting .223 and surplus military ammo.

Branch out later.

 

[Float Pilot]

Break away from the crowd and go with 50 Beowulf or a 458 Socom.

It will thump game critters, and even if an intruder is wearing body armor, they will feel like you beat them with a splitting maul....

 

[Onewolf]

I'm going to build an AR soon for 'fun' field/match shooting and it's going to be a .260 rem with 22" or 24" barrel.

 

[hueyville]

You already have a turn bolt in 5.56. Except for odd times like now ammo and brass is plentiful. In a SHTF then you never can tell when a guardsman may "lose" a can of ammo off the back of a truck. If you can only have a limited number of guns, be as compatable with your surroundings as possible is my theory.

 

[higgite]

"Possibly hunting" what?