Quandry.....in .223

[SHIVAN]

Here's my quandry....

Best friends have been hunting PD's and Gophers a bit, they both have Kimber .223's. I have my AR in .223 and a Rem 700 .270.

When shot by me, using 130gr Hornady light mag ammo I can keep the 3 shots touching. Easily put them out at 200yards within the size of a quarter. However, they are giving me grief about using it to potentially hunt the little critters. Can I get it rebarreled? Is it worth it? Should I just buy a cheap .223 single shot and scope it?

OR

Should I buy a varmint barrel for the AR, scope it and keep the Rem 700 in fine factory shape shooting the .270?

I'm really leaning towards the AR, as I can just buy the upper assembly and drop it on, whereas the .270 to .223 would require several variables that may end up costing me a ton.

What say ye?

Thanks,

Ed

 

[labgrade]

"they are giving me grief about using it to potentially hunt the little critters .. "

Potentially!? Sounds like you could range 'em twice out with your .270 - especially if there's any wind, etc. Keep that .270!

May be that your AR just needs to eat a bit different fodder to wring out the best groups. Many short barreled ARs can do quite a bit better by merely switching ammo. If you reload, all the better. Hint - if your Kimber-buds are, they'll help fix you up.

I'd try to work out the "bugs" in you AR before I did anything that'd cost actual money. Depending on your AR set-up, even a fairly cheap-o scope may better help in acquiring a target ... just a thought.

If nothing else, if your .270s doing what you say - keep that sucker & don't sell it/change a thing.

Far as "cheap" .223s go, you'd be hard-pressed to get into a fine-shooting .223 than the Contender. Single-shot, but who cares? everything is .....

 

[Jamis]

If you're shooting quarter size groups at 200 yards, keep the .270!

 

[SHIVAN]

I think it's the gun..

If you're shooting quarter size groups at 200 yards, keep the .270!

I think the gun is doing most of the work. I'm just along for the ride.

Thanks for the input so far.

 

[Legionnaire]

Agree with labgrade. Sounds like your buddies are afraid you'll show them up with the .270. Hunt with that! You've got a package that works; don't mess up a good thing. If you do the rebarrel job, then you have two .223s, and what are you gonna use on deer?

If you insist on making a change, I'd buy another .223 bolt action rifle. For the cost of a good varmint barreled upper for your AR, you can have a CZ 527.

But I'd stick with the .270.

 

[SHIVAN]

That's part of my quandry.....

The .270 with the lightest load I can buy off the shelf (130gr) will smoke the little guys -- right?

So I considered possibly getting a Savage, CZ, or Rem 700. Oh the pain.

I don't need the .270 for deer as I will be using either my shotgun or my .444.

Thanks so far........

Ed

 

[Jack19]

Do not rebarrel the .270! If you must, buy an upper for the AR.

 

[Fish Springs]

Ignore the critics and shoot the .270 Just keep the interval between shot long enough to not damage the throat. I shot prarie dogs for years with a .30/06 and 150 grain PMC before someone told me that it would not work for PDs. In Idaho a 180 grain '06 load was for hunting a 150 was for varmits.

If you want to spend money---then an AR 15 project to make one of these rifles work as a varmit rifle would be fun. But, I'd zero the .270 200 yards or so and use the AR for gofers inside that range.

 

[C.R.Sam]

Me thinketh just use the .270. If your friends laugh, take an 06 next time.

Do be carefull and not get that good barrel hot.

Sam

 

[444]

I go right along with everyone else. I would shoot the .270. I never understood the rationale of worrying about what caliber you use on varmints that you have no intention of eating. If you shoot a prarie dog with a .416, who cares ? What does it hurt ? You are just going to leave it lying there for the coyotes anyway.

If you insist on buying something new, but a new AR upper. Don't sell anything....ever.

 

[jjmorgan64]

The 270's a shooter, never mess with a shooter until it's wore out, IMHO.

Oh and to quote a wise man

Don't sell anything....ever.

 

[dfaugh]

First centerfire rifle i ever had was bolt Win .270, working teenager, could only afford one gun for everything and anything...Used to use 110 gr Federal IRRC for varmints (We don't have PDs, but these would cut a woodchuck in half) and later130-150 gr for Deer. Idiot kid that I was , I took some REALLY long shots on woodchucks, actually hit a few at what had to be 350-400 yards (I suck with a rifle, and this had short barrell, never very accurate)...Still think a bolt .270 is a thing of beauty, wish I'd never sold that gun...Either way, keep that one...A single shot .223 (or better yet 22-250) not a bad idea

 

[Watch-Six]

Good grief man, don't convert the 270. It is a shooter already and the change to 223 will take more than a new barrel. The bolt face is much smaller, the entire action including the magazine is way too long, etc. If you must have one, just get a new 223 bolt gun. You could try 110gr handloads in the 270 or just shoot it as is. You will need to use a lot of ammo to offset the cost of the change. Watch-Six

 

[SHIVAN]

Ordered the AR upper....

I ordered a 24" Bull barrel upper from Pete-in-NH.

I tossed around the idea of getting the Rem700 in .223, but alas I think the AR will do exactly what I need it to do, without the extra gun as 7 is enough right now.

Further, does anyone know of a manufacturer who produces a lighter than 130gr .270? I know Hornady stock 110gr bullet components, but no cartridge. Hmmm......

Any suggestions now on varmint rounds in .223?

Thanks for all the insight.

Ed

 

[444]

Varmint loads in .223: Something with the Hornady V-Max bullet.

 

[Fish Springs]

A buddy of mine and I took .458 Win Mags on a jack rabbit hunt or two. It was great practice and made the things one is supposed to shoot with rifles of this caliber seem very slow and very large

Shot PD with a .458 Win one weekend, just to see if it could be done. Those 300 grain Sierra really messed up the gofers and the 6 or 8 inches of ground around the animal....from the firing line it look a bit like artillery.

 

[uglygun]

Another vote for a AR15 upper assembly, go for accurized/freefloated with a scoped flattop and it will make for one mean little varmint gun.


Sitting behind an accurate AR15 and zapping vermin gets to be like a game almost, if you are lazy like me you will enjoy having a rifle that is nearly recoiless so you can view every shot impacting through the scope, you'll enjoy the fact that you can carry 2-3 20 round magazines and not worry about reloading after every 5 shots like with a bolt action, you'll enjoy not having to manipulate a bolt, and if those sound like some darned nice advantages a vARmint-15 will just spoil you rotten.


I consider the guns good enough for 400 yards on small vermin, might get tossed around by the wind a little but a fast follow up shot is definitely on call and making calls on windage/elevation is easier with the little recoiless gun.


Downside is it's expensive usually with upper assemblies usually going for 500-650 minimum.


So the single shot argument comes into play and has merit on that note.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Wise choice SHIVAN.

That .270 is a keeper for sure.
Can never have to many uppers. Have you picked out a scope yet? Another suggestion to wring max accuracy out of the AR is to drop a Jewell or RRA 2 stage trigger in the lower. I really like the Jewell but have heard only good things about the RRA and it's less $ to boot.
As to ammo, reloads are best. I like the Sierra 69 grain Match over a charge of RE15. Great for target practice or woodchucks. If your going to use factory ammo, suggest trying several different brands and loads and let your rifle pick.
Take Care

 

[DoctorXring]

Unless you are going to have high rates of
fire I would just use the .270 Winchester
since it is so accurate. Your long ranging
abilities with this cartridge FAR exceed any
22 caliber offering. Wind can be a bitch when
you get past 300.

If so, then a flat top upper for the AR
would probably be better than toasting
your .270

Or better yet, buy a Remington M700 ADL
in .223 for around $350 NIB.

dxr

 

[Rick R]

If you use your .270 for varmints you can only get better at shooting deer with the same gun. But a good PD field won't do that barrel any good of you overheat it. I've got a vARmint-15 upper I put together using a Bushamster flattop upper, Douglas tube and DPMS free float handguard that shoots any reasonable load into a sub minute. It's actually throated long for up to 80gr bullets and has a 1 in 8" twist for heavy bullets, but the most accurate factory load I've found is the white 40 round box Winchester .45gr hp varmint loads that Walmart carries. I haven't chronoed any but the box advises that they're supposed to generate 3600 fps (your and my mileage probably vary). My gun also has a J-P single stage trigger and i may put a speed hammer in to decrease the lock time.

The AR with good upper and trigger will outshoot most bolt guns and do it all day long even after the bolt's barrel has wilted.

What ever you do have fun and don't let you buddies tease you into using their choice of rifle. Mine bugged me for years for using my AR to hunt deer but it brought home the venison any time I got in range and used it.

Rick