I have a couple AR uppers I assembled in 223 - one has a 24" SS fluted barrel and the
other has a 16" light-weight barrel.
The 1st one is my Target Shootin' or Prairie Dog Hunting' upper.
The 2nd is my Huntin' upper - coyotes, antelope, deer, wildebeests, etc...
I assembled my 1st AR about a year ago - My 1st AR & My 1st 223 cal. rifle!!
Never even shot a 223 before.
Anyway, I am now a really big fan of the 223/5.56 caliber!
Fairly inexpensive and fun to reload and very pleasant to shoot.
I have kind of a "know it all" son-in-law - he IS a really good guy!!
He's pretty into the "long range stuff" and is pretty knowledgeable on the subject.
But he's kind of a:
Image doesn't totally fit what I'm saying - But most stuff he's learned from the internet.
He pretty well looks down on the "run of the mill" calibers like the 223 and the 308.
I also have a Remington 788 in 308... I've owned it for 20+ years.
Old and boring and outdated calibers... For him - Wildcats are where it's at!!
That puny 223 is about worthless - not even powerful enough to kill a deer... )-:
So I thought what the hell - Somebody has to be shooting a 223 long range.
Certainly not the best choice - But - It's a very popular caliber!!
And it wasn't just the son-in-law... I was pretty curious myself!!
So, I punched "223 long range shooting" into my DuckDuckGo search engine and a link
to an article called "Shooting A 223 Rifle To A Mile Accurately" By Jerry Teo showed up...
Here on LRH.
A MILE with a 223?
I wasn't expecting the "long range" to be a Mile!!
I thought it was a great article. It was a straight up and honest as can be look at shooting a 223 a mile.
Mr.Teo showed that it most certainly can be done!!
The conditions have to be right as that little slow bullet is pretty sensitive to the wind.
And the right equipment is needed - as well as a steady, experienced hand.
It was just what I was looking for!! And I thought it was very interesting and fascinating.
And very well written too!
After snooping a bit - it looked like LRH has tons of good information!!
So I signed up!!
I told the son-in-law about the article...
Here it is - accurate long range shooting can be done with a 223!!
He still wasn't all that impressed...
He just shot his antelope today with his 6.5 Creedmoor - Creedemore - Creadmoor??
Ok - his Ruger American Predator in 6.5 CR!!
Looks like a smaller, stubby 308 to me.
The cartridge that is - not the antelope...
During our visits, he often launches off into a bunch of weirdo exotic calibers I've never heard of...
Oh well, he does good tolerating old people that don't "get it"...
I can pretty easily whack a coyote or deer out to about 350 yards with my old calibers and cheap scopes.
And I've whacked a few prairie dogs a little further than that with my target shooting AR.
Which is what I was happy with for a long time.
But with him taunting me...
And this darn forum has really got me thinking...
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try to improve my long range shooting!!
If I could show him my 40 year old 788 can do a good job shooting at a fair distance,
maybe he'd think my old, wore out gun still works OK.
And us old people aren't so dumb after all...
And Maybe I can work with my Target Shooting AR some more too.
I'll probably have to jack my beloved cheap and used-when-I-bought-it-20-years-ago Simmons scope off my 788.
And my AR has that crappy el-cheapo 6-20x50 NC Star scope - That'll have to go too!!
I saw a Zeiss MC Conquest 6.5-20x50 mil-dot scope on the net tonight for $650.
Target turrets and side focus... Nice!!
They have the same scope with a "Rapid Z 1000 Reticle" for $800.
Its a little like the reticle my NC Star has...
An Interesting looking reticle for sure. I'll have to do some more studying...
I also looked at some Schmidt & Bender scopes...
The price they want for one of them will make your nuts quiver!!
Hell, that's more that every gun I own is worth!!
I don't know... I think I'll stick with my cheap, but works-for-me scopes for a while longer...
If I make that 1st step - I could get hooked for life.
The wife already thinks I have too many expensive hobbies !!
Amazing how an article can make you think about spending thousands of dollars!!
Anyway, this is a way-too-long & possibly wondered off subject a bit explanation on how I found LRH.
And I'm glad I did!! gun)