.308 or .223 for punching paper?

[Guest nosnos]

I am in the market for a decent, affordable bolt action. I would like to be able to strive for MOA accuracy at 100 yards, and decent shooting out further. Is .223 too light for that kind of shooting? Do I need to go to .308 or would a .270 or something like that do it? I'm not really familiar with long range shooting, but want something that'll reach out that far to work on my SKILLZ!!! The benefit of .223 would be that it'd share ammo with my AR.

Recommendations for a gun (around $700) would be nice too. Price of scope not included, of course.

Thanks!

[Westwindmike]

It's hard to beat a Savage .223 in your price range. I have the model 12 and it's a great shooter at 100 yards.

[Guest clsutton21]

Get a Remington 700 in .308.

[Jasongar8]

I like .308 when I'm shooting a bolt gun. The Remington 700 SPS Tactical would probably work out well for you. You can get it in either caliber. I would take the Hogue stock off and sell it on eBay and replace it with a HS Precision or a McMillan. And you will have a tack driver with a little practice.

[MCSCOTT]

Another vote for a Remington 700 in a .308. The .223 would be great for just punching the paper at that distance, but the .308 gives you the option to do more if you should ever choose.

[Mark@Sea]

I like .308 when I'm shooting a bolt gun. The Remington 700 SPS Tactical would probably work out well for you. You can get it in either caliber. I would take the Hogue stock off and sell it on eBay and replace it with a HS Precision or a McMillan. And you will have a tack driver with a little practice.

McMillan. Forget HS Precision.

[MikeW]

What is wrong with HS Precision stocks?

[Guest 70below]

Look for a used Savage 112 varmint in the caliber of your choice......awesome bang for the buck. I added a B&C Duramaxx which isn't exactly the highest rated stock out there and is only pillar bedded, yet I can shoot .3MOA at 100 using Federal GMM.

Mind you, if you're intent on shooting .223 or .308, there isn't really a need for a long action like the 112. (Savage long actions are REALLY long)

[DaveTN]

I have a Remington 700 VLS in .308 topped with a Leupold VX III 6-20 X 40 LR scope. It’s a very nice set-up, but I wish I would have went .223.

Maybe I shoot more in range visit than most, but 50-100 rounds with this rifle can be brutal. My .308 DPMS Panther feels like a .22 after shooting the bolt.

100 yards in not really long range; the .223 would be fine. I don’t hunt, so it’s just punching paper. 300 yards is the longest range I get to shoot at without going to Illinois.

To me the .223 is worthless for anything except punching paper. But it will be my next bolt.

[Sidinman]

100 yds. with a centerfire is no distance to me. IMHO

[towerclimber37]

.223 is fine at 100 yards. it's pretty good out to about 300 yards.

[Kenstaroni]

For thin paper a .223 is ok, for thick paper you'll want a .308

Ok, seriously both are going to shoot fine and will be accurate at 100 yards. I'd make the decision based upon what else you might do with the rifle. Are you going to hunt with it? Are you going to shoot further than 300-400 yards? Is ammo price an issue? These questions and others come into play.

Personally I love .308 bolt guns. The Remington 700 SPS tactical that's mentioned above is a fantastic sub MOA gun right out of the box. It could use a better stock, which might make it a sub .5 MOA gun with the right ammo.

[USMCJG]

What is wrong with HS Precision stocks?

I don't want to speak for Mark, but he may be referring to their association with Lon Horiuchi as a reason for not liking HS. If that is indeed the case, I have the same qualms with them.

[Guest nosnos]

I mostly only get to shoot out to 100 yards anyway. Never shot farther than that, and I'm really not into hunting at all. Of course, if I could hunt with it it's a bonus.

I really hadn't read much about .223 out past 100 yards, but would LOVE to be able to shoot out there (providing someday I find someplace where I can shoot out that far). I probably am leaning towards a nice .223 now, which is weird since most of you suggested .308.

Those of you that suggest .223 make points that are relevant to me. But from what I'm understanding I need to make sure I'm not shooting construction paper targets. Cheap printer paper only. I understand....

[Guest coldblackwind]

I have a 700 sps tactical in .308, great gun! Also available in .223 if you prefer. I also have an interarms mark X, I wouldn't shy away from that one either, don't know about sub moa groups, as I've never tried, all I know is I dropped a woodchuck at about 400 yards with it when I was 12, so I would think at a 1/4 that distance, it should be pretty tight! My only complaint on the mark X though is the trigger is pretty heavy. Those would be my two recommendations, but that's mainly because I own them both, and can vouch for them.

[DaveTN]

For thin paper a .223 is ok, for thick paper you'll want a .308

[lunarpowered]

I've been looking for the same type of gun, so thanks for posting this. Now I just have to figure out how to talk my wife into letting me have another gun.

Remington Model 700 SPS Tactical

[MCSCOTT]

I mostly only get to shoot out to 100 yards anyway. Never shot farther than that, and I'm really not into hunting at all. Of course, if I could hunt with it it's a bonus.

I really hadn't read much about .223 out past 100 yards, but would LOVE to be able to shoot out there (providing someday I find someplace where I can shoot out that far). I probably am leaning towards a nice .223 now, which is weird since most of you suggested .308.

Those of you that suggest .223 make points that are relevant to me. But from what I'm understanding I need to make sure I'm not shooting construction paper targets. Cheap printer paper only. I understand....

I think the main reason we would say .308 is just so you would have more options in the future should you ever want to hunt with the rifle. The .223 is fine at those distances for punching paper or small game, but a .308 would give the option of larger game. My other reason is that you mentioned you already have an AR in .223. Personally my AR is just as accurate at 100 yards as any of my other rifles, so I would rather move up to a larger caliber for the new rifle.

[Desert Rat]

If you "REALLY" want to punch a hole there is always the 416 Barrett

[Ghooge2008]

I sold my 308 due to ammo issues...well not ammo issues but wallet issues.

[Guest 70below]

If you "REALLY" want to punch a hole there is always the 416 Barrett

You can skip paper, and go right to cardboard with that.......

[molonlabetn]

I have a Remington 700 VLS in .308 topped with a Leupold VX III 6-20 X 40 LR scope. It’s a very nice set-up, but I wish I would have went .223.

Maybe I shoot more in range visit than most, but 50-100 rounds with this rifle can be brutal. My .308 DPMS Panther feels like a .22 after shooting the bolt.

100 yards in not really long range; the .223 would be fine. I don’t hunt, so it’s just punching paper. 300 yards is the longest range I get to shoot at without going to Illinois.

To me the .223 is worthless for anything except punching paper. But it will be my next bolt.

Let me know if you'd like to shoot a Rem 700 in .223 before you decide.

[fastbs]

if you are just punching paper sounds like 223 would be great for you. although 308 holes are much easier to see; the .223 would be much more to fun play with and a bit cheaper.

[SmokyBaer]

... although 308 holes are much easier to see

That is worth a LOT to me cause I like not having to juggle time on the range scope to see where my last shot was. Love my .308s!!

[Guest gcrookston]

Both of my last 2 bolt guns were Savages and I'd put either of them up against a 700 any day... although I do like the Remingtons, I've just not personally experienced the out-of-box accuracy with them I have with Savage.

As for calibre, I enjoy both 5.56 and 7.62 for target and hunting. Each has it's place. 5.56 can be reasonably enjoyed out to 500 yrds and on varmints, while the 7.62 can reasonably reach out to 1,000 yrds and is competent at all North American big game.

Here is a target I shot one day at either 100 or 200 yrds (I can't remember - we were shooting both distances). The upper penetration is 5.56 SS109 and the lower is 7.62 M80.