I'm consolidating my collection and one of the cartridges I want to end up with is the 223 Rem. I really like the round and am debating between a Rem LVSF, VSSF or Bushmaster AR-15. This rifle would be used primarily as a calling rig/plinker.



Which would you choose and why???

Your not all that far from prarie dog hunting so keep the one that would be best for that.

Here in CT all I see is the AR's at the range. I can't stand that rifle but that's me. I was at a range in South Carolina and there were no AR's on the line and two shooters were loading at the bench with Wilson tools.

mmmmmmmm

Nebraska,

Consolidation? I wish I had that kind of will power!

I have an AR-15, with two different uppers. One is a RRA
Varminter, with a 20" Wilson Stainless heavy barrel, and
one is a RRA pre-ban M4(16" Chrome Moly barrel). I pin on
the Varminter upper, and drive tacks(.5 MOA), or I pin on
the M4 upper, and lock and load the 30 round mags, and
plink. I will say the M4 is a 1 MOA shooter, but I don't
know how long that will last at the rate of plinking
fire(grin). The lower I pin these uppers on is an Armalite
lower, with a National Match Trigger. So that completes a
nice semi-auto .223 Rem. rifle. With that said, I have a
.25-06 Rem, and a new .22-250 Rem. bolt action rifles, that
I REALLY like to shoot, too. That's why I chuckled at the
notion of consolidation. I handled a CZ 527, in .223 Rem.,
at the local gun store, last weekend, and I believe that
gun will follow me home some day.

So if I dig deep into my imagination, and somehow could
limit myself to one .223 Rem., I guess I'd have to make
it an AR-15. By adding different uppers, one can make
this gun into something like a 250 yard varmint gun, to
a 25' close quarters battle gun for a different kind of
varmint. Not to mention just how much fun they are
to dump a 30 round mag through(grin).

Squeeze

I'll have to admit that shooting a friends AR-15 is a lot of fun, and his bushmaster is accurate (much more so than my mini-14). If I had to narrow it down to one, it seems to me the bolt gun is so much more versatile. Read some of seafire's threads on reloading for the .223, especially the blue dot threads. He's having a blast, but the rounds don't alway cycle the best through the ARs. The same friend who has the bushmaster purchased a VSS last month, and honestly I don't believe he's had the AR out since. I know, the new hasn't worn off yet, but he's really busy playing with loads, and if pressed to choose one, I think he'd go for the remington.

Hi Nebraska...

I have the VSSF in .223 and the LVSF in .221 Fireball. I don't have an AR-15 of any make, so take that bias into consideration. Trying to be as objective as possible, if you will be calling at all, I think the best choice would be the LVSF in .223. I think you'll really appreciate the lighter weight of the LVSF (as compared to the VSSF) when it comes to carrying it around for calling use. I don't think that the AR-15 would be quite as handy to haul around as the LVSF, unless you did what the previous poster suggested...buy different uppers to go back and forth between varmint/carbine config. That will probably get expensive, too.

I think the better overall choice would be a single rifle that was able to do everything you wanted it to without too much screwing around, and I think the LVSF would be that rifle.

I prefer a boltgun for one simple reason. I hate to chase down my brass after it has been ejected into the weeds.

I had accuracy systems inc. build me an ar 10 chambered in 243. They also offer that same gun in 22.250, 257 roberts or what ever you can dream up. It is as accurate as any rifle i have ever owned custom or factory. I use mine for calling coyotes and getting some funny looks at the local gun range when my semi auto prints these tiny little groups. You might just give them a look. Cheers!

I'd stick with a bolt rifle for calling and general fun use. And for the same invested on a tricked out AR you can build one hell of a nice .223 on a 700 action.

Better yet just get a .222 Rem. and call it good. My go to fun rifle is a .222 Rem. on a 700 action, Douglas SS bbl., Mcmillan stock, Shilen trigger with a Leupold 3.5-10.

Good choice on the .223 round. It is probably the best all-around cartridge for varmints and the cheapest to shoot.
If all you are looking for is a rifle that will be able to take the occasional shot, by all means go with a bolt action.
However, if you will have the opportunity to continuously shoot at targets (prairie dogs) for an extended time, say 4-5 shots a minute for 10 to 12 minutes, you need an AR-15 with a chrome-moly steel barrel, preferably fluted. These will disipate heat much faster than any other and are much easier on the rifling should you get into a target rich environment.
I have 2 Bushmaster Varminters and they are the best off the shelf setup for PD's you can buy. Excellent trigger, fluted barrel and very accurate. 1 shoots .5" @ 100yrds and the other will do .3" @ 100 yrds with Black Hills 60 gr V-max moly. After 3 rounds or 60 rounds, they shoot the same. You will not find that with any bolt action.
The only drawbacks to an AR-15 type rifle is:
1-that you can quickly go through alot of ammo.
2-getting used to the noise of the recoil spring compressing next to your ear. You do get used to it though.
3-when scoped, they do not carry on a sling comfortably.

I've got three bolt actions, but do yourself a favor and get a quality AR-15. (RRA, Colt, Armalite) The AR is one of the most accurate, practical and ergonomic platforms for the .223. An added plus is that the chambers will handle the much hotter military loads, for instance, Lake City XM193. Out of a 20" barrel that stuff flies at 3250 FPS, with accuracy. The AR is also perfect for mounting red dot scopes.



I've shot more damned things with my AR than any other gun.

Thanks for the replies so far.... I'm not sure if you guys are making it easier or tougher!!!

An AR with two uppers is a good idea. Also, one other option I forgot to mention was a plain old ADL. I'm not big on CM so I'd probably krylon the gun/scope if I went that route. Thanks again and keep the suggestions comin'....

Hey Neighbor,

I vote for the varmint AR, everbody has a varmint M700. Once I get back from my upcoming "extended business trip", I'm either going to build/buy a BM Varminter/equivalent or I'm going to accurize my 20" A2 for CMP matches. I have a .22-250 M70 that drives tacks, but I'm in "AR" mode now. ARs are worse than Ruffles potato chips, you can't have just one......

I've been a bolt gunner for almost 30 yrs. now, but when i saw the groups a friend was getting with a tricked AR...i had to have one--, and i never shoot it at running coyotes-- something it's absolutely prefect for (if u're into that sort of thing). I've never been into semi-autos but there's definitely something alluring about an accurate AR.

You can trick out an AR, but a standard model will shoot just fine. I've shot over a hundred surplus M16A2s in my life and they were all real shooters. I bought a standard Colt model and it will outshoot me anyday. My friend bought a RRA Varminter, a really nice gun for a reasonable amount. For PDoggin the varminter models will suit you better. I use my Colt for an all purpose critter getter.

I have a .223 Ruger #1 falling block single shot that works well with Blue Dot reduced loads in continuous shooting for hours.

I have a few AR15s that require full power loads to function, and actually make for slower shooting, as the magazines need to be loaded and the barrels need to wait to cool down.

If I were just thinking of varmint hunting, I would only have Ruger #1s, but for fighting, the AR15 is better.

Come to think of it, what is a guy my age doing with AR15s?