Recommend a bolt action rifle that will shoot 5.56x45

[Doc Highwall]

It sounds like with the amount of ammo that he has the throat will burn forward fast enough.

[GabbyM]

M-193 does ricochet something fierce though. About every third shot will sound like an old western movie. Pop bing bing biiiing. I've seen them hit a mile away after first contact at 400 yards. They can bounce farther but you just never see it. I do know that FMJ chi com cheep ammo and cheep SKS shot by non members trespassing shut down my old shooting range at Windsor Illinois. I never saw the barn but it was over a mile away and had hundreds of holes in it. All the club has now is a 100 yard range that points in a different direction. Plus a huge locked fence to keep dumb asses out. Soooo ,, if I were you I'd shoot the mil surplus into a back stop then load up some proper varmint rounds. Unless you think you're Luck Skywalker and can reach out with the force to pull the bullet back.

Ball ammo is good for position shooting XC stuff. Standing, kneeling and that sort of practice.
When you want to hit something smaller than a tennis ball at 400 yards you can forget it. I've seen it tried on prairie dog shoots from all sorts of high price rigs and it's just not going to happen. Ground Hogs are large though and could be hit well past a quarter mile. Prairie dogs are about half the size of a mans hand.

Unless you want to invest a pile of money into a scope you may as well get a Stevens M200 in 223.
You can get to 400 yards with a light rig. I have three big scopes here that I bought before prices went nuts. Anymore you're looking at serious cash to take a rifle to long range. But then I've become a poor man the past ten years. So maybe 2K plus money isn't an issue for you. But there is no reason in the world to shoot M-193 though anything heavier than a Stevens M200 with an economy grade scope.

Back when I was young with good eyes I could out shoot M193 accuarcy level by at least a 4X factor with match ammo from iron sighted service rifles. Just no use throwing dollars onto dimes.

[Uncle R.]

Of course there really are differences in chamber / throat specs between .223 and 5.56 rifles - and of course there really are differences in the cartridge specifications although I'm not convinced that GI brass is always thicker than commercial .223 cases.
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Most of the casual shooters I know are unaware of the differences and the potential for higher pressure and they interchange the two with no concerns and no problems. After years of observation and never seeing any problems result I pretty much do the same.
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Blow up a good bolt rifle from using 5.56? Highly doubtful. A Savage / Stevens "110" action like any good bolt rifle will easily withstand pressures in such a small case that will flatten and extrude primer cups, give expanded case heads and loose primer pockets after one firing, and even show visible case head distortion. (Shudder!) That's why we're told to "work up" our loads carefully as we approach max - the case and primer are the weakest links but if you work up gradually there are plenty of warning signs (in a strong modern rifle) before disaster strikes.
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If you should happen to be getting 70K pressures due to a minimum sized chamber or very tight throat or for whatever reason the cases will tell you something's wrong long before you "blow up" the rifle. That doesn't mean you can skate on the edge of case destruction without concern - because some cases are stronger or harder or thicker than others and you want to have a margin for error when that weaker case comes along.
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I know it's not considered proper to say it out loud but the other sign of that standard warning about "working up" is - no warning signs, no problems.
But,
But,
"You may be getting 60K pressures!"
Well - if case life is good and primers or pockets aren't deformed and there are no problems or signs of problems the correct response is "So what?"
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The real problems from shooting ball in your .223 are likely to be bad accuracy and ricochet potential as mentioned above. I doubt you'll be able to do any serious target shooting or varminting with M193 because of those two issues. Have you considered selling the dang stuff? It's worth a small fortune right now to the hoarders and mall ninjas. You could use the cash to buy components for real varmint ammo. Just a thought.
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Uncle R.

[shotman]

well Tray you got all kind of answers. The main thing you will run into is barrel erosion if you put 3000 plus through a non chrome lined barrel. I will have to side with uncle on this one sell it and buy domestic or blast away in a AR15
I have shot a few in a rem 788 it does make the bolt open harder so I dont use it in the good gun

[NickSS]

I have shot several thousand rounds of M 193 ball ammo in bolt guns. Specifically in a Sako, Win Model 70, a Savage model 110 and in Browning A bolt. I have also shot additional thousands in AR 15s and Mini 14s. I never had a problem with the stuff. I have also reloaded military brass to the tune of more thousands of rounds with 55 gr ball bullets and velocities that match GI ball without problems. I would recommend a 1 in 9 twist that way if you ever want to shoot heavier hunting bullets you can do so. In addition, You may find that FMJ bullets do not perform well on game animals especially at longer ranges.

[Lloyd Smale]

this argument is as old as the hills. For the most part either will shoot in either gun. Ive yet to find a 223 that wouldnt shoot 556 or a 556 that wouldnt shoot 223. another fact is that about any 223 bolt is going to be capable of taking more pressure then an ar15 is.

[jsizemore]

A 12 twist barrel will handle up to a 63 grain bullet, at least it does in my 223. You would need to find someone with a Wylde reamer or throat it a little longer to handle the 5.56 pressure.

[softpoint]

No problem. As long as you get a twist rate that will handle the weight bullet thats in the ammo you have. Remington's newest .223 tactical rifles come with 1/9 twists so you can shoot .5.56 with the heavier bullets. (not the real heavies, but up to 69 gr. anyway) Believe me, if 5.56 ammo would blow up .223's you'd already have heard about it plenty of times☺You could get one of the cheap Stevens m200 rifles. They are cheap, have rough triggers that can be fixed, and almost always shoot very good.

[dualsport]

It seems you can't go wrong with a Savage for accuracy these days. Amazing quality for the price, accuracy wise. Butt...if you want something a bit different from the crowd, check out the Weatherby Vanguards. Mine is a tack driver, and I get to say "It's a Weatherby". Impresses the locals.

[Tom W.]

Doesn't CZ make a rifle chambered in 5.56?

[Storydude]

Trey, if you are worried about the difference between 223 and 5.56, have a local friendly gunsmith run a 5.56 reamer in to touch up the throat.

Easy, simple done.

I have a local guy run a 5.56 into ANY thing I have chambered for that little varmint round.

[redneckdan]

I think a savage 25 would handle the NATO rounds. The cartridge will fit in the chamber. Proof loads are hotter than any NATO round. Renting a NATO reamer from one of the various companies wouldn't be a bad idea. It would make a dandy walking varminter for hiking farm fields and potting wood chucks out to 200 yds or so.

In my opinion, I would go with the stevens 200 short action. Its a couple hundred bucks cheaper, a stronger action also. So if or when the throat gets roasted you can rebarrel with a higher quality barrel in .223 or something with a little more horsepower.

[Trey45]

I spoke with a rep at Savage about the Model 25 LVT and was assured in no uncertain terms that the use 5.56x45 NATO in this rifle will not harm it in any way. They know people are going to shoot 5.56 in .223 rifles, so they ream the chamber for the NATO but stamp the barrel .223. That was good enough for me.

[Pat I.]

That's a pretty rifle and and if it's yours you made a good choice. I've owned 6 or 7 Savages in 223 and every one of them shot good right from the start. Someday when you're bored you should try pulling the bullets on 50 or so of your rounds and seat some decent Sierra 55 grain varmint bullets for some "Mexican Match" ammunition. The accuracy might be pretty satisfying.

Sometimes asking for opinion gets you a lot more than what you were looking for.

[NHlever]

One way to answer the OP's question would be a quick call to the manufacturer of the guns in question. Many bolt action sporters have nato chambers, perhaps more than you might think. I know that Ruger used the 7.62 nato chamber for it's 308's for a long time anyway, and they may use the 5.56 chamber as well.

[Trey45]

Yes, that's my new rifle, got it yesterday and got the scope this morning, sighted in already at 100 yards. Good to go. I was surprised to find out they chamber their .223's in 5.56 Nato, but it makes sense, since they assume people are going to use the Nato round in their rifles. I'm a happy camper. I'm may try that "mexican match" suggestion at some point!

[mike in co]

oh well

[.357]

stevens 200 cheap ugly and i didn't cry when i dropped mine out coyote hunting, you can't tell either.

[.357]

haha my advice is a day late and a dollar short, nice gun though i have a simular looking one in 22lr

[Three44s]

Thanks Trey for bringing up this subject.

I bought a .223 Savage take off barrel for my nephew for Christmas to swap to in his short action and you handed me some peace of mind with your findings from the Savage Rep.

Enjoy that .223/5.56 bolt gun!


Three 44s