Your next AR/AK should be a bolt action rifle. Wait, what?

Submitted by 40Smith:

It’s no secret that the anti gun crowd wants to ban not just AR’s and AK’s but pretty much all semi autos. They might try mass registration first:

CNN’s What’s in Feinstein’s gun bill?

Or they might go straight for confiscation:

But either way we could wake up one day under a ban. As bad as that would be, what are you going to do with your significant supply of ammo?

Chances are you own a bolt gun or three. Maybe more. And you stock some ammo for those, obviously. But if you have AR’s/AK’s you probably have far more ammo for those for obvious reasons. If you bring a bolt gun to the range or to a rifle specific class, a few boxes of ammo would probably be enough for the whole day. A modern semi auto, on the other hand, will eat a case or three over a single weekend with ease. They say a gun without bullets is a club. So what does that make bullets without a gun? Unless you’re thinking about getting into the jewelry made from old ammo business:

You might want to start thinking about taking a break from your never ending quest to buy all the AR’s/AK’s in the world and invest in putting back a bolt gun in .223/5.56 and 7.62X39 or 5.45X39.

But intermediate calibres aren’t the best choice for a bolt gun, you might argue. Their range and power are inferior to full-sized rifle calibres like the 30.06, .308, 270, WinMags, 50 BMG, etc. You are correct. It would be strange indeed to attempt to run .223 or 7.62X39 as your primary super long range large game hunting bolt action. I’m not suggesting that at all. But how strange would it be to find yourself sitting on 1000, 5000, 10,000+? rounds of good quality ammo and nothing to send it down range with?

Not to mention that a good bolt gun still brings to the table many advantages over their semi auto to the table, even in the intermediate calibres including: longer barrel, longer sight radius, more velocity, more accuracy and, most importantly, far less likely to be banned or even registered. It could also give you more legal hunting options with your existing ammo supply. Check and obey all hunting laws, of course.

So you’ve moved this previously unthought of / unpopular class of firearms up your endless firearms wish list. Now all you have to do is find one and buy it, right?

Not so fast, slick. You’re really into guns. You can quote specs, bullet drop charts, the metal a bolt is made out of and the current market prices of any AR/AK on the market. You’ve filled out your top 10 list of favorite muzzle devices, stocks, grips, rails, rails for your rails, lights, lasers, NV and must have add ons that would turn any a 6 lb AR into a floating refugee city in Waterworld. Your arguments with your buddies on which is better, chrome lined or nitrited/melonited are more heated than an NRA sign up booth at U.C. Berkley. But chances are if you’ve never previously seriously considered an intermediate calibre bolt gun you might find your individual procurement process a bit clouded to say the least.

Just to use one bolt gun “gold standard” as a jumping off point, let’s look at Savage Arms. They make great bolt guns. For the price, which isn’t anywhere near the lowest, but isn’t anywhere near the highest either, their Accutrigger and Accustock are among the best in their price class. And bonus: they make models in .223 and 7.62X39! And some of them are sexy as an Emma Watson crotch shot too. Check this shit out:

Savage Arms 10 FCM Scout

Now you want one, don’t you? Not so fast, hoss.

Is their .223 cambered to safely accept 5.56 NATO? Not sure, as I can’t find anything either way. And if I can’t find definite proof that it is rated for it, I have to assume its not. Their 7.62X39 chambering looks like it will accept the cheap steel cased stuff (which if you have AK ammo that’s probably somewhere between 95 and 100% of your supply). But the more you search on the interwebs about this, the more murky the waters become. Apparently not all 7.62X39’s are alike. Some folks talk about differences in .308 and .311 with both being able to maybe shoot the steel cased stuff while others say not to do it. There is similar confusion from other manufacturers in these calibres as well.

So, for mental masturbation if nothing else, let’s pretend you’re leading the procurement process for a set of 5.56 NATO and Russian steel cased 7.62X39 bolt guns. What would you chose and why? What would be your choice for a dirt cheap “butterknife gun” as well as something more towards the nicer end of things? Keeping in mind both would have to safely shoot the ammo you’d be most likely to have the most of.

Have fun, and show your work.

3 comments on “Your next AR/AK should be a bolt action rifle. Wait, what?”

The .223 Remington chamber is dimensionally different from that of its NATO counterpart; it has a much shorter throat and slightly less headspace (LEADE length), resulting in a tighter chamber. Shooting 5.56 out of a .223 chamber can result in unsafe pressures leading to excess wear and tear on the firearm. Basically what it boils down to is you can shoot .223 in 5.56x45mm chambered guns but it is not recommended to fire 5.56 out of a .223 chamber. But like almost anything, there are exceptions.

Modern heavy barreled firearms can oftentimes handle the higher pressure, and only need to have the LEADE corrected with a simple reamer to fire safely. Consult a qualified Gunsmith to see if your firearm can be safely altered.

In the case of the .308 vs. 7.62x51mm NATO round, the situation is 180-degrees opposite. The .308 is the ‘hotter’ of the two. .308 can fire the 7.62 safely, but not the reverse.

One further note: I opted for a cheaper solution. Instead of bolt-action firearms, I went with a much simpler single-shot rifle class, such as H&R’s ‘Handi-Rifle’. See: http://www.hr1871.com/ The cousin to these is the single-shot shotgun from the same manufacturer. Same action. Same operation. Great starter guns for children and young adults. Inexpensive. Great “truck guns”. Offered in most of the popular rifle calibers and shotgun gauges including .410 Bore.

I opted for the .223 REM Handi-Rifle with a bull barrel and had a Gunsmith ream the LEADE length to match that of a 5.56x45mm chamber, and have safely fired several thousand rounds over the past couple of decades, both on the range and at Coyotes.

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Additional Bit of Information: From Remington’s website…

” What is the difference between the .223 Remington and the 5.56 calibers? ”

http://remington.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/442

Per SAAMI specifications: The 5.56 and 223 Remington cartridges are similar, but the chambers of the guns and test barrels they are evaluated in are different. One of the key differences is the length of the throat or leade on the 5.56 chamber compared to the 223 Remington. It’s almost twice as long in the 5.56 chamber versus the 223 Remington chamber.

Typically, the 5.56 round is loaded to a higher velocity and pressure level than the 223 Remington.

Firing the 5.56 round in a 223 Remington chamber with the shorter leade can dramatically increase chamber pressures.

Therefore, we recommend against firing the 5.56 round in a 223 chamber, unless the gun is marked with both cartridge designations such as our Model 7615 Patrol Rifle.

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Here is the answer to your question: Mossberg is now making a 5.56mm bolt action hunting / patrol rifle that uses AR15 magazines. They are suppose to be releasing a 7.62×51 (.308) version next year. Not sure what mags it will use, but in a photo of the prototype is looked like an AR10 magazine.

http://www.mossberg.com/products/rifles/centerfire/mvp-series

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