to AR, or not to AR

[drgunlimited]

I have never been into the black gun hype or been drawn to them...But, recently been reading about varmint AR's and thanks to the internet. I now think I want one. Something to fill the gap in my rather limited rifle selection. I guess two gaps. I would like a 17WSM for close range between the 22 and 222. The other would be between the 222 and the Dasher.

Remington Speedmaster 552 in .22
Remington 700 in .222
Savage F-Class Model 12 in 6mmDasher
Browning BAR in 7mm Rem Mag

What I'm thinking is a 20cal or maybe 6mm with a 20 inch barrel. im pretty open except I do not want the run of the mill .223
Im open to sourcing the parts and building it our possibly buying a complete gun... What suggesting do you have on caliber and where/what to buy beings im completely green when it comes to AR's Thanks for any help... DRG

 

[jimbo88mm]

Take a look at 6.5 grendel.


Just curious, why no 223?

 

[ollie]

You may want to look into building one yourself. Get a striped lower and build from there. They are pretty easy to put together from a kit.

 

[johnu]

Ollie's suggestion is a good one. Doing yourself allows you to put more resources into the parts more important to you - barrel, trigger, optics, furniture, etc.

Take a hard look at 6x45 or 6mm/.223 - quite good performance, and cheap, plentiful brass since you're just necking up .223. (I also have a 6x6.8 and I have to shoot 6.8 factory ammo to get brass to neck down - no new brass to be had.)

John

 

[hogpatrol]

Shilen makes a .204 drop in barrel. It comes with a headspaced bolt assembly, gas block installed. Lowers and upper kits are way down in price. You could assemble one or have it assembled by someone fairly knowlegeable about ARs. Would make a sweet varminter. They have other varmint calibers also.

http://www.shilen.com/ar15Barrels.html

 

[stool]

go buy a couple of books on ar's...maybe one on building an ar.
to me it is silly to skip 223 for your use just silly.
get a 1/12 or 1/14 premium bbl with a 223 short throat and go to (dog)town. 20-24" bbl freeflat is easier to mount a bipod on.
flat top with a riser to get your eye up off the stock( you will not be trying to jam your ear thru the buttstock)
bullets from 40to 55 or so.....3200-3500fps or better...

 

[itchyTF]

Lots of options. One is the .20 Practical - simply a .223 necked down to .204. I've got two (plus a .223) both with 24" barrels & 11" twist. Using 32gr SBK running around 3,850 fps.

 

[ar15topgun]

6mm fat rat.

 

[loudandproud]

The .204 Ruger is an awesomely accurate varmint round that devastates all within 450 yards of its being.

Id highly recommend it. 30.0 grains of BLC(2) behind a 40 grain Vmax does the trick.

 

[MLC81654]

223, ZMAX Bullet, H335, CCI Primer, Once Fired Brass, about 25cts a shot.

 

[drgunlimited]

Take a look at 6.5 grendel.


Just curious, why no 223?

I guess I just want something different... and already having a 222 I don't see the need for another 22cal.

 

[drgunlimited]

What would the components to make a 204 or 6mm FatRat cost.
I have a few friends in law enforcement that have built several AR's that im sure would help me out if I needed it.

 

[Jet]

+1 on what Stool said.

Jet

 

[tonysnoo]

I'd like to build a 20 practical next.

http://www.6mmar.com/20_Practical.html

I've just got done with a fat rat it was pretty reasonable, but I'll bet the 20 practical will be a bunch more affordable to shoot

http://www.accurateandreliablerifle.com/products.html

The cool thing is that you can have one good lower and swap all these uppers.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[waterfwlr]

If you are set on not using a .223. Then look into the 6mm Turbo 40 degree. My old man bought one last year and it is sweet.

http://6mmar.com/6mmAR_Turbo_40_Improved.php

 

[drgunlimited]

Thanks for the replies... lots of options to ponder...

 

[hogpatrol]

I'd like to build a 20 practical next.

http://www.6mmar.com/20_Practical.html

I've just got done with a fat rat it was pretty reasonable, but I'll bet the 20 practical will be a bunch more affordable to shoot

http://www.accurateandreliablerifle.com/products.html

The cool thing is that you can have one good lower and swap all these uppers.

Good luck on your decision.

I have one and it's one sweet AR. Recycled brass, some 133 and 32 BKs or Vmax & nickel size groups at high speed. A little pricey, though.

 

[Col K]

Another great round is the 6mm Hagar. You can get uppers from White Oak Precision or Keystone Accuracy. Brass is available from 6mmhagar dot com

 

[drgunlimited]

man... there are just to many options... I think I settle on a cartridge, just to come across another one... 20 Practical to 6mm Fat Rat to 224AR... 20 Practical seems most economical of that bunch... where would you pick up a good 20Practical barrel??