SPR over Bolt Action

[Member 34319]

Shot a friends MK12 clone recently and it has me thinking I'm kicking myself in the nuts having a dedicated bolt gun in 223/556 vs a semiautomatic for what I use it for.

Of coarse his was pretty much pimped out to the 9s, including the proprietary chambering for 77g OTM. As well as all the expensive name brand components to be close as military goes for the MK12. It performed amazing with his handloads that had both 75g and 77g bullets. Bullet grains I have problems getting to perform well in my Ruger Ranch.

So what's your thoughts. Is a dedicated bolt gun inferior to a SPR for midrange to long range shooting?

Is the 2" or 4" barrel length and special chamber worth getting or should a 16" barrel in a Wilde chamber do just as good?

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[Kruel J]

Bolt guns tend to be more accurate for long range. Having both would be cool!

 

[Kruel J]

FWIW I was ringing steel at 800 yards with an 18" Noveske SPR.

 

[No_Regerts]

I prefer bolt actions for any deliberate shooting. I have a bolt action 223 with an 8 twist and 22 inch barrel. That pretty much uses up the 223s full capability.

I'm not a high volume varmint shooter. I mostly punch paper/steel with my 223 and do a little predator calling. I like a bolt gun because its lower profile and chambering a round is quieter. Its also a great understudy to my hunting rifle.

 

[USMC-03]

In a 5.56/.223 platform, using good quality ammunition, the AR type rifles are every bit as accurate as bolt actions. It needs to be set up properly of course and my preference is for a 20" barrel for the longer ranges. But performance out to 800 yards isn't that exceptional these days.

 

[Kruel J]

In a 5.56/.223 platform, using good quality ammunition, the AR type rifles are every bit as accurate as bolt actions. It needs to be set up properly of course and my preference is for a 20" barrel for the longer ranges. But performance out to 800 yards isn't that exceptional these days.

Agreed.

 

[Used To Hunt]

In a make believe SHTF scenario the semi wins hands down for me. In reality, I take my bolt action to the range while my SPR sits in the gun safe. I enjoy running the bolt and can load them long and stout.

 

[Boboclown]

16" recce 18" spr 20" something something something dark side.

If you handload a lot of heavy ammo, and I mean heavier than 77 gr, a bolt gun is what you'd need. Otherwise its whatever you wanna get.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

My little PSA chf 16in barrel shoots 1-1.5 moa with 55gr bulk ammo. I don't shoot past 400 yards so I have zero desire to own a bolt gun in .223. Same thing with my Ar10, though that one does need some more expensive ammo to get the same results. A bolt gun in .308 is just not needed. If I'm going bolt action, it will be in a larger caliber like 300wm.

 

[Member 34319]

I may have to price out a build. I looked into this military chambering more. Looks like it's specific to the MK262 ammo with a sharper throat angle or something. Reading more about the MK12 in general, I'm learning the whole gun and suppressor were designed specifically for the ammo or vise verse.

I'm uncertain if I want to go that route, as it would mean I'd only get good results with the heavier projectiles.

One thing I didn't do shooting the MK12 the other day was try regular 55 or 62 grain stuff.

Anyone have this chambering and have shot lighter loads with it and get overall good results.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Agreed.

I agree with both of you guys. I love my 20" ar's. I shoot a lot of both bolt action and AR style rifles (ar15 and ar10), chambered for 223/556, 6.5 CM, 308w and now 6WOA. While all of my bolt guns are fine tuned for precision work, its the AR rifles that surprise and impress me the most lately. When you shoot a ragged 1 hole 10 shot group with an ar, its an eye opener. Thats not saying im getting rid of my bolt guns anytime soon though. I screwed up once and got rid of an awesome shooting 223, after thinking 1 good shooting ar15 was enough. Live and learn.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I may have to price out a build. I looked into this military chambering more. Looks like it's specific to the MK262 ammo with a sharper throat angle or something. Reading more about the MK12 in general, I'm learning the whole gun and suppressor were designed specifically for the ammo or vise verse.

I'm uncertain if I want to go that route, as it would mean I'd only get good results with the heavier projectiles.

One thing I didn't do shooting the MK12 the other day was try regular 55 or 62 grain stuff.

Anyone have this chambering and have shot lighter loads with it and get overall good results.

Reno, if you decide you want to do a precision ar build, i may have a real nice medium weight 20" stainless 556 Noveske barrel for sale. Thats dependent on how my new 6WOA barrel shoots though. The Noveske has very little use on it, since im always shooting my Northtech Defense.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

In a make believe SHTF scenario the semi wins hands down for me. In reality, I take my bolt action to the range while my SPR sits in the gun safe. I enjoy running the bolt and can load them long and stout.

Good post buddy. However, id get bored if i only took 1 action type to the range . Lately it seems like ive been dragging my performance center 6.5 cm along. The other day i had 4 creedmoors at the range and the performance center was putting a whoopin on the bolt guns. The only downfall to using that rifle is i have to pick up all of my brass when im done . Now, about that "shtf" scenario, honestly, id be reaching for my Northtech Defense chambered for 556

 

[titsonritz]

If you want a real deal MK12 give Monty Leclair at Centurion Arms a call. Do your research, he's the man.
Centurion Mk12 Complete Rifle


Company Profile- Centurion Arms

 

[Member 34319]

If you want a real deal MK12 give Monty Leclair at Centurion Arms a call. Do your research, he's the man.
Centurion Mk12 Complete Rifle

Company Profile- Centurion Arms

I found their barrel looking into the special chambering, seeing the whole complete rifle makes me want that more!

 

[Member 34319]

Just got done looking into .224AR which is hands down far superior to the .224 Valkyrie. Damn Iraqvet YouTube vids. They posted one today on the 6mmAR which is similar. It was grouping insanely at 500 yards. I'd like to stick to the 22 cal projectiles so the necked down Grendel looks pretty slick.

 

[titsonritz]

Personally, I'd stick with a standard round. Also the problem with the Grendel and cartridges based on it (also the reason the Valkyrie used 6.8 SPC as a parent cartridge) is the bolt face area needs to be increased due to size of the rim, further reducing the locking lug mass, which is already the most stressed part of the bolt (see diagram below).

Just got done looking into .224AR which is hands down far superior to the .224 Valkyrie. Damn Iraqvet YouTube vids. They posted one today on the 6mmAR which is similar. It was grouping insanely at 500 yards. I'd like to stick to the 22 cal projectiles so the necked down Grendel looks pretty slick.

View attachment 602538

 

[Rudedog]

Before the current trend toward SPR's I had a nice Colt AR-15 with a very heavy barrel. Almost an inch in diameter. It was fun but as I tested the 1:9 twist .223 it seemed finicky and I traded for a bolt with a 26" barrel. This 1:12 barrel could reach out to a little past 500 yards and it was great on prarie dogs.I think the semi auto would be more fun shooting steel. I hate the Mini 14. Good Luck

 

[Rudedog]

Good post buddy. However, id get bored if i only took 1 action type to the range . Lately it seems like ive been dragging my performance center 6.5 cm along. The other day i had 4 creedmoors at the range and the performance center was putting a whoopin on the bolt guns. The only downfall to using that rifle is i have to pick up all of my brass when im done . Now, about that "shtf" scenario, honestly, id be reaching for my Northtech Defense chambered for 556

I use a box position to preform brass catcher duty. I would not want that valuable brass to escape.

 

[No_Regerts]

You're not thinking of doing an SPR clone are you? Thats a bunch of money and weight that you really don't need if you want to sustain accurate fire with an AR. The SPR was meant to bridge the gap between the M4 and whatever sniper weapon system was available. If you don't need to do both jobs, I wouldn't try. Matter of fact, a 16 inch "recce" rifle does the same thing at 2/3 the weight and cost.