I agree. The .223 ain't long range. It's a close action assault weapon. If he's sniping, he's doing it with a heavy caliber weapon.
LOL! I own an AR-15 A2 (pre-Ban...gd Clinton grumble) and prefer calling it a Homeland Defense Rifle. Testing that against a Ruger Ranch Rifle in the same caliber found the Ruger to be just as accurate despite having a shorter barrel. The AR is still nicer to shoot due to the excellent spring-buffer system - which greatly enhances target retaining during recoil. The SR-25 is next on my Christmas list.
"I agree. The .223 ain't long range. It's a close action assault weapon. If he's sniping, he's doing it with a heavy caliber weapon."
The .223 or 5.56mm round certainly isn't as good for long range as the 308 or .50 cal. but with the right rifle and cartridge it is plenty accurate. I've met several of the match shooters in this area that practice out to 600 yds and consistently score well. Of course they have a heavy barrel, upgraded trigger and hand loaded ammunition.
"I agree. The .223 ain't long range. It's a close action assault weapon. If he's sniping, he's doing it with a heavy caliber weapon."
The .223 is quite accurate at that range with a 62-grain bullet. For 1000 yds, you do have to go up to an 80 grain projectile that can't fit the magazine (you single load each round), but not at 400 meters and certainly not at 250m. Now, lethality at that range does favor 7.62 NATO, but not accuracy. The Service Rifle winners at Perry tend to use match-conditioned AR-15/M16s now (floated heavy barrel and 2-stage trigger), not the M-14 or M1.