Recently acquired PAL, burned off a lot of internet the past couple of days trying to climb out of the shallow end of the learning curve, with non-restricted rifles.

Once I get my .22LR fix in, am looking at the next calibre of rifle I'd like to get. Went on the Canadian Forces website, to see what they shoot. My thought being, if there's ever a reason for ammunition manufacturers to have to focus on making a single type, the cartridge used by the military is likely the one that will be made. Seemed reasonable to buy a rifle capable of firing what they fire. Their mainstay rifle is the Colt C7A2, which fires 5.56 NATO cartridges. The 5.56, if I've understood, is very similar to the .223. So close, that I can fire a .223. from a 5.56 calibre rifle. But, a 5.56 cannot safely be fired from a .223 rifle, because of higher gas pressures. Unfortunately, the options for buy a non-restricted 5.56 are pretty limited, have only found a couple of guns, so far.

Prepping against a focused stream of 7.62 NATO is easy, because they can be fired in a .308 calibre rifle; the full selection of .308s are fair game. But the 7.62s are only used in the military's bigger guns & sniper rifles, not the high-consumption automatics.

I dunno, assuming you run out of stockpiled ammunition (for whatever reason) do you think it's worth getting a 5.56 instead of .223 rifle, as a prep against potential ammunition supply limitation?

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Buy A Mini 14, I have put thousands of rounds of both5.56 and 223 down range with one.

The Ruger may be an option and it's not currently restricted (who knows though...).

Mossberg makes a bolt action patrol rifle that takes AR compatible mags and is made specifically to use 5.56 though you can also shoot .223 out of it. The rifle is called Mossberg MVP Patrol. It is compact and I've seen it come with a decent scope package and fiber optic sights. Good value.

Here's an example. https://www.wanstallsonline.com/mossberg-mvp-patrol-16-25-5-56-nato-with-3-9x32mm-scope.html

Paid something like $450US when I was stateside... Maybe there are cheaper vendors around.

In looking at the two calibers it's important to note that the 5.56 NATO round possesses a higher firing pressure than a .223 round. The.223 round can be accommodated in a 5.56 NATO Chamber due to the increased leade (a longer space between the mouth of the cartridge and the start of the rifling) to handle the higher pressure exerted (maximum pressure of 62,000 PSI instead of the .223's 55,000 PSI). This is why a .223 round can be fired in a 5.56 NATO chamber and a 5.56 mm NATO round can't be fired in a .223.

Yes I agree If buying something in these 2 separate calibers get the one in 5.56 as then you can use both. with an internal case difference with pressures being the big thing. there are small but important differences between the 2 cases. it goes this way for these calibers. and it goes the other way in 7.62x51 vs .308. in this option go .308 as x 51 uses a higher case pressure from slightly reduced case volume. If you are going to reload sort the cases by type / brand learn the differences between boxer and berdan primed and corrosive and none corrosive. it may seem like you are trying to drink from a firehose but it all works out in the end to be pretty easy

Thanks for the responses.

@Peppercorn - A Ruger Mini 14? Not an inexpensive choice, but it does look like a nice firearm. I'm looking at a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch with a wood stock, in the Cabela's website as I type.

@helicopilot - I bookmarked the two (or three?) firearms I found, IIRC Mossberg has a whole group of variants including the Patrol, I will probably end up going with one of those, if I go that way. The Precision seems like a nice piece, but I'm thinking it'd be better suited to .308 calibre.

@Jimbo Jones - My logic mirrors yours, I guess I am just kinda unhappy by the limited selection available in 5.56 NATO. Why wouldn't manufacturers simply build to 5.56 spec for .223s? I have a hard time believing its a cost-reduction motive, the difference seems barely significant.

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The Ruger minis are not restricted. But owing this was the weapon used in the Montreal Polytechnic massacre, it might just be a matter of time.

Certainly a lot of options for the MVPs. I like the patrol/scout due to the small size package, it's easy to carry around and store. I also have .308 rifles, but those bigger calibres, shot off hand in light plastic guns are clearly not as pleasant!

@helicopilot - You know, gun weight seemed to be a given to me - I thought a heavier rifle would be more desirable, especially as you move into the bigger cartridges. But it looks like everyone is marketing light weight as a feature. Personally, on anything bigger than a .22, I think I'd be looking for as much mass as I can cope with.

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Had fun with my mini 14 when I owned it. Course back then 20/30 round mags were legal. Back then there was something from saami about shooting 556 in 223. Bill Ruger said his gun would handle them no problem.. Looking hard for this info. Wonder if Ruger lawyers would still say the same now. Here is a read from luckygunner on the subject.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

Cost wise these days, just buy yourself a few Sks and some crates of surplus ammo.

So, it looks like if I want to ever legally hunt big game in Alberta or Saskatchewan, the minimum calibre is .23. Based on what I am reading on the internets, a .223 is generally considered too small for all but the most accurate of shooters, to take down a deer. That makes a difference, I think. I am not currently a hunter, but if want to retain the option to hunt, and I want to use ammunition manufactured for the military, a .308 really is the only option on the table.

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what about other war surplus rifles? SKS easily come to mind but if you want something bigger and non restricted there are SVT 40s out there. shoot 7.62x54r and thats also a fair sized round. Its pretty similar to the .303 and its in the middle of the .308 and 30.06. ammo is cheap for either of those 2. reloading is a forget it thing. yes I do reload for my SKS But it gives me a bit of a better grouping but realistically you really dont need to as even hunting ammo for either is fairly inexpensive. And to make having alot cheap 1400 rds is under 400 $

7.62x54r is Russian ammunition, correct? I guess so long as the market is supplying it, it would be fine, but it seems like a better choice would be to get something that fires 7.62x51 NATO. It sounds like an inexpensive way to shoot large calibres, though, maybe it'd make a good "play" gun after I get my prep secured.

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Yes it is russian, having said that in x39 the mini 30 SKS and others shoot it. an SKS and a battle pack of ammo can be had for under 500$ and would make an excellent bury gun in tube. cheap NR and pretty reliable. In x54r theres less options but with the same bonuses . Use it as a OMG reserve. Ammo is very affordable. One can buy crates of sealed ammo in tins of 700 rds that will last many more decades. All you need is to pick up non FMJ ammo [ for hunting] and even thats pretty affordable

From the Mini 14 manual

AMMUNITION
The
RUGER
®
MINI-14
®
RANCH RIFLES
are chambered for the .223
Remington (5.56mm) cartridge. The Ranch Rifle is designed to use either
standardiz U.S. military or factory loaded sporting .223 (5.56mm) cartridges
manufactured in accordance with U.S. industry practice.