Ok, logging on for the first time (noon) since my last post last evening.
Thanks for all the posts since then, especially those of you trying to slap me out of angst about the AR cleaning video I watched last evening.
THR members said:
"AStone, pull yourself together, boy!"
I'll find the vid later, and post it here so you can see what I watched. Perhaps it was intended to be one of those really deep cleaning exercises that's only needed once every 10k rounds or something.
I've only read the posts since then once, quickly -- before brunch, but will read more carefully later. But just a few first responses for now to some points that were brought up.
Re cleaning a revolver, I've never taken off the side plate of one -- and never would -- to clean it. To me, that's smith work. My revolvers were -- keyword, were: I've sold them all now -- some of the easiest to clean of any guns I've ever owned.
Re cleaning a bolt action, I've never taken a bolt apart to clean one. I just remove the bolt, clean the outside, do the best I can with action, and swab the bore.
Same with my 336. Now with it, I have taken it all the way down to itsy bitsy pieces once when it was new to smooth it up. But then, I had a stable place to live -- I was there for 5 years, pre-2010, and had a work bench, some extra time, and took almost a week to do it. The last five years -- and alas, potentially the next few -- weren't like that. But generally, I find cleaning the 336 to be super easy with very few parts, far fewer than the AR vid I watched last night -- far. But again, maybe I'm confusing complete takedown with general cleaning like a few of you suggested above. I'll take another look.
Re why not .243 or other calibers, which are (admittedly) more suitable for deer/hog than .223? Simply because as I said in the OP, I've been bitten by a .223 bug. I really want to explore this caliber and see what it will and will not do. Add that I'm one of those people that expect the global economy and general civilization to tank sooner than later (why isn't appropriate for discussion on THR; just making a general statement), and I suspect .223/5.56 NATO will be more available than other calibers, including .30-30. So I'm going to stick with the caliber. We'll see what platform I wind up with.
The other thought that crossed my mind this morning is this. I feel sort of intuitively that if I really want to explore the caliber, I might be better off with a bolt
to start with. I know myself well enough to know that with a semi, I tend to be less ... careful with shots. I know the next one is half second away, and with an AR, I'd have lots of rounds. I'm a relatively poor person (though I hope to change that finally this year, and have some reasonable hope that it has at least the potential to happen), and don't have as much to spend on ammo as most. So I want to make shots count, especially when getting to know a new caliber. I've never been much of a semi-auto guy for rifles -- outside of .22 (which I have now for the first time in decades). More bolts and levers. Hence, still leaning toward bolt.
But I'm listening. I'll try to reign in my anxiety about the platform and listen to reason. Thanks for sticking with me here. I'm far less experienced with guns that most here, and will do my best to check my pride at the door and learn something.
Finally, to
Shlike's question about what I do professionally. That's super hard to even describe briefly. Even my friends who've known me for months can hardly grasp it. In short, I'm a former college teacher who got tired of working for the man and teaching the same old science and math that's been taught for decades when hot new stuff is taking the world of science by storm. It's been called a revolution and renaissance in the sciences, as big as quantum theory, but applicable on all scales, far easier to comprehend, and applicable to our everyday world, every thing from health and healing to ecology to corporate and institutional operations to addressing the question, what is life? (I'm a biologist primarily, so that's a big one.) It's generally referred to as system sciences or complexity sciences. Plus it's just fascinating stuff, and it's not yet being taught in colleges/universities at an intro level; only graduate. My closest friends, associates and students have supported me -- although sometimes at a poverty level -- and encourage me to stick with this for another few years to try to make it work -- because they know how important these concepts are, and how much they need to be more in the public mind, and in general education.
So 15 years ago, I quit my full-time college teaching job with perks to become a freelance educator, doing public trainings, and trying to do some teacher training. What's really held me back has been lack of marketing/advertising and good business skills. I'm a content guy, not a business guy, and it just hasn't worked. I worked in Oregon for ten years, and was making it ok, but had too large an overhead, and honestly just got tired (read sick) of the west coast culture (especially the new age crap), so moved to Maine -- even though love lead me there, and that didn't work out (now there's a story), Maine is one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived, and one of the most grounded cultures, so I stayed. But making it there doing what I do has been even harder than on the west coast, given the small size of towns and a very poor economy. I'm working now to do more online training with teleconferences and videos -- that'll open up a global market for me - which I'll focus on in Florida (where I have a free place to live and work indefinitely with good friends who are eager to get into guns (!). And Florida also has WAY more money than Maine. Hoping that will take the shackles off me.
I'd post a web site, but I doubt most would be interested; some might even find objection to the science I teach (it involves some controversial social issues, including evolution and climate issues). I don't want to be advertising here, and don't want to rile up any friends. So, I'll just leave it at that.