22lr chamber pressure: 24k PSI
223 chamber pressure: 55k PSI
I'm not a physicist or a firearms designer, so others should correct me if I'm wrong... but I understand that direct blowback actions are "locked" by the weight/inertia of the bolt. Max pressure is long gone before the case is ejected. I don't believe you'd lose a meaningful amount of pressure from the action.
That said, you'd only get about half the energy as from a 223, so you'd only get, in theory, about half the range.
If that is the case, 50 yards should still be plenty fun.
.,