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deciding what .223 to get

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H

H264

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Aug 20, 2008
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Montana
Hey all, first post :) anyway thinking about getting a .223 bolt action of some sort. I'll be using this mostly for paper and some critters at times. my grandma's farm from the road to the back of the hill is about 600 yards, so thats about as far as I will be shooting at the _most_ heh, more like 100-300 I would think.

So I looked around online quite a bit and decided a 1:9 twist would be best. Just not sure what rifle to get, looked at the stevens, savage, remington (VTR is the only one with a 1:9 if I recall, except for the police), tikka, and CZ varmint kevlar. The CZ, tikka, and remington are the same price, so I would rather get the remington... but...

I'm also a machinest, I looked at building my own for about $900 in the end... it does not seem too hard at all, just not sure how worth it it is. Another option would be to just get something cheaper like the stevens/savage and put a new barrel on it later on if I don't like the stock one.

I'm just not sure which of the three options would be more worth it... cheap stevens/savage and possably replace barrel later? Completly build a custom rifle? Or just get a remington 700 VTR?

I think I like the idea of the stevens or savage option, but... *shrug* it would after all be my first rifle, and need help deciding.. heh

Thanks :)
 
If you want to shoot as far as 600 yards, you might be happier with a 1-in-8" twist barrel so you could shoot up to 80gr or so. But 1-in-9" is much easier to find and would work well up to 69gr, with reports that some 1-in-9" barrels stabilize the 75gr and others don't.

I've looked at the 700 VTR and I thought the stock was cheap. The triangular barrel is innovative, but I'm not sure it's really all that wonderful, and the built-in brake cuts the effective barrel length down also.

The Savage rifles are hard to beat for the price, whether you use the stock barrel or replace it. But there are many good options in that price range.
 
Are you going to machine the action? or just order parts and do the fitting and barrel turning yourself?

You can buy just Remington actions or you can go and buy a Remington 700 SPS take the stock and barrel off along with trigger Sell the stock $100, Barrel $150 and Trigger $50

Order a barrel blank no chamber or machine work done at all other than rifling. That was you can chamber it yourself and finish turn it and cut the threads. I am assuming that you are good at what you do. But, I don't know your kill level. My cousin is a machinest and makes parts for NASCAR, NHRA, NASA. So the tollerances allowed on thoese parts are extreamly tight.

I think you can ave money if you go the way I said above.

But you can get a very good Savage 223 with a 9 tiwst that would shoot good very good. Now with the savage you can get barrels from just about anyone all you would need to do is blueprint the action and bang your in business. You could also get another bolt with a .473" face and then you can have big and small calibers all at the same time.
 
I bought a Ruger 77 Mk II light sporter, back some dozen years ago. It has consistently given three-shot groups of 1/2 MOA from the gitgo. It got easier with a Timney trigger.

Good for prairie dogs to 300 yards, anyhow. So far, most any 50- to 55-grain bullet works. I was surprised to find that it gives the same 1/2 MOA with blunt-nosed 70-grain bullets.
 
My Savage Model 12 with a 1-7 twist (factory) shoots 80g Bergers really well @ 600. Putting a Shilen Supermatch barrel on your own Savage action is extremely rewarding, especially since you can do it yourself.
 
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You might look at used rifles also, I found a Remington LTR with a 20" barrel I traded for.

I had a Rifle Basix trigger out of another rifle I stuck in it, Shoots really well.

The recievers are the most expensive part of a rifle, you may find a rifle beat to hell and and back, and part it out and rebuild.
 
If I was going to get a donor rifle I wouldn't spend more than $400. You'll get a few bucks for the stock and trigger, but I figure just the action is worth $400.
 
H264, as happens a lot for some reason, the single most important thing to help you, you left out - *What is the budget?* You said $900 to build but does that mean you want to spend more, less, or the same for a bought one? Because the more you can spend, the more rifle you can get, and thus can wildly affect recommendations for various price ranges. Budget, budget, budget!? :)
 
OK, now that I'm back from the machine shop (I was typing that message at 1:30am :/ )...

cpttango30: I could machine an action if I had the blue prints, as long as it could be done in a manual lathe and mill I can get to within 0.001" or so if I take my time. The shop does not have a CNC mill for precision work.. IMO unless there is an 80% short bolt action, then I don't really want to make my own. I could just stay at work and make more money... heh

PremiumSauces: Budget... as little as possable.. heh... I'm working and taking a calculus class this summer. Soon this fall I go back to school for mechanical engineering.
Realistically budget is going to be $1000 or less including the scope, I figure about a $250 scope of some sort, so about $750 or so for the gun. If I build my own (buy the parts and put it together) then I'd be willing to spend a little more for nicer parts if need be.

I'm thinking the savage 11FV .223 might be nice because I could save some money and if I don't like the barrel then just put a new one in later on. Though I have no idea how the 11FV performs out of the box and if its even worth it to put a shillen or lilja barrel on later. or if it'd be more worth it to just get the remington 700 VTR and leave it stock...

Also I would be willing to get a decent used rifle of some sort, however when I was at the last gun show I did not really see anything that I wanted... then again I was not just looking for an action/stock either. As I understand it I could basically take an old remington 700 with a short action (of any cal) and put a new .223 bolt and barrel in it?
 
If you want to build one Find a use Remington 700 that is beat up and selling on the cheaper side.

VTR thats the one with the goofy triangle barrel Right? If it is would not get into that. The stock is pure CRAP.

I would head over to some of the varmint boards and look in the classified sections.

Try http://www.varminthunters.com/
and
http://www.predatormasters.com/

I am on Varmint Hunters lots of good guys that build guns all the time over there.

Like I said before you can pick up an SPS cheap then just change the stock to a Bell and Carlson or HS Percision. The bell and Calrson stocks have a alum bedding block which is a good thing.

Then just use your skills and true up the action face and lugs and bolt face install a barrel which you could have prechambered although it would be a rough chamber you would have to finish it.
 
cpttango30: I'm just not sure I would want to build one though for my first rifle... I guess mostly because for building one there is too much that I don't know about yet.. for example Ive never had a barrel off a center fire rifle before. Though there are a couple guys I know that would be able to help with the little detales... hmm

I got a good look at the VTR and it seemed like a good rifle, except for the stock and integrated muzzle brake, though the stock did not feel too bad. The trigger was great.

Heh... I may have talked myself into a savage and replacing the barrel on it later.. or should I get a stevens instead? Remingto... meh... I can't decide lol
 
Why haven't you looked at a 700P in .223? They are plenty accurate, have a 1:9" twist, and can be found for $750 used.

If you decide to get a savage or stevens it really only depends on the trigger. If you want to replace the trigger get the stevens, if you like the accu-trigger, get the savage.
 
if your dead set on a bolt gun the 700 is a great action.

but sarduy brings up a delicious substitution.

full length ar's can be absolute tack drivers and are soooooooo sweet shooting.

they can be rediculously accurate at sick distances, as can be seen here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJWLP81qCAE

if you can hit a 11x17" plate at 700 yds almost everytime, you should be able to take fleas of a dog at 100, lol.
 
Honestly to me it would be between the CZ and the Savage. I would probably skip the kevlar and go for the laminate. I bought a Laminate Varmint in .223 and it holds 1/2 MOA with the right load. The laminate is very sturdy, rides the bags well, and the whole package is light enough to carry in the field. I love their triggers. I personally like the set trigger but even if it isnt your cup of tea you can set the regular trigger to a very crisp 1.5 lb pull. On the other hand I do really like Savages. A lot of them seem to shoot real well out of the box. I bought one of the sporter weight barrels and it takes everything I have to hold 1 MOA with it. I guess I just got unlucky. The heavy barrel laminate stocked Savages are heavy rifles. With a big scope it is going to be a monster to carry around. Remington is a great name but I think of late they are overpriced. They just aren't my thing. The Savage being heavier stays on the bags a bit better than the CZ but for field use I would take the CZ every day. It is to me the best value out there today.
 
What about a Tikka?

The .223 I've got has a 1:8 twist, and apparently they're highly accurate right out of the box. I haven't shot mine yet (picked it up on Tuesday), so I can't say for sure just how accurate it'll be, but it's hard to find anything negative about them when it comes to accuracy.

As well, it would fall well within your budget. Heck, I picked up my used Tikka T3 lite (from a friend) with less than 50 rounds through it, mounted with a cheap Bushnell 4-12 AO scope, & over 500 rounds of 55gr American Eagle ammo for $650. (I realise that prices are different in Canada than they are in the US, but for here, that's a pretty good deal... if anything it might be cheaper where you are)

However, it sounds as if you would enjoy building some of your own components, so if that's what you're after, you may want to explore a different route... :)

Just my $0.02
TFC
 
I had a guy suggest a Ruger mini 14 ranch rifle to me but as yet I have not purchased one. Doesn't look like they're mentioned in this thread so I assume that's a "No"
 
Get a Savchestington. Whatever floats your boat. If you don't like the one you buy or aren't 100% in love with it, put it in the safe and try another.
 
OK, I think I'll get the savage 11F or 11G or some such model in .223, anybody have a favorate model for about the same price? how are the stocks on them?
 
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