HELP - 223 carbine for old guy !

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oldfool

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Thomasville, Georgia
Me, the only kid on my block without a 223...
No disrespect implied to you AR guys, just doesn't happen to be "my" thing
(son has one, lets me shoot it, nice, but it just don't tinkle my wind chimes)
I do have a real special fondness for "yardstick" carbines, though, me be short people. Remington model 7 in 243, 18" Marlin 30-30, Handi-rifle in 243, that sort of thing, pretty much a-buck-a-bang fun

I don't chase whitetails anymore, too old and fat to drag 'em out of the woods, and ammo prices being what they are, those are all gathering dust in the gun safe, unless grandsons borrow one. Me so old I remember when TVs only came in black & white, and only in ROUND screens, and engineers used slide rules.I still have 3 slide rules, just don't remember how to use them, but can still squeeze, not pull, a trigger.

I compensate somewhat by shooting some 38 special range fodder in Marlin 1894C and Puma '92, whenever tired of just burning up 22 rimfire ammo. About the only "affordable (?)" centerfire rilfe ammo these days is 223, of course, even if there ain't no prairie dawgs in south Georgia. Retinas don't flex no more, and my hip hurts if I walk all the way to the 100 yard marker to set up targets anyway, so fiber optic enhancements, red dots, and/or low power scopes good enough for range day, no matter the caliber. Just want a "for fun gun", but not a single shot, and don't need 300 yard barrels, nor 10# varmint rifles; do like to think I still know the difference between half decent and crappy triggers, though.

But the available section of non-AR "carbine" rifles in 223 seems pretty limited (no big surprise)
Browning, alas, does not do the 81 BLR leveraction in 223...
CORRECTION TODAY, check Browning's website, they say they are doing both versions of the BLR for 2010 !
(tempting, but I have enough levers just for fun already, and >$700 might be more fun than an old guy can handle)
Browning Micro-Hunter in 223 not currently offered
nor does Remington do their model 7 CDL bolt action in 223
nor does the Mossberg ATR Bantam show up in 223 (and I hear "NOT good things" about 'em anyway)

so... mebbe....

Savage accu-trigger in 10 or 11 in 22" (looks a tad long)
Howa Ranchland in 20" (otherwise known as S&W 1500, Weatherby Vanguard, etc.)
CZ 527 in 18", (looks a tad pricey)
Ruger M77 MKII Compact (16")

(got no serious issues with semi-auto, but Mini-14s just ain't mini-me either)

PROBLEM - local shop has the wood/blue Ruger MKII Compact 16" 223 flamethrower for $600, AND I held it TODAY:D
(and yeah, it's a whole lot like holding a warm cuddly puppy dawg)
I should be shot at if I spend $600 plus tax on yet another rifle I ain't gonna' shoot near enough,
so "somebody better do somethin' about it real soon", before I do that

So HELP me find something more affordable and just as much fun
(but I don't think 7.62x39 is gonna' get us there)

THANKS !
 
Take a look at the Remington 7615 line before you buy sumpin

they're

cheap (relitive)
fun
nutty varmint rifle accurate
light
compact
and best of all take cheap ar mags
 
223 Carbine means AR, Mini-14, Saiga, Keltec to me...not sure if there is anything else out there.
 
How about a NEF

They make a single shot. If you go with a Rossi combo, you can get a shotgun too.
 
be careful if you go cz, they are tricky to scope. the handle and the bell get in the way of each other. you need a small scope. that said I hear nothing but good about the performance of cz.

speaking of hard to scope, you might look at a mini-mauser. (interarms, charles daly or the remington 799, all the same gun, different stocks. suppoded to be quite accurate) then we could be in the same boat!
 
I'll third the CZ527. They have a new model which the magazine does not protrude from the stock. My CZ is accurate (will get around to pillar and glass bedding when I find the time to turn some pillars), and the trigger can be adjusted just to your liking.
 
I'll go fourth on the CZ 527. I love mine, though it is probably heavier than you were looking. The American and the Carbine options are great rifles, they have triggers you will enjoy (may need adjusted out of the box but that takes a screw driver to do and is simple), and will be plenty accurate for whatever you may decide to shoot at. A little pricey but very quality.

The Ruger is a decent rifle. Some of their trigger options were junk for a while but they seem to be on the right track again. Barrels went the same way, a bit hit or miss accuracy wise. I think most today are decent shooters though. The CZ would be my first choice but that Ruger wouldn't be a far fetched second option.
 
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