Used bolt action .223

Picher said:

I have a CZ455 with two barrels, the one that came with the (hardly-used) rifle is a .223 Rem, but I bought a new .17HMR heavy/fluted barrel (shown). I like the weight-forward feel with the heavy barrel and it shoots very well.View attachment 992516

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I think you are confused. The CZ455 is rimfire only, and could not shoot a 223, even with a barrel change.

Carl N. Brown said:

I would expect many of the older .223 bolt actions have barrels that were rifled and throated for varmint weight bullets (45 to 55 grains) before 62 to 69 grain bullets in .223 were common.

I am 73 so to me older is OLDER, like before NATO wildcatted 5.56x45mm spex beyond .223 Rem SAAMI spex.

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Likely that would be the case. Don't recall when the heavy bullets became popular. I think the military was the first to go heavy quite awhile back.

Think you got it mixed up as you were typing. The 5.56x45 was developed as a new cartridge by Eugene Stoner and Remington. If I'm remembering right, they lengthened the .222 Remington Magnum. The .223 Remington was the civilian version that came after.

MarshallDodge said:

I think you are confused. The CZ455 is rimfire only, and could not shoot a 223, even with a barrel change.

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Wouldn't have noticed if you didn't mention. I can see now that it's the rimfire, from the picture. Figured he meant .17 Remington. I can't remember if that is the same size case head, though.

Bought a CZ model 527 in .223. Manufacturer clearly states that it handles 5.56 just as well. It is a beautiful, well stocked, little rifle. Has a regular light trigger and a "set trigger" that is even lighter. With medium rings my Leupold Varix-III 3.5x10 fits nicely. The magazine does not have the lines of the rest of the rifle but they are relatively inexpensive and readily available. In my long experience of gun buying it was one of my better choice. A tad over six hundred if a recall.

My Axis .223 has a 1:9 twist. It's stated in the owners manual. I put the Mcarbo trigger kit in it. I like the rifle very much. I was kicking back and forth a AR 15 or Ruger mini 14 or a bolt action. Walmart had the Axis on clearance. So i grabbed it. Wood stock too. I prefer wood over synthetic where possible. CZ in a center-fire could come along too one day. I have a 457 in 22WMR. Sweet rifle.

My Mossberg MVP shoots exceptionally well with 75 grain Hornady.

MarshallDodge said:

I think you are confused. The CZ455 is rimfire only, and could not shoot a 223, even with a barrel change.

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DUH! I meant to say .22 WMR. Gotta proof read what I write before pressing "Post".

I have a new 2021 Howa1500 in 223. It is stamped right in the barrel that it is a 1:8 twist barrel. (20in heavy barrel)
I`ve been shooting Hornady Vmax 60gr with Hodgdon CFE223 & CCI400 primer.

I`m very impressed with this gun, you can easily cover the 5 bullet holes easily with a nickel (@100yds)
I have NOT touched the adjustable trigger at all. So wherever its set from the factory is where it is at.

Now, what remains to be known yet, i dont know if these rifles are chambered for and are ok to shoot 223 NATO rounds in it or not.
Nobody has been able to prove to me yet, that its ok to shoot NATO rounds in this rifle. I (email) contacted LegacyUSA, and i have yet to get a response from them.

I did set up a dummy round to see how far out the rifle lands are in the chamber. I could load the Vmax 60gr out to 2.260 OAL.
I ran a few dummy rounds on my concentricity gauge and got one all set up with no more runout than .0001

Anyhow, i dont know if any of my post will shed light on this subject, but that`s where i`m at with my Howa1500 223.
I do also have several other Howa`s, and every one of them run spot on. I couldn`t ask for a better gun for the money.

I too went the MVP route. Shoots better than expected.

dh1633pm said:

I too went the MVP route. Shoots better than expected.

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These abbreviations mean what, i`m not good at guessing, so..... MVP is?

Sorry. Tapping on the iPad. Saving a few taps. MVP is Mossberg. This one:

https://www.mossberg.com/category/series/mvp-series/mvp-patrol/

dh1633pm said:

Sorry. Tapping on the iPad. Saving a few taps. MVP is Mossberg. This one:

https://www.mossberg.com/category/series/mvp-series/mvp-patrol/

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Thanks much dh, i`m terrible with abbreviations, thats why i asked

I have a bunch of bolt 223's. CZ,Savages,and a cpl R700's. I picked this ADL up new in '16 from Buds online. Wanted to snag a slow twist before "they" decided to change to a faster twist. I know folks love ragging on Remington,and knock yourself out but... this ADL with a few modifications... bedding,forend stiffened,and a Timney 510 shoots cast 55's into bugholes,skinny barrel and all. I have a brand new R700V barrel that was "in the works" as a replacement.... and honestly,was the direction headed when first purchasing the little ADL. This one shoots so well,had to just leave it be.

3-12 Bushnell Elite 3200 was the perfect match(way underrated) for this walking varminter.

"Older" will often mean a slower barrel twist. Just be aware. I bought a beautiful, used, Winchester Model 70 in .223 a few months ago, but I knew it had a slower twist not suitable for heavy bullets.

Cooter Boolit said:

I have a new 2021 Howa1500 in 223. It is stamped right in the barrel that it is a 1:8 twist barrel. (20in heavy barrel)
I`ve been shooting Hornady Vmax 60gr with Hodgdon CFE223 & CCI400 primer.

I`m very impressed with this gun, you can easily cover the 5 bullet holes easily with a nickel (@100yds)
I have NOT touched the adjustable trigger at all. So wherever its set from the factory is where it is at.

Now, what remains to be known yet, i dont know if these rifles are chambered for and are ok to shoot 223 NATO rounds in it or not.
Nobody has been able to prove to me yet, that its ok to shoot NATO rounds in this rifle. I (email) contacted LegacyUSA, and i have yet to get a response from them.

I did set up a dummy round to see how far out the rifle lands are in the chamber. I could load the Vmax 60gr out to 2.260 OAL.
I ran a few dummy rounds on my concentricity gauge and got one all set up with no more runout than .0001

Anyhow, i dont know if any of my post will shed light on this subject, but that`s where i`m at with my Howa1500 223.
I do also have several other Howa`s, and every one of them run spot on. I couldn`t ask for a better gun for the money.

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Just got an email from Howa Tech. Do not use NATO 5.56/M193 rounds in your rifle stamped .223. They say slightly steeper shoulders, bullets seated deeper, hotter powder & primers. The net result is throat erosion in a short period of time. Not covered under warranty. Short recap of the email received from Howa.

Cooter Boolit said:

These abbreviations mean what, i`m not good at guessing, so..... MVP is?

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"MVP" usually means "Most Valuable Person" in the "sports" recognition vernacular.

Mossberg Varmint Predator = MVP when its a Mossberg bolt action rifle. Just a marketing term.

Curious2 said:

Just got an email from Howa Tech. Do not use NATO 5.56/M193 rounds in your rifle stamped .223. They say slightly steeper shoulders, bullets seated deeper, hotter powder & primers. The net result is throat erosion in a short period of time. Not covered under warranty. Short recap of the email received from Howa.

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Good to know, THANK YOU very much! I never did get a response back from them.

Dave DeLaurant said:

You didn't mention the Howa Mini, which as you probably know has the same action as the Weatherby and is priced cheap enough to afford another stock if you don't like the factory Hogue. Factory spec is a 1:8 twist: https://www.howausa.com/rifles/mini-action-rifle/

I don't own a Howa -- I went the pretty route and have a full-stock .223 CZ:

View attachment 992223

Values during panic pricing seem pretty localized, so I doubt what I'm seeing here will help you much.

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I have a Howa Mini .223. It's a 1/9 twist so maybe they changed that to 1/8, don't know. I paid $250 for it out-the-door when Cabela's closed out their Howa's. It has the #1 barrel and I don't think they offer that one anymore. All Howa's are good shooters in my experience, but their stocks are garbage. You're better off buying the barreled action from Brownells and putting a B&C stock on it. I have several.

Cooter Boolit said:

I have a new 2021 Howa1500 in 223. It is stamped right in the barrel that it is a 1:8 twist barrel. (20in heavy barrel)
I`ve been shooting Hornady Vmax 60gr with Hodgdon CFE223 & CCI400 primer.

I`m very impressed with this gun, you can easily cover the 5 bullet holes easily with a nickel (@100yds)
I have NOT touched the adjustable trigger at all. So wherever its set from the factory is where it is at.

Now, what remains to be known yet, i dont know if these rifles are chambered for and are ok to shoot 223 NATO rounds in it or not.
Nobody has been able to prove to me yet, that its ok to shoot NATO rounds in this rifle. I (email) contacted LegacyUSA, and i have yet to get a response from them.

I did set up a dummy round to see how far out the rifle lands are in the chamber. I could load the Vmax 60gr out to 2.260 OAL.
I ran a few dummy rounds on my concentricity gauge and got one all set up with no more runout than .0001

Anyhow, i dont know if any of my post will shed light on this subject, but that`s where i`m at with my Howa1500 223.
I do also have several other Howa`s, and every one of them run spot on. I couldn`t ask for a better gun for the money.

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I think we may have the same rifle (20" #6 barrel 1500) but I ditched the Howa stock and put it in a B&C stock. I believe the chamber is .223 so I have no curiosity about being able to shoot 5.56. I purposely bought it to shoot .223 because it's a better chamber for precision shooting. I'll use my Mini-14 if I want to experiment with heavy bullets. It could probably shoot them much better but I'm too cheap buy any.