223 bolt guns

My Savage is a 1/9 twist and I shoot the same 50gr vmax out of it as I do with my 1/12 twist Remington 700. Here is a picture of a 5 shot group with the savage shooting the 50gr load.

i own several bolt action .223 rifles including two Remingtons, a Sako, a Marlin branded Sako with micro-groove rifling, an Ithaca LSA-55 and a CZ 527. The CZ 527 is easily my favorite. It's as accurate as my heavy barreled Remington 700 despite being much lighter.

Ruger is offering it's American in .223. I have no personal experience with this rifle. I hit the CZ wood lottery with my Model 527.The stock is a piece of Turkish walnut that would make Roy Weatherby turn green. You'll always get a good shooter from CZ but the wood quality is "variable."

I am a Savage nut so I guess it will be no surprise I would recommend one. I only own two so I am not as bad as some, but they are both sub 1/2" MOA. One is a 22WMR 93 and the other is a 6.5 CM 12 LRP. They cover all the bases.
Easily the best value in a rifle there is. Great price and great guns.

Absolutly the Savage 11VT. Superb rifle. My wife got hers on (really good) sale at Dick's for $400.

Absolutely the Savage 11VT. Superb rifle. My wife got hers on (really good) sale at Dick's for $400.

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That is a great deal, I felt like I was making out like a bandit when I paid $500 for mine.

Two rifles come to mine. The Remington 700 SPS Tactical and Savage 12 VLP. My 700 is dead nuts accurate. I have the 12 VLP in .308 and can only imagine how great it would be in .223.

Mossberg MVP

I bought a 20" barrel Mossberg MVP a year or so ago for about $550. Chambered in 5.56 not .223. Uses any AR-15 style mag - came with its own 10 round magazine. It's got a user adjustable trigger which I lightened just a tad.

Here's a link:

http://www.mossberg.com/product/rif...predator-mvp-predator-20-sporter-barrel/27721

Right now I have a used 4 power Tasco scope I paid $20 for at a gunshow on it. Got a 3 round 1 inch group at 100 yards out of it with Russian made Colt 62 grain steel cased ammo. I called that good and stopped there. Haven't shot it for awhile.

I don't know why these rifles are not more popular. They are fairly inexpensive and have the advantage of using either 5.56 or .223 rounds in the most common type rifle magazine available in the U.S.

Nothing wrong with the Howa 1500 and the price ain't bad either.

I'll also vote for the CZ 527. I'm very happy with mine. I got the carbine version that also has iron sights. Unfortunately, I didn't win the "wood lottery", my stock is "nice", but it's not rippled with gorgeous flame like some I've seen.
Another plus with this one, that I don't t think anyone's mentioned yet, is that the CZ is ok to fire both .223's and 5.56's.
Most other bolt guns ,but for that Mossy mentioned above, are not (and I'd still go with the CZ).

so many great .223 bolt guns nowadays to choose from, and what ever you choose for sure will serve you well. i have the mossberg predator 18" flutted barrel and was surprised how nice the rifle is from the barrel/stock/trigger/accepts ar15 magazines, and pretty darn accurate. since you mentioned might be your designated truck gun, the mvp patrol might be nice as it has a shorter 16" barrel/irons sights/rails to mount scope or reddot/threaded for muzzle.

first day out with the mossberg, sighting in the millet dms1 scope and tryin out some of my reloads

I shoot 55-75 grain bullets in my 1/7 twist AR, all weights shoot very well.

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I'd vote for a Tikka T3 Sporter. I bought one recently and sent it to CDI Precision to have a new bottom metal put on it allowing me to use AI 5- and 10-round mags on it. They are tough as heck and can handle longer bullet lengths (although I really just wanted the 10 round mag option). It is a superb piece of kit. The barrel is a 1:10 which requires somewhat lighter bullets but I typically shoot 55-62 gr in my Tavor and it works out fine. I bought some Fiocchi 40 gr recently and am interested in trying something that far on the end of the range.
FWIW I have a Nikon 2-8x M-223 BDC optic on it which has also worked out really well.
The Tikka is just an easy to shoot, smooth operating, super accurate gun. Synthetic stock saves about $100 over the wooden stocked Hunter model.
B

I love the Tikka T3 Lite. Inexpensive, lightweight, slick and very accurate. 1:8" twist. Expensive magazines and little aftermarket support.

From what the range master told me the Miami Valley Gun Club medium range shooting (600 yards) is dominated by Savage 12 LRPV rifles. I have one that I've shot at 500 yards quite a bit. It is very accurate. I probably averaged about a 5" group with some getting as small as an inch and this is at 500 yards. It comes as a complete package that's ready for accurate shooting right out of the box. It wasn't exactly cheap and it isn't light. It's a varmint rifle. But as long as you get one with the Target Action and AccuTrigger you should have a fine shooting rifle. I did shoot that rifle at 100 yards a week ago or so. I was shooting off an old blanket because I forgot my sand bags and I still managed a .6" group at 100 yards with one shot being off or it would have been a .3" group. I haven't really shot it at 100 yards that much to be honest. I shot it at 500 yards and it did very well IMO. Here's a photo of what I have going now. I have a Weaver T-36 scope attached which is great for target shooting but not so much for hunting.

Might look for the Interarms MarkX 'Mini-Mauser', also sold for several years by Remington under their brand. I think these were all made by Zastava, they may now be selling it under their own name. A light hunting rifle with 22" barrel, many owners report 1 MOA accuracy, out of a gun that can actually carried farther than from your truck to a shooting bench. All these 11 pound varminters and tacticals are fine if you just want to shoot groups at the range, but they suck to carry in the field.

Varmint guns aren't meant to be carried around all day. That's what hunting rifles are for. The OP said he wanted a heavy barrel though. That means extra weight.

Fella's;

If you're thinking about a Sako, get a Tikka. They're made in the same factory on the same machines. I've got several Tikka's and am entirely satisfied. However, I also have several CZ's & have no problem in suggesting looking there also.

In the matter of twist vs bullet weight, that is a matter to decide on before plunking dollars down on the gun. CZ has two twist rates; 1:12 and 1:9. I'm told that all new production 527's will be made with 1:9 barrels. My older 527 American has a 1:12 twist but I'm happy, I want to shoot 50 grain bullets at higher velocities. Another thing that might be a factor in the decision is that the CZ527's come with a single-set trigger. I thoroughly enjoy using it with my gun.

900F

I have 2 rifles in .223/5.56: a Weatherby Vanguard Varmint Special with 1-12 twist, and a Mossberg MVP in 5.56 with 1-9 twist. The Mossberg is accurate, but the Weatherby is head-and-shoulders above the Mossberg.

In terms of the Vanguard, I use reloads with form-fired Lapua brass, 28.5 grains of Varget, and a 55 grain Sierra ballistic-tip-type projectile. This load flies flat, and hits hard even at 300 yards. When you start looking for .223s, the world is your oyster...rifles in this cartridge made by at least a dozen companies, and good quality.

I'd suggest you determine purpose, distance at which you plan to use it, and base the selection on which twist would best suit your purposes. Then, look to which the offerings.

Geno

Ruger has just recently released the American bolt action rifle in the Predator series. These rifles have a green plastic stock and threaded muzzle. Also, Ruger is using a Weaver rail so mounting a scope is a bit easier.

I don't have a ton of rounds through mine yet but I'm pleased so far. Accuracy is good with an average of .750moa or so.
I'm running mine with a Redfield Battlezone 3-9x42mm scope. It isn't a bad little scope but is about what you'd expect from a $200 optic. It is pretty decent at 100 yards but loses some fine detail at 200. It isn't overly bright either.

Anyway, here's the rifle with my AAC suppressor.
View attachment 199403

I had a B&C M40 stock left in my closet when I mounted my Rem 700 5R in an AICS AX chassis. I bought a Rem 700 SPS-V in .223 Rem and took its bottom metal and put it in the B&C stock with the barreled action. Also, I had a 3-9x40 Leupy VX3 sitting in the closet so I mounted that with Leupy bases and rings that I had taken off another rifle. Following the recall from Remington, I ordered appropriate Timney triggers from Timney for all of my Remmies...now I have terrific, well <1MOA rifles in .223, .308, my .308 5R and a .375 H&H R700 XCRII.

I have to recommend this approach for anyone looking to build a useful rifle.

FH

Well, you've got your work cut out for you, as there are a myriad of choices here. Why heavy barrel? Go light - just as accurate.

+1000 to the CZ 527 in its multiple variants. But there are MANY good ones. Decide general weight class first (light, med-light, med, med-heavy, or heavy), then go from there.

Go light - just as accurate.

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Not if you plan on shooting a lot at a time. If you want to shoot 50 rounds or more in a couple of hours then it's really good to have a heavy barrel. Otherwise the light barrels are as accurate. But varmint guns are made heavy for a reason. Like p-dog towns. You'll want to shoot a lot when you try to wipe out one of those. Actually it's probably true that the heavy barrels have less flex and are slightly more accurate as a result of that but it takes a serious shooter to notice the difference.

USBP379,

How much shift/what direction shift are you seeing with the suppressor attached vs not attached?