.223 bolt action magazine length

[high country]

I am trying to decide on a light bolt action in .223 for a "walking around" varmint and plinking/target rifle. I am considering several options from CZ, Tikka, Ruger, Mossberg and Howa (let me know if you have a favorite that isn't on that list that you think I should check out).

I really like the Ruger Predator because it has a 1:8 twist and takes AR magazines, of which I have several. The only thing that gives me pause on the Ruger and Mossberg that take AR magazines is the ability to load longer to get close to the lands.

I would appreciate any thoughts or experiences anyone has reloading for these AR magazine bolt actions. Since they are .223 chambers, are you able to get close to the lands at a 2.260" OAL? I have not had much luck finding the max OAL that the fixed and detachable magazines on other rifles will accept, does anyone know or have a source of what the limits are on CZ and Tikka rifes?

Thanks!

 

[FL-NC]

I have a Mossberg MVP. 10 round mags are available from magpul. In fact, they work way better than the junk 10 round metal mag that came with it. I run the 10 and 20 round p mags.

 

[LoonWulf]

Most bolt gun .223s even when built on longer actions usually have 2.3ish length magazine boxes.
I found that you can usually modify them to a degree to get a longer coal by removing the spacers at the back of the mag on some.
The 700adl for instance is very easy to get another 2 or 3 hundreths.
Your limited here tho in that if you try move the mag spacer too far, or remove it entirely they will jam. They arnt made to feed from such a long magazine and lack proper support.
This has actually been a major pain for me and my 6x47, as that round has a coal of 2.4ish with most of the bullets i shoot. The 95vlds i tried were 2.5-6 i think.
Im currently using a Howa/legacy detachable magazine kit in my 6x47, 700, and that mags been modified for a coal as long as 2.8"....it was a fight getting it to work tho.

 

[high country]

Thanks for the responses.

I guess what I am looking for is input from anyone that has reloaded for either the mossberg MVP or ruger american in .223, that has played with OAL to get the bullet close to the lands. What OAL did you end up at, did you need it to be longer than the 2.260" available in an AR magazine?

Also, anyone with a Tikka T3, CZ 527, or savage 110 in .223, what length cartridge will the magazines hold. One of the things that I want to be able to do with this rifle is play with different loads for the .223, so I want to hamstring myself with an AR magazine in terms of cartridge length if loading longer then 2.260 will leave a big jump to the lands.