223 bolt action recommendations

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Waterboy3313 said:
It sounds like I'm kind of liking the Ruger American predator on paper so far.
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I understand that you like the magazine capable Ruger. They are great rifles.

If the rifle is going to be a bench / target rifle I would take a hard look at a heavy barrel rifle. The stiffer barrel will be welcomed for longer range seasons.
 
If you get the Ruger Predator that takes AR magazines it is a good choice. The standard Ruger magazines can be problematic. I actually like the Tikka better, but it also costs more. When I got my Ruger I paid $350 for it and Tikka was about $600 in blue, $750 in SS. That made it an easier choice to buy the Ruger.

The last Ruger I saw in a store was $530 and Tikka was still $600. At that price point I'd take Tikka every time. But if you can find a Ruger closer to $450 the choice is harder.
 
The Ruger goes for about $519 through the local big box store. None in stock. A guy I work with has a Tikka 223. He told me it was for sale since he's on his second custom build. I know he still has it and at one point decided he didn't want to sell it. I should talk to him tomorrow and see what he has going on. I said I didn't want used but knowing him and the way he takes care of his stuff I would buy from him if he didn't want a stupid amount for it.
 
I`ve been very happy with my Savage 110 Storm in .223. I bought the XP which comes with a factory bore sighted ( indeed it was ) Vortex Crossfire II scope. The guy shooting it hardly does it justice. 1:9 twist and REALLY seems to like flat based hunting rounds ( Hornady and Nosler ). At 100 yards it`s easily 1 MOA for groups and sub-MOA for accuracy ( POA vs. POI ).
 
OP, good luck with the Tikka, it seems like your best bet.

I went the Ruger American Predator route and I am not happy about it. It was before the AR mags model came up. The standard mag is difficult to load, especially when it is cold.

Stock was changed, trigger job was done, match ammunition was shot. Ordinary rifle.

I thought exactly like you. Now, this is what I think about: https://www.sako.fi/rifles/sako-85/85-varmint

I would have to order it without seeing it first.

You seem to enjoy shooting and accuracy, just like I do. Maybe very good accuracy comes at a price. After a few rifles, I am beginning to think just that.

What is accurate enough? Is good enough really good enough for you?

YMMV
 
You seem to enjoy shooting and accuracy, just like I do. Maybe very good accuracy comes at a price. After a few rifles, I am beginning to think just that.
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You got me. I strive for accuracy. Pistol or rifle I am not the best but I can spend a lot of time trying. When I shoot my gas guns I use 10 round magazines usually loaded with 5 rounds. Not a blaster if it takes me 2 hours to shoot 10 times I don't care. I'm not a rifle or trigger snob either. Although I think I'm getting there on the triggers.

I spend a lot of time loading my hand loads and I'm very ocd about every step of the process. Its not how many times I can yank the trigger it's about quality of time I spend doing it. I'm at the point where I would rather go alone and take my time and not be distracted. I have one person I like to take with me only because he is the same as I am but on a higher level.
If it doesn’t shoot exceptionally well, I’m investigating behind the rifle first
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We all have our food days and bad days. I usually know when it's a bad day and don't stay long when I determine it's a bad day on my end.
 
Trigger is the first thing. Then, we begin to look at stocks. After that, it is the barrels. Not long after, the action. There is no end to the pleasure.

An old member here who contributed regularly to the shotgun forum repeated ad nausea that we should not buy cheap guns, the ammunition being the only big expense that counts in the long run.

I am slowly beginning to think the gentleman was right.

Of course, when I was younger, I thought I didn't mind ugly as long as it shot straight and was mechanically sound. I am still not a rich man, but I got older! Life is too short, buy a rifle you really like. :)
 
I will tell you I could shoot a decent group with a milspec trigger. I shot a friend's custom built rifle with a trigger tech trigger and I promptly went home and ordered one for my favorite AR. First time out using and every time after that my groups consistently got better.

The trigger in my Savage is by my standards pretty bad. Its crisp and solid but the pull feels like 10 lbs. It actually takes a decent amount of effort to get it to break over. With my limited experience a good trigger makes things better. Not saying one couldn't get used to it or whatever but I would have to agree with the majority here.

I ordered the mcarbo kit this afternoon for my Savage. For $25 with shipping I can see this probably being the best $25 I will have spent on this rifle. Now if a barrel is defective then no matter what trigger or stock you find won't fix the problem.

The Savage isn't a custom build and some barrel Maker didn't spend time lapping it. Maybe I will put some time and effort into it before I send it down the road. I'm not a gun smith or a machinist (I do have a metal lathe on order) but I enjoy solving problems, learning and making safe modifications that improve my range time.
 
Waterboy here is what I have been shooting and a sample target.

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This is a Savage Model 10 that I purchased used for $300.00 w/o the glass. The targets were shot at 100yds with developing hand loads. Two different powders. The top two are with TAC,

I now have over 1500 rounds thru this and will still be shooting this in our winter league. The center target is a fair representation of what it is still shooting and am shooting about 1.75" groups at 200 yds... Now also I have only been shooting rifles for about 15 months.

After the league has finished I have a Savage Model 12 26" Varmint barrel that will be put on this receiver. The barrel is a never fired take off that I picked up for $100.00... So for a small tight budget I would still look for a Savage and an aftermarket stock. New prefit Barrels can be had for about $300.00
 
This is a Savage Model 10 that I purchased used for $300.00 w/o the glass. The targets were shot at 100yds with developing hand loads. Two different powders. The top two are with TAC,
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That looks pretty good. I would probably be happy with that. I am on about my 4th pound of TAC.

Is that a athlon scope?
 
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This is how it came when I purchased it again minus the scope. Now I have no idea how many rounds have been fired in it but it still shoots very well. The Accutrigger also isn't Match quality but it serves me very well for now. Haven't tested it but I believe it to be about 4# / 5# and by looking at the picture file I will have had this 1 year come Feb.

Here it has a Burris Fullfield E1 4.5-14X44 on it and the other picture you are correct and that is an Athlon Argos 8-34X56
This barrel has a 1:9 twist and likes 62 and 69gr bullets. 75gr wouldn't stabilize very well.

Might want to look into having that 6.5 rebarreled to a 223
 
Might want to look into having that 6.5 rebarreled to a 223
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I thought about it at first but I figured by the time I got it finished I would be into for much more than I could have bought another one in 223. By the time I bought 6.5 creedmoor dies, brass approx $1.17 each @200 cases, 200 Hornady eld-m bullets, powder and primers which all of this was needed for me to load for it I probably would have been money ahead. I don't think I expected the total for the reloading components to spiral out of control like they did.
 
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This is my next project. This is a Savage Model 11 currently in 243Win. I purchased this as a barreled action from another forum member for $150.00 shipped, the stock was broken in half. Intention is to rebarrel this into either a 6mm ARC or a 6mm BR Norma to bench shoot to 300yards.. This is not the stock that was going to be on it but it was a present. Once rebarreled the Athlon scope will migrate to it.
 
This is my next project. This is a Savage Model 11 currently in 243Win. I purchased this as a barreled action from another forum member for $150.00 shipped, the stock was broken in half. Intention is to rebarrel this into either a 6mm ARC or a 6mm BR Norma to bench shoot to 300yards.. This is not the stock that was going to be on it but it was a present. Once rebarreled the Athlon scope will migrate to it.
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You seem to know your way around the Savage stuff. I've heard it's easy to change barrels if you have the barrel wrench and a set of go no go gauges for the cartridge. I think I could manage that part fairly easy. The bolt part is where I'm not so sure about things. I've seen a lot parts online that say they fit Savage model x but not model y and there seems to be a lot of parts listed that are interchangeable.

One other issue I'm somewhat concerned about is the stock if I decide to change it. Mine has the plastic trigger guard that is part of the stock. I read something somewhere a while back that made it sound like an issue. I've seen Savage trigger guards online as well I'm thinking that could be the problem solver. I'm just totally new to the Savage brand some things seem like they might have potential to get confusing. Maybe it's just my lack of experience.
 
Not an expert but I am learning because I have an interest.

The Savage Barrel Nut makes barrel changes very simple. Many calibers are derived from a parent case which you can see if you go and look at reloading die shell holders. So for instance the second gun I have in 243 is based on the parent case 308Win, or also in my case the 6mmBR Norma. All use the same bolt head. Now also because this is a Short Action I could use the same bolt with a bolt head change to change to a 223.

Stocks can also get confusing as Savage made many changes over the years but again they are pretty easy to learn and understand.
Boyds also offers a plastic trigger guard that will fit their stocks. Otherwise there is another site that can provide the bottom metal and trigger guard that will fit and work. That Boyds on my Model 10 retails about $130.00 or you can at times find them in their Rapid Fire section for as low as $110.00
 
You have been very helpful I appreciate it.

The more digging I do the more I learn. Today I ordered the mcarbo trigger kit. I also loaded up another work up using a different powder. If things don't get better I will probably get some JBs as a last resort before either sending it down the road or swapping it over to 223 if can find a barrel for less than a complete rifle.
 
kmw1954 said:
I too have to disagree. Was trying my friends Benchrest gun and that trigger is so light and smooth it is silly. Wish my Savage was even just half that.
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I have guns with bad triggers, and I have guns with good triggers. I can shoot the guns with the bad triggers very well. It takes a lot of focus to do it though. Putting a new trigger in them would not make them more accurate. It would make it a bit easier for me to shoot them accurately. If I have a gun that doesn't shoot well, I never think about switching triggers as a first order of business in troubleshooting.
 
Varminterror said:
Feed it 50grn V-Max’s over 27.3grn Varget. If it doesn’t shoot exceptionally well, I’m investigating behind the rifle first.
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^^^^^This. My “go to” load is 50 grain Nosler BT over 26 grains of Varget. Somewhere I have pictures of multiple dime size groups shot at 260 yards that my S-I-L shot with my Varminter AR.

Now, I will readily admit at the conditions were absolutely perfect and the shooting gods were with us that day. It has an incredible trigger, air gauged match barrel, and a 6.5x20 Leupold. Good equipment gives good results.

I have a friend that was getting 1” to 1 1/2” groups with his new AR. I gave him some of my hand loads and it instantly dropped to 1/2” range.

Frostbite said:
You seem to enjoy shooting and accuracy, just like I do. Maybe very good accuracy comes at a price. After a few rifles, I am beginning to think just that.

What is accurate enough? Is good enough really good enough for you?
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That’s me. Long ago I began trading off multiple marginal rifles for a lesser number that are higher quality and more accurate.

I fail to understand the logic of buying cheap, then replacing the barrel, trigger, and stock. In the end, you’ve still got a cheap gun that you’ve sunk a lot of money into, and it’s probably worth less than when you started. You could have just invested the money up front and shortened the journey considerably. And, you have a quality gun and haven’t wasted a bunch of time and money in the process.

But, it’s your money. Spend it as you see fit
 
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