Inexpensive .223 w/ Iron Sights

[Prof]

My buddy and I have started a target shooters' club at the community college we work at (in California!). We signed up 35 members on our first day of recruitment. We are going to be using money from an NRA grant to buy some bolt-action .223 rifles with iron sights as basic club rifles for the students who don't own their own firearms to use. What suggestions do you all have that would meet our requirements. I'm thinking a synthetic stock woudl be practical but not necessary. My first thought was a Savage 11 Hunter series which retails for around $350-$375. Does Remington make the ADL in .223? Any others? Thanks for any suggestions you can give us!

 

[railroader]

http://www.rossiusa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=R223MB&category=RIFLE

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/36_385/products_id/80061


Single shot, break open and inexpensive. Mark

 

[chestnut ridge]

Forgive my suggestion; but when I taught some basic marksmanship classes; I found the noise and recoil of centerfires interfered with the training.
If the shooter is green, airguns are good to start with; then the 22 lr.
When basic skills are evident; bring in the .223's.

 

[ocabj]

Exactly which model Savage are you looking at? I can't seem to find one on the website with iron sights.

You could go with the CZ 527 Lux which comes in .223 with iron sights. You could also go with the Remington 700 BDL.

Any reason behind the 223 decision?

If I were going to start a shooting club, I'd probably affiliate with the CMP and go with CMP Garands. The cost per round on .30-06 ammo through the CMP is the same as .223 surplus. Plus, the Garand is one of the best rifles to learn traditional rifle shooting on.

Or you could follow what others stated about going with rimfire. Plenty of iron sight 22s in the commercial market. The CMP also has Kimber M82s which have excellent aperture sights.

 

[nipprdog]

Exactly which model Savage are you looking at? I can't seem to find one on the website with iron sights.

ditto.

also, Remington doesn't make the ADL anymore.

 

[rangerruck]

it is hard to find new production that uses good sights, within 400 bucks. I'd go cz, remmy,rossi, and maybe savage , but you may have to look for those.

 

[anotherinkling]

The Savage 11F and 11G both have iron sights. Says so in the description and I can confirm from handling one of them, but the pictures are misleading.

 

[Prof]

Thanks, all, for your replies! In answer to some of your questions, we chose .223 for our rifles because of (a) low recoil, (b) low cost of ammo and (c) inherent accuaracy of the round. We are purchasing some of the CZ .22LR rifles to use with our beginners but we also have a lot of students who have done hunting or other shooting in the past and can step right into a centerfire rifle. These rifles are a sort of "middle way" that can be used by shooters at various levels.

Anotherinkling: yes, the Savage 11F was the model that we were looking at. We talked with the local gun shop guy last evening (and I ended up buying a revolver in the case that I just couldn't pass up!! ) and the CZ Lux is now definitely in the mix.

Thanks, again, all of you for your interest and advice. We'll keep working on this. We have been pleasantly surprised at the initial response of interested students!

 

[salty]

NEF Handi rifles would work great for trainers - break open action and external cocking hammer is safe and simple for novice and they are American built to last through abuse of novices. KISS in this case - kool, inexpensive, safe and simple.

 

[wallysparx]

congratulations on starting the club.

if y'all are paying for the guns with grant money from the nra, who owns the guns?

 

[Blackfork]

California Service Rifle Team

Any help through the California State Service Rifle team?

And don't forget to contact the CMP and become an affiliated club. Lots of help.

I have to say if I was looking for a cheap, reliable, NM quality firearm with Iron Sights...it would have to be an AR.

 

[Blackfork]

Rifles

I'd get Mossburg 44 US from the CMP for less than 200 each.

 

[GigaBuist]

NEF Handi rifles would work great for trainers

Much as I like them they don't come with irons. That pretty much puts the kibosh on them right away for said purpose.

Now, for scope usage training, giddy up! Man them little buggers are fun.

 

[Prof]

Sorry for the slow response but I was off the board yesterday. Wally, the club will own the guns. If the club ever disbands, they will be donated to our local 4-H program which has a very active shooting program. Blackfork, thanks for the tip on the CSSR team and the CMP. We'll follow up on those leads! However, because this is California, owning AR's is not allowed and the current OLL-type AR's with pinned mags is "iffy". We don't want to start off by getting the college in trouble with the DOJ!

 

[MachIVshooter]

Much as I like them they don't come with irons. That pretty much puts the kibosh on them right away for said purpose

Not in .223, but they do in .22 Hornet and .30-30. Both a little more expensive to feed than .223, but not too outrageous either.

I have a hvy. bbl. .22 Hornet model that I used to train my wife for 100 yard shooting, since .22 LR simply doesn't work well at 100 yds and heavier calibers can be overwhelming for a new shooter.