.223 bolt gun choices

[IndyND]

I am considering a bolt action rifle chambered in .223 rem caliber for building up my target practice skills from 200 yards and maybe up to 600. I would also have the opportunity to shoot some varmints at a couple of family farms (not sure on reasonable distances, I guess whatever the target practice tells me I am capable of). Primarily this gun will be on a rest and not something carried around all day so heavier is okay. Price range could stretch up to $700 but a little less is better.

Research thus far leads to these options and further questions:

Savage: lots of choices, lots of quality and accuracy for the $, anyone have a model recommendation?

Ruger M77: love ruger quality, any opinoins on this rifle?

CZ: love the reviews, could be a great walking rifle with lighter weights?

Remington 700: never a bad place to start right?

others?

I will likely start with some existing optics, then save up for some high quality optics from the AA optics!

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[Hawkeye]

Mossberg MVP Patrol?

 

[Mudcat]

Just wondering are you going to carry that "rest" around with you when you go hunting? Get a sling and learn how to use it, ditch the rest and the bi-pod carry more ammo and water.
With that said I really like my Mossberg MVP Predator. Compact, light weight, takes readily available AR magazines very accurate and reliable. Has everything you need and nothing that you don't. I shot mine at a KD (known distance) Appleseed event and had 1 shot out of the black all day out to 500 yards with a sling and a 3x scope, no rest or bi-pod.

 

[Hookeye]

I'd say varminting (a form of hunting) makes a bipod a solid choice (pun intended).
Just because it's on the rifle, doesn't mean one has to use it.
But if one wants to walk less and kill more (relationship possibly intertwined) it might be a good idea to have one.

 

[IndyND]

Mudcat, good reminder about the utility of slings. I envision this particular rifle as a sit and shoot one for the most part. The two farms / ranches are both set up primarily for sitting and waiting. I may get a second similar rifle in a lighter weight/ shorter barrel if I have increased opportunities to actually GO hunting.

 

[42769vette]

I personally dont like the model 77 because of the scope mounts. I like the idea of being able to buy/get mounts anywhere I want, and I like the versatility of the picatinny rail so the ruger is always the first rifle to get cut in my process of elimination.

 

[Mgderf]

Practice, practice, and more practice.
Regardless of the platform you choose, a bolt gun in .223 should be capable of 600 yard shots all day long with IRON SIGHTS, as long as you practice.

In boot camp, we had to qualify on the rifle range at 500 meters with open sights only.

ANY bolt gun should be capable of this distance, as long as you do your part.

Optics, and other accessories are just icing on the cake.

 

[NathanJefferson]

I'm looking to do the similar things you are; I'm buying a savage mark II FV-SR

Yes, it is .22 not .223, but if you practice enough with it, it will pay for itself after shooting just 2 bricks of ammo vs. 1000 .223. After those two bricks are down the pipe you will be net neutral dollar wise and have a nice .22! Then buy the savage .223.

YMMV but that is what I'm doing.

 

[mayor al]

I loved my Win Model 70 VH Varmint 223 rifle. Too heavy for me to lug around in the field, but great fun when on a range-table or blind-rail. 11 lbs of accurate rifle.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I'm partial to the Savage with accutrigger. My 10FP is a tack driver. Easy to shoot MOA with hand loads.

 

[Mudcat]

I'm looking to do the similar things you are; I'm buying a savage mark II FV-SR

Yes, it is .22 not .223, but if you practice enough with it, it will pay for itself after shooting just 2 bricks of ammo vs. 1000 .223. After those two bricks are down the pipe you will be net neutral dollar wise and have a nice .22! Then buy the savage .223.

YMMV but that is what I'm doing.

Good idea on the .22 and the FVSB is what I have as a trainer.
Just remember you can always put a light weight walking around rifle on a bench and shoot it with very little loss. But if you have to walk around with that heavy bench rifle for whatever reason it aint going to be fun.

 

[IndyND]

I guess I get to be the first to point out that the OP is a dork for posting this within the survival thread instead of the long gun thread he intended

Sorry about that, i kept getting logged off at work and tend to have too many threads/tabs open at once. Thanks for all the feedback so far even with my strange choice of location.

rgoziner: I have been nothing but impressed with my savage mark II .22lr it has been awesome with iron sights as well as glass

 

[giovani]

The day i bought my 700 varmint in 22/250 there was an identical one in 223 in the rack.

My 22/250 shoots sub moa out of the box.

 

[avboiler11]

Savage 12FV.

One I had was a legitimate 5-shot sub-half MOA shooter out to at least 200yd with the 75gr Hornady HPBT and 24.0gr Varget lit by a CCI-200, loaded to 2.29" COAL. If it didn't shoot well, it was operator error - not the rifle. Repeatable hits on an 8" round plate at 650yd using Hornady 75gr Steel Match ammo, dependent only upon the shooter's ability to read wind. That rifle also shot the 75gr A-Max roughly 0.75MOA at 200yd, which a 1:9 barrel "shouldn't do".

The 26" varmint contour barrel isn't "walking varminter" friendly, but from a bipod or rest its just fine, and its not TOO awful so long as you aren't humping it a long ways.

I also had a 11 Hog Hunter barrel bought from M&S Armament; never really did load development with it but 10-shot, 0.7" groups at 100yd were possible using the aforementioned 75gr HPBT load. Based on that, the 11HH would be a good option if one desired a shorter, lighter contour barrel.

 

[BigMatt]

I had a CZ 527 American in .223. It would shoot .75 MOA at 200yds. It really liked the 45gr JHP Winchester White Box loads.