Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 223 Bolt action

I’m down to three in .223 Rem, I gave a Superlite to my brother.



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It's Tula. No such gun exists to shoot 1/2 with that ammo. Our local Walmart has 700 ADL's for less than $400. Mine shoots decent. I haven't shot it over 50 yards yet but I'm 1 inch at 50 yards with the factory trigger and a sporter barrel.

kwg

This^^^ for a budget rifle it is incredibly accurate!

A buddy has a CZ 527 with an 18.5” barrel that he is going to let me shoot.

Sako L461 Vixen is the ultimate factory bolt action in 223. I’ve had remmys czs howas and tikkas but that little Sako is the best of them all! Problem is they’re getting harder to find and aren’t inexpensive. Maybe keep your powder dry for a few months and pick one up when things start getting tighter provided our cv19 prognosticators are correct.

I been eyeing the CZ M1 for it's scale to the 223, and flush magazine. Wanting something that has a similar feel to the Marlin 783. Although I don't know if I could mount a scope as low as I'd like on a 527.
A 60° bolt lift would be really appealing. But not sure I'm inclined to buy a Ruger American and don't love the idea of a long action Tikka.
An X-Bolt could check a few boxes but they're pretty thick around the middle. Possibly an A-Bolt, but I've not seen one in 223.

I'd surely take a Sako Vixen, but would like my next 223 to have a 9 or faster twist.

Maybe a Howa Mini with a whittled down stock and BDL-type bottom metal.

Keep in mind, the beauty of a long action Tikka is you can change the bolt stop so you can load really long. I’m doing that with a couple if 1-8” Tikkas using the 75 gr ELD-M. Great results.



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Seems like everyone that has a Tikka 223 loves them. But I haven't heard much bad about the CZ 527 either.

Should probably have both.
Get the M1 and put it in a walnut stock with a small scope.. And then stainless synthetic Tikka with more of a target/twisting scope.

Will be getting a Sako and an Anschutz. The Colt AR is okay. They get so dirty them gassers. And I'm not thrilled with the flimsy nature of them. It's fun to shoot though. I love all my firearms.

Good man. Good decision. Always a good thing to give one's brother such a gift. I liked hearing that.

I have 3 Tikka .223s, my brother has 2, they’re great.



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I have a CZ American 527. When I bought it, it came with a 1/12 twist. I called CZ and was told they did do a run of them. The problem is that I have to shoot light bullets. Forty or Fifty grain. It is hard to find good quality light rounds. Then on top of that, after a couple years, I started getting light hits. It was worse on certain ammunition. Still a problem and I don't know what to do about it. The light hits came on my favorite ammunition.

Jerry check with efw here. He had a similar problem with a mini mauser 223. Might have been cz also

I have struggled to Love My CZ 527 with the synthetic stock (1 in 9"). Love the looks and it feels good in the hands, until you work the bolt. They aren't smooth operators. Accuracy also hasn't lived up to my hopes, its there, but requires a lot more work to tease it out and I have heavy barreled ARs can beat it.

All the Tikkas I have seen shot great, Savages have punched above their weight, and Howa may be the sleeper.

Personally, I would prefer for a 1 in 7" or 8" twist since I like to stretch my legs when can and 69 gr bullets give up a lot at 600 and beyond. Fun, fun guns

PRU,

I’ve had three CZ527s in 223. None were ‘bad’ but like you, I don’t care for the feel of the action. I grew up on Rem 700s and couldn’t get used to the ‘backwards’ safety on the CZ either. They shot pretty well, but weren’t exceptional either. I‘m now down to one; a 527 Varmint in 17 Hornet. It was one of the first in this chambering and it’s the best shooting factory gun I’ve ever owned! Because of this, it’s a keeper - I think. My younger son is loth to give it up when squirrels start popping up this time of year.

I have a Ruger American in the compact model (18" barrel) and it beats the Remington by 1/4 of an inch at 50 yards so it would be well under 2" at 100 yards. The only flaw any of my rifles have is the goober pulling the trigger. I don't know what the going prices on the Americans are but mine was reasonable as I recall.

kwg

Ruger RAR Predator

If I were going to just be shooting cheap azzed ammo like the tula or steel cased ammo, I'd suggest the RAR as well. The RAR's I've seen have very poorly cut chambers and QC isn't a concern for Ruger. I won't buy the RAR centerfire rifles, as my buddies that have bought them have had issues with them. Out of 3 rifles, 2 had to be sent back to Ruger. The last one, one of my friends bought is a 6.5 creedmoor predator and the chamber is so rough that it mars the brass when its fired. It is bad enough that you can still see the marks on the brass after its tumbled and polished. The rifle shoots well enough, but no attention to detail was given when the chamber was cut and it passed Rugers QC. I'd buy a used MK II varmint or Hawkeye before I risked buying a RAR. I'd even look for a good savage model 10 or similar in 223. If money is a concern, look for a used Tikka, but the majority of those are going to have a 1 in 10 twist barrel, unless you get lucky and find a used superlite or varmint model (check to be sure it has the 1 in 8 twist) somewhere. That doesn't happen too often though.

There were some screaming deals on the T/C Dimension recently. Its even a switch barrel gun.

Savage Axis. How do you make a rifle this inexpensively?

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/865548929