Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 223 Bolt action

i am looking for a bolt action rifle in 223, It will be mostly used for plinking and occasional coyote.
what bolt actions would shoot the cheap Tula ammo best?
thanks

I have an honest half inch 223 if your interested.

Best bet is to scrap the idea of Tula before looking for a bolt gun.
Without the need to empty a 30 round mag, quality far outweighs quantity for ammo

I bought a .223 SS Weatherby Vanguard S2 a year or so ago. I have no trouble shooting moa or less with my handloads using CFE powder and Hornady 55 grain FMJ and SP bullets.

Damn, I've never seen one that short before... Then again, if you are saying it's an "honest" 1/2" shooter, you should post it in the MOA all day long challenge. That would show how "honest" of a shooter it really is... Now, for the OP. If you are looking for a good accurate rifle, you should look at Savage, Tikka, then maybe some of the others like Ruger (Hawkeye or American). Those would be my pick and Accuracy would probably fall in the same order from best to worst...

I picked up a Savage Axis for like $240 at Walmart for a disabled buddy in 223....

bare bones and its a tack driver and a half... 1 in 9 twist on it..doesn't seem to care what ya feed it.

I have a similar Axis in 243... and that thing also is a tack driver... difference in the two, is mine has the accutrigger and his doesn't.

Look really hard for a Remington 788.

Pay the price and don't look back.

This isn’t a bad idea^^^^^ If I was looking for a new inexpensive iron, I would look at the Weatherby Vangaurd line or Tikka models.

😎

IMO this is an easy choice that has not been mentioned yet........CZ527 in either the American or Varmint model.
I like the Tikka and others but they are made for much longer ammo 22-250,243 etc. and modified for a 223. the CZ is a micro mauser action made for the 223 and is made with quality that Ruger and Savage wont match.

I agree with this 100%, like feeding a dog. dog poop instead of dog food. !!!!!!!!

This X1000. Grab a CZ and don’t look back.

Howa Mini. Scaled, forged-steel action, good trigger.

Hinged floorplate will soon be available soon, or the DIP metal unit is ready now if you prefer DMs.

The CZs are great rifles as well, but the CRF combined with DMs is a PITA IMO, at the bench anyway. The actions are a work of art with all that nice machine work.

I have a Savage 10 that I shot pasture rats at 400yrds with last year. 75% shot kill at 400 . 100% at 275 yards. had to move up as ammo was getting low.
hand loads with sierra 65g gamekings.

Get yourself a Rem 700, Savage, Ruger American or some other inexpensive bolt action rifle and use the money saved to buy a better grade of ammo. There is a lot of good inexpensive ammo available - Tula is not one of them.

drover

RLA: Seek out a "lightly used" Remington 700 in one of the many and varied "Varmint" type models.
These are on occasion found at very pleasing prices and in the aforementioned lightly used condition.
I have right at one dozen (12) of these type Rifles (many of which were bought used) and they all are very accurate+!
Afix a Harris swiveling bi-pod to the Rifle and get after those Coyotes big time!
Best of luck to you, and by the way I have had very good luck on a couple of Rifles with the plain old Remington 55 PSP ammunition - both accuracy and lethality on all manner of Varmints (and DEER!) has been pleasing.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

might add "get the best optics you can"

Tikka




P

If you're looking for cheap and good shooting then a Ruger American. There are better, but not at that price.

If I was looking for a new 223, I’d buy a Tikka. Probably the heavier barrel model with the 20” barrel.

Thats about the best answer.

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



P

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.



P

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.



P

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

Easy, simple well thought out design...

I just purchased a Kimber Montana .223 from a member here. For a plinking, carry around, bad weather, truck gun for an coyote of opportunity it fits the bill nicely. Kimber no longer chambers for them but they can be found.

for out of the box, production run,Savage !

Cheap and accurate?

TC Compass
Savage Axis
Ruger American Pred

In that order. As for ammo, you get what you pay for.

For what you want this is about perfect. With one thing though, buy some decent ammo. Tula sucks, every time, in every gun. https://www.gunbroker.com/item/878487581

I don't know...

I bet most of the average guys who buy a cheap gun can't shot as well as the gun is capable with anyway...

ya know, the 5 inch group off a rest at 50 yrds crowd.. who equate that as minute of deer at 500 yds....

if your rang ain't full of em, mine sure is...

and dontcha know... the more expensive the equipment, the more better shooter ya are...

see 'em all the time, who think the 100 yd berm is 250 yds or so... and a hole into an 11 x 17 target at 100 yds, is really "good enough".. and that 250 yd 100 yd target turns into them hitting something at a thousand yards within 2 weeks or the closer to hunting season it gets.....especially with that box of ammo they bought 10 years ago and it still has 10 rounds left in it..

I had always bought inexpensive guns because that's what I could afford. I'm somewhat better than a 5" at 50 yd group shooter. You should not brand people by what they can afford!

^^^^^^ agreed! I am a working man with 3 kids and a stay at home wife. I watch every dollar that goes in and out. I recently purchased a TC compass when they had the $50 rebate on them and had $200 in the rifle, slapped it in a Boyds Pro Varmint stock, bedded it myself, put a Athlon Midas Tac 4-16x44 on it and started working on a load. I have it shooting 1/2 moa @ 100yds. My buddy and I have targets out to 930yds in the river bottoms. I was consistantly hitting a 4" plate at 600 with it. I have a Few ruger M77 mkii that wont do that...

Those $79 dollar Remington 700 223's are looking pretty good.

I'll take a dozen!

I bought two, sold one. You better believe I'm kicking myself in the rear now. We'll never see them at that price again

I will 3rd the motion on a cheap Rem 700. I loaded up some crusty old Sierra 55 grain spitzers over Varget and shot this group at 300 yards. At 100 yards, they shoot under 3/4"



I was going to rebarrel this with a faster twist barrel, but I have enough 55 grain bullets to keep me happy at least for a few more range trips.

I picked up 2 of them... but not for $79....



Now I need to shoot’em and see how accurate they are before I got modifying them.

What rifles are you guys talking about?

I think they are referring to the annual Walmart clearance sale. Some dudes get some smoking deals. My Walmart plays the game of hiding the good stuff for employees.

I own two bolt-action .223's, one a CZ 527 M1 variety, the other a Savage Axis II. Both are nearly identical in accuracy, meaning very accurate, with both 40 gr. V-Max bullet and 62 gr. Federal Fusion ammo.
Big difference is in cost- I bought the Savage for less than $300.

I recommend a CZ 527 as well. I own 4 CZ's
527 Lux 223 1/12 twist
527 carbine 223 1/9 twist
527 lux 22 hornet
527 carbine 762

They are all great rifles and i wont get rid of any of them. Having said that i have an old savage hog hunter that was half the price of the CZ's and it shoots just as well and i dont feel bad if i ding up that plastic stock

Another vote for the Savage Axis.

I bought one on a whim a couple years ago. Shoots better than two of my .223 R700's.

Mine does not have the Accu-triger and it was pretty bad, but cleaned up nicely.

Only real issue is it will not reliably set off milspec and CCI 450 primers.

Michael

Those walmart Rem 700s were a steal. I swapped the plastic stock on mine for an older wood ADL stock. Shoots Hornady factory ammo well under an inch. At the current price of $350 something, they are still a great deal.

Called Wally World Corporate today....

Wally World is getting out of the gun business... Nationwide...

guns, Ammo etc...

Them sorry old Savages shoot well. I have three bolt Savages, grandkids have 3. All shoot less than inch.

Less than an inch is no big deal to me...

a good shooter is a three shot one hole group at 100 yds...

and most of my Savages can do that, If the shooter ( me or anyone else) is capable of doing their part...

My Salvage Predator shoots well..........

Just a tad heavier than I want......

Should'a kept my early 595 Tikka 223......SS/syn

IIRC...sold here years ago.....

I love those Savage and Rem Predators with the total camo from the factory...

was too busy at the time when available to buy either...

Picked up a SPS .223 on a whim 10 years ago and darn if the thing hasn’t become one of the the ones that always goes to the range. Yeah it’s slow twist but I never shoot above 55 grain in any of my 22 caliber rifles so no worries. Even knocked over a truckload of deer with it. You could do far worse.
GreggH

Had a Savage 'Whitetail' I believe....different camo pattern...in 308....

SIL has it now in AZ

It always shot well too......took my last & final 360 bull......

Those are fine rifles, I have one, I can shoot about an inch with it, granddaughter can get an honest1/2 inch. She has it, I guess I had one.

I've got a Krico 600 something that's set up with two triggers and shoots lights out with Hornady factory ammo. It was as new when I bought it with a collection, and still is, but I have no idea what the market would be for one, or if you could even find one.

just seeing this, but I'll still respond... you boys took me totally wrong...

I'm far from being a Rifle and Scope Snob....

Last three rifles I have purchased are the same as listed above...

a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Grendel..

A Savage Axis in 223

A TC Compass in 6.5 Creedmoor..

I was more making fun of some of our locals, who always buy the cheap stuff based on price, even if they can afford better...

I'm surprised that folks can't tell how far a 100 yds is on a rifle range...much less 200 yds...or greater...

I've seen times in high cotton and times in the toilet...I'm doing just fine in life, but I have no spendy rifles in my closet...

and pretty much ALL of my ammo, I hand load it all...

I can be accused of a lot of things.. but being a gun or scope snob ain't two of them....

The old predators are great rifles. Shoot great. Have somewhat of a following and still hold their value:





Mine averages about .8 moa, but it isn't finicky with different bullets and that makes it a great rifle in my book.

When they first came out, they were not a normal el-cheapo savage you could by at wally world. I think they sold for upwards of $700.00 and that was not the norm for savage bolt action prices back in those days. They do still have quite the following.

What he said !

Never had the money when the Predators first came out....so I never ended up with one..

But those and the original Remington Mountain Rifles... are definitely my idea of the perfect rifle...

If I said I wanted to buy a new remingtion 783 in 223 you guys would say I was nuts , amiright?
But ever since I seen it the other other day I think I'm gonna jump on it. I don't need it, I want it.
It was a sweet smooth nice looking rifle, I know I know, no longer made, bankrupt junk, ruger won't take care of me etc.

I wouldn't buy one... at the same time, I'm not going to be the guy owning it...

My point, its your choice... don't let anyone take that away from you...

if you like it, that is what counts...

none of us by a gun that we think is a piece of schitt, regardless of what they may imply..

I was told to keep away from a Savage Axis.... bought it anyway... in 243.. I love it...

paid a lot more for less accurate rifles, and this thing has a lot of utility.... it'll take getting banged up all over the woods, and not show a dent..

and at the range.. 3 shot normally yields me a one hole 'group'....

I've bought several 223 on 783s for folks I know who are economically on a budget... retired friends, who wanted something for varmints around the property.... they love their 783s.. accurate... and do their intended job... $200 rifles from Wally World...

Enjoy yours and I hope it serves you well...

If I could find a stainless T3 Varmint with a 1-8” twist for a decent price I’d jump all over it.




P

Now you are dreaming...

they had 2 of them at the Sheels in SLC a week before Christmas.........gone overnight !!!!!!!!!!

I got a great deal on a blued T3x, but I wanted a stainless T3.

She shoots 75 ELDM over Varget like a house on fire. Named her Land Whore.



P

The first ever center fire rifle I got was a 223 abolt hunter, I still have it. It's a nice rifle that my sons shot while they were growing up and learning to shoot. I bought it with the same thoughts...I can shoot some cheap milsurp that just go bang. The problem is, I quickly got bored with the wide groups from milsurp and cheap ammo, and started reloading.

Someone once said, only accurate rifles are interesting. And, I think, it's up to the shooter to define their own definition of accuracy which will result in what they find interesting.

Right now it's getting hard to find any kind of bolt action 223 around here, they are flying off the shelves, dealers ain't dealing either. Even the savage 223 axis is getting hard to find where a month ago they were everywhere cheap.
The Rem 783's were under 300 hun but I let em slip away, I don't like the long action of the savage so that is out.
But that Walnut 783, is/was a nice rifle.

Townsend Whelen

A 223 is on my shopping list. I've got the dies (used to have a 223 Contender barrel), been saving range brass, and I have lots of .224 bullets. I'll probably try to pick up a used rifle. It all depends on what we get for new legislation... doesn't look pretty....

I wonder if the TC compass is an alright shooter?
I hear Ruger American's are usually decent.
I think it's going to be between these 2 for me, the 783's are already gone, full price too.

For value I would start and end with a Savage.

But I would probably get a used Rem 700 sps, shoot the crap out of it, and then use it to build a custom piece later down the road.

I looked at the Savages again today< not for me. The Howa's were nice too and about the same deal as the TC's. so
I bought a new TC Venture II All Weather this morning, nice rifle, already shot some groups this afternoon in the backyard.
Shot some 3 shot grps under 3/4" with 52gr Match Speer's., the stock is a half rubber half plastic type material, solid compared to the others I tried, barrel is Floated & straight in the stock. I put a 3x9 40 on it, it's threaded with a protector on.
3 lug bolt so very short turn and the empty is flying out. Smooth going in bit slower going down., but can easily shoot from from my shoulder. Don't know if 5R rifleing is a thing or not but not any copper in the bore when done. Trigger is a dandy no creep, light pull I was impressed. Shoots 223/5.56 just like my AR. New rig for keeping in the SxS all winter.

Great Choice! I really like my Venture and Compass rifles. Good performance and value!

I was thinking of the Ruger American but the Venture really stood out as well built compared to anything else in that $$ range. The Houge stock is 10x better than the air rifle stocks of some others.
Pillar bedded & very stiff, I might get another one in 243 if he can rebuild his inventory. Will get another magazine to slip in my pocket, it's a very shallow stock even compared to the compass which holds 1 more rd.

The best cheap Ive seen lately is the Remington(or late Remi) 783. shoots most loads into a 1/2 minute at 300M. I don't know if there still being produced.. Mine looks like a overused tool but its smooth, th trigger is good and it shoots. Only bad item is it come with a silly joke called a scope. But the rings are cheap but functional.. Good bargain.