Indecisions of Jon for a .223

[jon lynn]

I am in extreme mid indecision. I want to save up for some sort of .223, here is my wish list in order:

CZ 527 (American) Varmint (24")

Savage 12FV (26")

Remington Model 700 SPS (24")

My reasoning for the CZ first is it is very 'Mauser like' and has an adjustable trigger.

The Savage, well hey, "It's a Savage" love the Accu-Trigger

And lastly, the Remington because it is similar to my old 700 VLS I had to sell when times were hard I know it is not of the same quality, but it seems to be an upgradable rifle, and is the lowest priced of the three choices.

Now you know if/when I eventually get this I will go gaga over a cost effective scope.................................Will I ever stop?

[Catfish]

Jon, yes you will stop, but probly not untill your dead or very close. I bought a 22 target rifle off a friend of mine because I would shoot it, he is 89. I also bought his lathe from him, he said he could no longer stand at it. He still has 15 or 20 gun, but he`s not really looking for any more at this time. I have another old friend that is still shooting trap at 94. No reason to slow down untill you have to. As for which rifle to get you have them in the correct order. The CZ with the single set trigger is really sweet. I have the lite weight and a friend has the varment model, mine will out shoot his hands down. The new Savage accuratrigger is an improvement over their old trigger, but it does not compair to the CZ trigger. I still buy every Savage rifle that I think is to cheap because it is so easy to swap barrels. At present I have 2 of them that I have put wildcat barrels on. As for the Remmy`s I have a nephue that has a mountian rifle in 243. He brought it down 1 evening last summer and shot a 5 shot group just over 1/2 in. at 100 yrds with 70 gr. varmint bullets. The group was 4 in. over point of aim so I told him to shoot the same point of aim with some 100 gr. round nose bullets I had loaded. He fired 3 of them and ended up with a .680, 8 shot groupd with the 2 different weights, 70 and 100. You can`t go wrong with any of them, but my choice is as you have them listed, unless you wanting to switch barrels.

[Skinny Shooter]

How about this one: http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/12VLP%20DBM
I have the earlier version with the internal magazine in 243win.
The 1 in 7 twist could allow you to shoot heavy bullets way out there.
That CZ is nice though.

[dovehunter]

My son just bought one of the CZ varmint rifles (he chose a .22-250 though). It is beautifully made gun. I too like the set trigger. The target that came with it sure shows that it is capable of MOA accuracy. I wish he would hurry up and get the scope he's been looking at so we can take it to the range and try it out. It ought to be hell on groundhogs come next spring.

[270man]

Jon,

You don't say what your application is but it seems that you want the 223 as a varmint rifle. Here's my experience. I had a Rem 700V with 24" heavy barrel but hated lugging it around on my shoulder. It probably would have been fine if I could have found a place to sit on my fanny and shoot varmints -- but I never did. I also had (and still have) a Rem 700 BDL sporter with 24" barrel and found that there was very little difference in its accuracy versus the 700V. I sold the 700V and put the 12X Leupold scope on the sporter. I"ve never regretted it.

Carrying was much easier but I still wanted something that was lighter and more portable. A Winchester Lightweight M70 with 20" barrel and thin forearm is very accurate with handloads and I tend to take this one a lot more when I'm out kicking around in the woods and looking for targets of opportunity. Still have the 700BDL for dedicated prairie dog hunting.

Just my two cents,

270man

[jon lynn]

270man,

It will be for targets mainly, a cheaper shooting session at the range (compared to the .308 & .30-06), and for varmints when I go home to visit Oklahoma.

I may have access to enough land where I can get in a few 300 to 400 yard shots, kinda refresh learning trajectories and counting clicks. And just flat out have fun. See if I can still hit an egg at 200 yards (my money is on 'not').

[rainydays]

Hey Jon. Here's some more info for you. I had the Savage FVSS with the Accu-trigger in .223. Also had a Mueller 4-16 Mil-dot scope on it, which was a very good scope and combination for this rifle. This rifle was as accurate of a stock rifle as one good every hope to expect. After five years of shooting it, I finallly sold it. Reason being, it was just to heavy to pack around. Was excellent for shooting off a bench or on top of a hill plinking PD's. I really like to be more mobile and it just didn't fit my needs anymore. Maybe it was just a function of getting to old to pack so much weight. Have fun deciding on what to get.

[skeet]

I do have the SPS with the newer trigger. It is an ugly little thing with the camo stock but ...is going to be about the best yote rifle for toting around fr hunting. Another fellow and I are going to yote hunt in December and Jan. I bought the rifle new in the box at a gun show for 300 bucks. Had a junk scope(BSA) but it do shoot pretty well. Have loaded some 40 gr V max bullets that seem to shoot just fine and hve not exited any of the 5 yotes I have shot with it so far. My feeing is go for the Remington..price is right usually. Cabelas just put 'em on sale for under 500 with scope sling etc ..but in black

[Rapier]

Jon,
What I tell folks that ask about a new rifle is to disregard the hype, guys in marketing get paid a lot of money to create a need in your mind. Go to the accuracy sites, the custom builders, who gurantee sub MOA or in the case of the 223, sub .5 MOA groups. Look at the base gun, Mfg and model, they build on, then buy that gun in a configuration you want.

I own two 223 guns right now, one is a 1-10 and the other is a 1-8 twist. The reason I do not own a 1-7 anymore is because I have considereable experiance with the 1-7 in my 22-250 AI and had I to build that gun again, I would put a 1-8 barrel in it. The 1-7 and the 1-8 will stabalize an 80gr but the 1-7 will only go down in weight to a 60. The 1-8 will go down to a 55. My suggestion is to select a twist that will support the case capacity in its ability to launch a bullet at a desired velocity and for a heavy bullet, do not look to hard at the 80s, look at the 75s for the 223.

If you play the cards right you can have a rifle for every critter, a yote getter, a turtle getter, a deer rifle, a hog rifle, etc.
Best,
Ed