.223 Factory ammo Budget Project Rifle .

I haven't been back to our place in the Sounds for over two years now due to the Virus Shit .
I thought I might contribute some posts to show what I'm up to over here in Australia .
Shooting on our property here in Central QLD isn't like hunting in NZ and most shooting is vehicle based and often at night .
From the beginning I decided that I wanted to try getting a Budget .223 rifle shooting sub 25mm @ 100m consistently with Factory ammo .
I gave myself a Budget which I will explain as time goes on .
This will be an honest account of my journey and the actual money spent ( Not what we all tell our wives :) )
So here goes .
I purchased a Howa Compact Tactical
Fluted Barrel .223 rifle 1 in 8 twist from Cleavers in Brisbane $694.00 delivered .

https://i.imgur.com/Hvp5Te8.jpg

I chose this model for a couple of reasons - HACT Trigger , Fluted Barrel ( I know all the reasons why Fluted is just a waste of time but Holy Shit I like the look of it )
Threaded barrel ( important for reasons that will be explained ) , Heavy barrel but only 20 inches long not the 24 inches of the Varmint model ( Short , Stiff , manageable from a vehicle )


https://i.imgur.com/Lgil7sD.jpg

The PTA cost me $ 41.95 ( PTA is a Permit to Aquire and you can't buy a firearm without one )


A Bloke I know locally is a Pro Shooter ( Roo's and Pigs ) and has for years used Howa .223 rifles but the first thing he did was ditch the Hogue piller bedded stock for another Hogue but a fully alloy bedded one .
After doing heaps of research it was clear thar this was the best budget way to go .
Is it the best option ?
No , but it costs $345.00 delivered and sorts out the flexible forend and bedding in one move .
Here is a pic of the original pillar Stock , see how the barrel channel gap isn't even , and just breathing on it makes it flex .

https://i.imgur.com/xTIaf5n.jpg

So diverting off the Stock for a minute , I wanted to improve the Bolt knob .
All of my other bolt rifles now have larger round Bolt knobs , they just are nicer to use and improve function in my opinion .
The Howa's bolt knob/handle is on the smaller side so a Tourbon rubber knob was ordered off EBay $14.85 delivered .

https://i.imgur.com/Kt4X5Ot.jpg


The installed knob wasn't that good a fit due I think to the shape of the Howa's knob .
It moved around a little which is not the best , so I had to use some contact glue which sorted out the problem .
This alteration to the Factory rifle like all the changes that I do is easily reversible , I will be doing zero gunsmithing / permant removal
of anything and the rifle will be able to be returned to Factory at any point if I want to .

https://i.imgur.com/YY8TXSr.jpg

Now the Stock , it is a Hogue full alloy bedded in Tan colour $345.00 delivered .

https://i.imgur.com/2j1i4Vu.jpg

So at this point lets do a $$$ talley up . ( all in AU dollars )

Rifle $694.00
PTA $41.95
Stock$345.00
Bolt. $14.85

Total $1095.80

So much for this being a " Budget " gun because there is still lots to do .

I really deliberated as to using 2 piece bases or a single rail , because its a top loading rifle I was nervous that a rail would make it harder to load rounds into the mag .
In the end I went with a rail because I believe they eliminate any misalignment problems .
I found a Leupold rail online for $89.95 delivered . I found cheaper rails but Leupold is a recognised brand and it's foolish to scrimp and save to much on mounts and rings ( I've been bitten in the past )

I made sure that the screw holes were cleaned out with acetone to remove grease and oil before loctiting them to the reccommended torque settings .
I've found out the hard way in the past of the loctite not working because of dirty threads and the mounts coming loose .
This is the grime from one hole .

https://i.imgur.com/Hj7sgea.jpg

After I was happy with everything I mounted the rail

https://i.imgur.com/FD5wO5m.jpg


The total has just gone to $ 1185.75

Gave the Bore a good cleanout of the grease / oil that new rifles come with .


https://i.imgur.com/EaGIRjJ.jpg

Then mounted a Vortex 4-16 FFP scope .
This isn't going to be the final Scope for this rifle , but it would do for initial testing .
It sits in some Burris Z rings , the ones with the inserts .
I'm not adding this Scope / Rings $$$ to the total but when I do decide on the right combo it will be added .
The Vortex and rings came off my Tikka T1x rimfire which I haven't used for a while .

https://i.imgur.com/mxV4Z4f.jpg


Next I added a Comb Cheek riser that I've owned for a while ( purchased off EBay ) , this will be staying on the rifle so must be added to costs .

https://i.imgur.com/OHlLiKt.jpg
$ 60.95

Total now $ 1246.70

I already had a selection of ammo from previous .223 rifles I've owned .

https://i.imgur.com/Tm42N8w.jpg

Picked up some more factory ammo to add to the selection I already have , Initial testing won't be very serious , just a a few 5 shot groups to see what the rifle likes and hates .

https://i.imgur.com/yQVD6Wx.jpg

I have a Barrel Tuner inbound and real testing will begin when I recieve that .

do me a favour...when do do your accuracy test...do a 9 shot group,1 round of each...be really interested to see what you get...my bet would be no more than 1.5" at hundy...