Thread: .223 Options....

Asking for a friend.......

He has a Howa .223 with Hogue stock, and wants something lighter, and with a suppressor. He is contemplating a Ruger, but my advice is that it'd be a step backwards in quality.....

So now he's wondering if he should get a carbon stock for the Howa, and cough for a suppressor as well......

So thought I'd ask here for some advice.....needs to cost effective and sensible .....

TIA

I found that Giles at Taihape Sports has the best prices round. Bought a composite chassis for my Howa through him for at least $100 cheaper for same elsewhere. Also bought a heavy Howa barrel/action from him for similar savings. His suppressors (ex Denmark) are about the same $ as DPT that I use.

Tell him to harden up and not be such a pussy, that ain't a heavy rifle.
Quality wise, I don't think there's much difference between the two, maybe marginally Howa. It's one off those Ford/Holden....Hilux/Ranger personal preferences.
Accuracy wise Ruger would be at least as good. Ruger are light due to their shitty plastic stock.

Maybe a mini action Howa is what he needs?

Originally Posted by jackson21

Tell him to harden up and not be such a pussy, that ain't a heavy rifle.
Quality wise, I don't think there's much difference between the two, maybe marginally Howa. It's one off those Ford/Holden....Hilux/Ranger personal preferences.
Accuracy wise Ruger would be at least as good. Ruger are light due to their shitty plastic stock.

Maybe a mini action Howa is what he needs?

Some people just want a really really light 223

Handy things

A decent carbon stock will be worth more than rifle fyi, doubt he will notice much difference.

Originally Posted by Tussock

Some people just want a really really light 223

Handy things

Yeah, think mini action 223 Howa would be way to go then rather than carbon stock path.

The skinny barrelled lightweight howa mini 223s are right up there with the ultralights
Mines in a xcel lite chassis but even in the factory plastic stock they are light wee things
Carbon fibre stock from hi tec would be great with a steel bottom metal but that's adding another $1400 to the rifle cost

If it's the Howa 1500 (the short action that will fit 243, 308 etc) them you can get the Legendary Action Works Alpine stock for it - much lighter and slimmer than the Hogue - about 730g from memory. And 2/3 of the price of the Henderson stock if you get the bedding done by Ken when he builds it. But the Henderson stock is veeerry nice!

Originally Posted by jackson21

Yeah, think mini action 223 Howa would be way to go then rather than carbon stock path.

Especially considering the cost - $700 for a mini action at GC on special.

The hard stocked version is lighter than the rubbery bugger,

Tell him to put a hardwood laminate stock on.
Then when he hates that his original stock will feel so much lighter

Sent from my SM-G390Y using Tapatalk

I have a newer model rem model 7 in 223. Barrel docked to 18". Its bloody light.

The newer synthetic stocks are so much lighter than the original synthetics that were bloody heavy.

It shoots insanely well for any rifle, let alone a bone stock rem.

Scoped its 2.7kg from memory.

Originally Posted by Maxx

He has a Howa .223 with Hogue stock, and wants something lighter, and with a suppressor. He is contemplating a Ruger, but my advice is that it'd be a step backwards in quality.....

I went from a Howa 1500 in 243 with the Hogue stock to a Ruger American Ranch in 300BLK. The stock is a bit meh, but the 300 shots well enough for me and is very light (16" barrel). The Howa was a lovely shooter, but I ended up preferring the Ruger so sold the Howa. I expect the Ruger in 223 would be similar to the 300.

Originally Posted by Bill999

The skinny barrelled lightweight howa mini 223s are right up there with the ultralights
Mines in a xcel lite chassis but even in the factory plastic stock they are light wee things

In stock factory form they aren’t that light when setup to actually walk out the door and go shoot something.

I bought a .223 Howa Mini on Friday and all up - scoped, a 2 baffle DPT, 10 rounds in the mag, 1” leather sling, it weighs 3.6kg, so 8lbs exactly. I think a lot of the time rifles get weighed without an accessory or two and without a full magazine, so we see some very light numbers from time to time that might not be entirely accurate.

But here’s the thing - with the 20 inch barrel and the shortened suppressor, and the bog standard HTI stock, it’s a very well-balanced hunting rifle and feels perfect in the hand. Using the 1” wide sling in the correct manner for offhand shooting, it is rock solid on the point of aim, and I am very confident it will make an excellent offhand shooter. It comes to the shoulder easily and quickly, the eye relief is good, target acquired quickly on 4x mag. For $700, what’s not to like? Whilst maybe the rifle could lose half a pound, I’m really not convinced that I want it any lighter, and that’s where personal preference comes into it.

Originally Posted by Flyblown

In stock factory form they aren’t that light when setup to actually walk out the door and go shoot something.

I bought a .223 Howa Mini on Friday and all up - scoped, a 2 baffle DPT, 10 rounds in the mag, 1” leather sling, it weighs 3.6kg, so 8lbs exactly. I think a lot of the time rifles get weighed without an accessory or two and without a full magazine, so we see some very light numbers from time to time that might not be entirely accurate.

But here’s the thing - with the 20 inch barrel and the shortened suppressor, and the bog standard HTI stock, it’s a very well-balanced hunting rifle and feels perfect in the hand. Using the 1” wide sling in the correct manner for offhand shooting, it is rock solid on the point of aim, and I am very confident it will make an excellent offhand shooter. It comes to the shoulder easily and quickly, the eye relief is good, target acquired quickly on 4x mag. For $700, what’s not to like? Whilst maybe the rifle could lose half a pound, I’m really not convinced that I want it any lighter, and that’s where personal preference comes into it.

what scope you choose and how you mount it can make or break a rig
mine has a OD Ti alpine hunter can and 3-9x40 vx freedom AR scope
I havent weighed it but its 345g for the scope and 190g for the OD can