Now the ars are gone and i see people selling their bolt 223s i wonder what will be the favourite 22 cal in the future
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Now the ars are gone and i see people selling their bolt 223s i wonder what will be the favourite 22 cal in the future
I’m not selling my .223 bolt action. Not ever.
Attachment 109068
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Will always be popular, I bought a replacement Tikka T3x in .223 yesterday and moved my accessories over.
I also got a replacement .223, a 1/8 twist Tikka Varmint.
.223 has its place, its a good cheap round for target shooting & practice. Good for small game & varmints to some reasonable distances.
Good for fallow deer and goats, & can be used on pretty much anything else in NZ in a pinch.
.223 is one of the top selling calibers, even in bolt actions. I think its in the top 5 calibers, or close to, of all new rifles sold.
Hell yes it will, i will always have a bolt 223, freaken love it!.........well as long as we are allowed firearms :-(
Won't be selling my t3 in 223 (unless my 17wsm project really impresses me) even then.... Chopped and canned, Boyd's stock, perfect for tight bush and clearings out to 200m
I just got a .223 Ruger American Ranch Rifle with the flush 5 round mag easy carry.
Opened up the barrel channel for more clearance.
Changed the trigger return spring to a cut spring same length as original from a pen, 1.5 lb clean break trigger pull.
Cut an inch of the stock.
Fitted AR titanium moderator straight on factory screw cut 16 "barrel.
Swapped over from AR Swarovski Z8i 1 - 8.
0.5 moa cheap 55 gr sp Freedom ammo.
Wallaby ready short and handy, might have to place a stone on top of it to stop it getting blown away if I lay it down out and about on a windy day.
A great relatively cheap wee rifle.
Shot it at 500 yards yesterday with 77 gr SMK my old Service Rifle home load.Attachment 109072
When limited to a bolt gun you'd think there would be lots of better choices than 223.
But when you factor in the cost and availability of factory ammo, cheap and easy to reload, long barrel and case life it's still a good choice.
The the 204 Ruger and 22-250 are the obvious alternatives, both being readily available in factory guns, but 204 Ruger is arguably not as good for deer or goats, and 22-250 factory rifles always come in a slow twist that limits the use of heavy projectiles.
I bought a 223 about 10 years ago and at different times have wondered if I should've gone for something else, but it's such a nice cartridge to shoot and the mix of cheap bulk ammo and reasonably priced match ammo has made me happy with the choice I made.
Got 4 223, 2 will be going to the buy back, the other 2 are the go to guns in my cabinet
I've never owned a .223, but it strikes me as a versatile calibre, plus there will be a load of ex-AR15 owners who have all the reloading gear, so I think it will remain popular.
not to mention a ton of bullets to use up
I think .223 is a good middle ground between .204 and .22-250, especially with a reasonably fast twist on the .223. Makes for a very versatile caliber.
The others are barrel burners by comparison (22-250 more so). I used to have a .204, they are petty cool for varmints but the lack of any heavier projectiles and minimal projectiles with tough construction sort of make it a one trick varminting pony.
I did some load workup on the new .223, I chronoed a couple of rounds that were mid-way in the powder charges I was testing. I had 75gr hpbt travelling at 2960fps with 23.5gr 2208. I went higher with no pressure signs but didn't chrono them. (was shooting for groups, & chrono is a magnetospeed, which I do not like to use when shooting groups for load development. I had a couple extra 23.5gr so was not needed for group testing)
I've dusted off my Sako A1, freshen up with a new scope and given it some love again.....nup not selling, yep using ;)
Had one for a while but couldn’t get my head around the tiny pill for bigger deer,went back to good old .308..was nice to shoot though and easy to reload for.
Bought a Tikka 223 varmint and happy it shoots the 1000rd tin of 77gr hpbt Belmont into .5~0.6" 5 shot group not too much trouble. Mainly be a range gun but will probably chop barrel to 20-21" thread and put suppressor on it. Barrel too fat for my Oceania unfortunately
im just using a 222
Then I was looking for a longer legged rodent buster I looked at the 17HMR, but figured that with reloading the 223 is about the same price for ammo. The 223 could be used on bigger critters and better range as always a bonus. Still looking for one for the girl.
Im looking to buy my replacement at the moment, want the T3x but may be limited to the Howa mini or Ruger preditor.
HAS anyone had experience with the ruger preditors? The Gen 2 takes p mags, and as i have a couple to use it may be worth it.
It is such a neat caliber, easy to shoot accurately and has enough power to 200 odd yards with a good bullet and good placement which is easier with the light recoil and muzzle blast.
Cheap to load and tons of good bullets out there. Had my Mod 7 for quite a few years and it will still be in the safe for a lot more years to come.
Bought a Howa mini for my Son to hopefully shoot a goat/deer with a few months back... He shoots it well with a shortened stock.
I have shot 3 deer with it myself despite the shortened stock and would like to buy another one for me!
Pity they put such an abomination of a magazine and bottom metal combination on an otherwise really nice package.
If only the howas had a flush mag I would grab one in 7.62x39
H&F Taupo have a nice Sako lam stock, varmit fluted barrel 1:12, real nice, Redfield scope, just over 2K
Ha... no 40mm
Just the 10's i never had the E 😁
223 kicks ass
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223 is great. My T3 1:12 is like a laser. So much that range shooting gets boring
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Iv got a CZ 223 I like it shot a few deer with it to , for me a 223 is a small gun as in small stock , short action , never seen the point in owning a rifle like a 222 ,223 if its not built on a short action ....for all those tikka 223,s out there do your self,s a favour & buy a 11 shot+ mag & hand them in :fighting:
I have no doubt the 243 is the KING :) but my next rifle to go with my back up 308 will be a suppressed 223.
Always wanted one , esp for goat shooting but no doubt i be using it bush stalking for deer as well, thats if i can force myself to leave the 243 at home cause its just too good :thumbsup:
They punch way above their weight.
This last week @140 yards
Attachment 109100
.223 isn’t a bad round, it’s the .222 for the masses. The cheaper, lamer .222 that is.
Yea man nothing wrong with a wee zastava iv got one in 7.62x39 , always end up in a bit of a conundrum when I think of 223 vs 7.62x39 , both cheep ammo , fun rifles to shoot ...I do like the boom & smell of gun powder from the 39 , either way boys & girls there's a place for both in the gun cabinet in bolt configuration .
Like others here no doubt I am soon to be without a 223 of any type and I rather like the round plus have over 2000 brass for it so would be interested in another when confiscation funds come in - what sort of prices do the Zastava actions go for? I know nothing about them so if you could tap out a couple of lines about them I'd be all ears
Cheers
My impressions based on having one for a few years. Probably best described as a Mini mauser 98 action, not quite identical but close enough. Slide safety on action and a good "half cock" Floorplate magazine that will hold 6, fairly light profile barrel. Excellent ajustable trigger, pressure bedded stock they benefit from action bedding in the accuracy stakes. Fiddly little bolt handle for big hands thats easily fixed. Full size stock with good ergonomics mines plastic but I would have preferred timber.
Mine is an early 2000s one marked crevenda zastava Yugoslavia and has the cz stamp on it, later ones I have seen are just marked zastava serbia, and the standard of blueing and metal finishing appears to be not quite as good, but they all shoot well mines 1/2 min with 55 gr and not much more with 62. They do not have a fast twist option as far as i know, they came only in 1:12 or 1:10 so 64 is about the max they seem happy with.
I guess I will either be buying a bolt 223, or selling my ammo since my 2 will be going back. I do like the fact it packs a good punch for such small recoil. Maybe I should wait till I get the cash and spend that instead of spending "new" money
Can we start bending this thread to "what's the best 223 to buy" :)