The next rifle?

[kmw1954]

Even though we do have Coyotes here in the neighborhood it is way too populated to try and hunt them. Local po-po would be all over us.

Checkin the local shops and no one has a 223 in stock.

 

[Demi-human]

There is something about a Model 12.
It just seems right.

A 224 Valkyrie would be the same thing as a 223 Remington, just different. If you wanted a different cartridge. But I like mine in 223 just fine.
They have a few different cartridges in the various stock designs. I chose the F/TR for the longer barrel.
I really like mine. A consistent ten ounce trigger, a cartridge I can shoot all day, accuracy delivered!

An 18 pound rifle is not something to carry around however...

 

[kmw1954]

Demi-human is that a Boyds stock on that thing?

I have seen the Valkyrie at the range and looks interesting though I don't know what advantage it would have over the 223.
I also have a saved search on GunBroker for local sales.

 

[gotboostvr]

Demi-human is that a Boyds stock on that thing?

I have seen the Valkyrie at the range and looks interesting though I don't know what advantage it would have over the 223.
I also have a saved search on GunBroker for local sales.

More expensive, harder to find brass but shoots a little further and still fits in an AR.

If you want to stretch a 224cal bullet out further in an AR-15, it's the hot ticket.

 

[tarosean]

308 gas gun...

An 18 pound rifle is not something to carry around however...

and here I was just discounting one as it was 11.2 lbs naked..

 

[Demi-human]

Demi-human is that a Boyds stock on that thing?

Nope. They all have wonderful stocks, save for the LRPs. But their synthetic stock is also quite good.

I wanted a bench stock, but the 223 only came in the F/TR.

I have seen the Valkyrie at the range and looks interesting though I don't know what advantage it would have over the 223.

In a bolt gun, absolutely nothing.
Just another way to send 22 caliber bullets efficiently down range.

and here I was just discounting one as it was 11.2 lbs naked..

She’s a Cadillac though.
The ride sure is nice!

 

[Picher]

My next rifle will be a light weight .243 because my current .243 is to heavy. Coyote rig.

I like my Rem 700 LV, stainless-fluted, synthetic, but don't know if they're still being made. Mine's a .223 and it's been the perfect "walk-about rifle" for me. Maybe the next best is something like a Tikka .243 Win stainless (fluted?) synthetic.

 

[lightman]

The possibilities are endless and all of the replys before mine have about covered them. The 22-250 shoots faster and flatter than the 223 and only cost a little more to shoot. You won't find as much free brass for it as you do the 223. The 243 and the Creedmoors jump the cost up more as they burn more powder and require more powder. The 308 is accurate and finding an accurate load is easy. You have lots of choices.

My next rifle is already in the works. It will be a copy of the Remington Tactical Rifle with a short heavy barrel and will be chambered in 308. I have a new Remington 40X action on the way and I'm waiting on a Krieger barrel. I just received a new Nightforce 2.5-10 scope and I already have a HS Precision varmint stock, a Jewell trigger and a Badger "0" moa rail and a set of Badger rings. Waiting is the hard part!

 

[kmw1954]

Working at an outdoor range 2-3 sometimes 4 days a week I bring home plenty of brass. I have so much 223 that I've been giving it away. Would say 308 and 6.5CM are the second most found then believe it or not 300Win Mag. 22-250 is very uncommon in these parts and so is 243 actually. 25-06 is nonexistent.

Range has been practically shut down for the past month because of weather, 15+" snow and hasn't been above 20*F all month. So I haven't worked or been able to chat with the bench guys in a few weeks. But I'm starting to think that maybe staying with another 223 might be the best idea for now.

 

[Picher]

The possibilities are endless and all of the replys before mine have about covered them. The 22-250 shoots faster and flatter than the 223 and only cost a little more to shoot. You won't find as much free brass for it as you do the 223. The 243 and the Creedmoors jump the cost up more as they burn more powder and require more powder. The 308 is accurate and finding an accurate load is easy. You have lots of choices.

My next rifle is already in the works. It will be a copy of the Remington Tactical Rifle with a short heavy barrel and will be chambered in 308. I have a new Remington 40X action on the way and I'm waiting on a Krieger barrel. I just received a new Nightforce 2.5-10 scope and I already have a HS Precision varmint stock, a Jewell trigger and a Badger "0" moa rail and a set of Badger rings. Waiting is the hard part!

I had a couple .22-250s and really liked them. They won me lots of turkey shoots and responsible for the demise of many woodchucks...deadly accurate and very flat-shooting. The only thing that bothered me was the amount of case-stretching, as it affected the number of reloads. I probably should have converted my rifle to .22-250 Improved, but it shot so well, I didn't want to lose that.

 

[Dibbs]

.223/5.56 caliber rifles with a bull barrel are insanely accurate. I'm half blind in one eye, and can't see out'n the other, and I can put 5 shots in a quarter, at 100 yards, with mine. I like the 1:7 twist rate, really works well for me.

 

[Picher]

Early-on, I made some questionable choices in cartridges, starting with a .30-06 which I used to hunt varmints, then sold that fantastic rifle to afford a .22-250 Rem 700 ADL as my only centerfire. I won lots of turkeys with it and took lots of varmints, even a deer or two, but it was a little too light for deer beyond 200 yards. I eventually went to .270 Win for deer and .243 Win for varmints (both hand-loaded)...and that's where things lie today, except that I spend more time and money hunting/shooting with the .17 HMR...a really fun round for "sub 200 yard" varmints, even managing to bag a few coyotes with it.

 

[Dibbs]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If I absolutely had to choose 1 caliber and weight, for everything, it would still be the 30.06 soft tip, in 150 grains.

 

[kmw1954]

How did we get to 30-06 or 308 when the question was about 223/22-250/243 range of calibers? Don't see were I would need a 30cal round with a very large cartridge to punch holes in paper or ring a steel target. Not my idea of economical or fun.

 

[stillquietvoice]

So I have been actively looking for a Savage 12 in 223 and right now there is a Savage 12 22-250 for sale locally as used but it is not really a bargain.

Yes the reason for thinking a larger cal. would be to fight the wind. Then the idea of a Bench type cartridge is the size and keeping powder consumption lower. One of the reasons I chose the 223 in the first place was because of the economy and performance of the round and the ranges I have available.

@kmw1954 the savage 12 fv is what I was looking for when I bought my current m11 223. Wanted a heavy barrel for range shooting, but got a sporter because of the optics on the rifle, Harris bipod, and to my surprise a rifle basix trigger. Savage makes several other heavy barrel rifles that are specific to some gun stores, the 11vt was a dicks sporting goods model, now at field and stream stores. And some m 10 tactical models that are store specific, they also make axis heavy barrels if you are impressed with your axis. So there are other savage options to research.

There's also a decent amount of logic with sticking to one caliber, fewer different components, one size primer, bullets that work in either rifle, one or 2 powders with similar burn rates. Otho a new caliber, bigger, would give better options if you ever decided to hunt, , you may not but you'd already have a rifle capable to that task. I'm loading, shooting 3 Cf cartridges, 223, 243 win and 7mm08 and would like to add a few more.

Sorry to hear that. I recently acquired my older brothers firearms. He was just placed last Friday into Hospice. That too breaks my heart!

sorry about your brother,

 

[Picher]

It's hard to go wrong with a .30-06, but if you tend to hunt fields a lot, a .270 Win can extend the point-blank range a significant distance, especially with 130 grain bullets.

 

[kmw1954]

Guys, it I were to deviate from the three calibers I listed in my original post I already know that it would be a vintage Savage 340 chambered in 30-30 and I would then most likely cast lead bullets for it.

I am not a hunter and will not be becoming one because of a disability that prevents me from much walking, especially up and down hills.

 

[Legionnaire]

For ringing steel at distance it’s hard to beat a .243/6mm. Lots of cartridges will work. A 6mm Creedmoor is in my future, but not until I shoot out one of my .243 Ackleys. The advantage is that a .243 bullet from a barrel with appropriate twist will give you better long range ballistics than a .223. The .223 will get you to 600 yards but at that distance the .243 will have significantly less wind deflection. Beyond that a 6mm leaves the .223 in the dust.

 

[kmw1954]

Thought on these, come upon another Savage at a local shop so it appears he now has two I may need to look at;
One is a Savage Axis 22-250 with camo stock and no scope or mounts listed at $300.00 the second one is a Savage Model 10 223 with looks like Weaver mounts, Accutrigger and wood stock. Listed for $330.00

Admit I don't know much about the model 10's and I cannot tell by the picture if it is a heavy barrel or not. Which would be the better deal? Still not sold on a 22-250.

 

[gotboostvr]

Thought on these, come upon another Savage at a local shop so it appears he now has two I may need to look at;
One is a Savage Axis 22-250 with camo stock and no scope or mounts listed at $300.00 the second one is a Savage Model 10 223 with looks like Weaver mounts, Accutrigger and wood stock. Listed for $330.00

Admit I don't know much about the model 10's and I cannot tell by the picture if it is a heavy barrel or not. Which would be the better deal? Still not sold on a 22-250.

Not knowing all the details, assuming similar condition I'd grab the Model 10.

 

[kmw1954]

Not knowing all the details, assuming similar condition I'd grab the Model 10.

Yeah, not a lot of detail in the ad. Nice thing is they are only about 45/50min away.

 

[CowboyTim]

I have a few ideas, nothing settled. Depends on what I get for a donor, could be a Mauser 98 for a 9.3x62, or maybe a stainless Savage action for either a fast 6.5(264 Win Mag or 6.5 Gibbs) or an all weather(er) 8x57...or maybe something completely different. I usually have a plan, that goes right out the window at the used rifle rack.

 

[sage5907]

I don't think now is is a good time to do the "next rifle" thing. About 5 years ago I bought a different caliber rifle and in the past 3 months I did a barrel change to a 280 Remington which was a new caliber to me. The cost of the barrel change was minimal but what I noticed is how expensive it is to get all of the components and reloading items necessary to handle the new cartridge. The cost of everything was about 40% higher than just 5 years ago. Yesterday I bought 100 Remington new cases for $105 which was about the same price as Lapua cases. I needed the cases and it was a one time deal so I was willing to pay about the extra 40% but I wouldn't want to do it again.

 

[kmw1954]

A 223 would not be a new caliber but an additional rifle to what I already have and hopefully an upgrade from the Axis. Not that I think there is anything wrong with the Axis because actually I believe it is a wonderful little gun.

 

[kmw1954]

Also honestly I do not know much about the history or evolution of the modern Savage guns with all their different model names and numbers. Like the 110/10, 111/11, 112/12 the lettering system. Tried a search of the web and the Savage forum and found a little but nothing that explains how to determine a model other than the number on the barrel.