Thoughts on Remington 700's in .223?

[BadShot]

There is a lot to be said for .223 in a bolt gun. It's not something you're going to be reaching out to 1000 yrds with... even the high speed low drag bench rest AR's don't do that well... but for the sub 600m engagements it does the job. I'll stay with .308, but a nice .223 PSS for cheaper practice... any day.

[michael_aos]

but a nice .223 PSS for cheaper practice... any day.

That's EXACTLY what I had in mind.

But...when push comes to shove...and you've already got a nice AR-15...

What does a bolt-gun really gain you? I suppose you could load it a little bit hotter...

Mike

[<MADDOG>]

<MADDOG> I guess your haven't seen a K6, ServiceMatch, Ultra Match or TargetMatch rifles from Olympic arms with their broach cut 4 land and 4 groove bull barrels. These are the standard at which all factory AR are judged for accuracy. Single holes are the norm., not the exception.

As I said, I have yet to SEE an AR match a bolt in terms of accuracy. Then again, I haven't seen the Oly rifles you mentioned either.... They look sweet.

And just so you don't thinking I'm picking a fight, I have a "semi-custom" AR that I reserve for the prairie dogs, but the $1k+ I sunk in it still cannot match a Savage I purchased for less than $400. As far as the flexibilty of the Savage, I can load the round to any length and put just about any bullet I wish in it, and it shoots great. I can't say the same for my AR.

Must be something peaking your interest though, you are looking at bolt guns!

[Hoser]

There is nothing wrong with a 223 bolt gun. In the wind they are no 22-250 or a Swift. Lizard has a slew of 223 Varmint rifles. Most built up on XPs and Rem 700s. All thats left is the action and bolt. In fact, whenever I see a deal on a 700 action, I always point him at it and he snaggs them up. The caliber really doesent matter as the barrel goes in the trash.

You cant load a bolt action 223 a whole lot faster, but you can use slower powders getting you a bit more velocity. You do have the option of seating the longer bullets out more to make more room for powder and as the throat errodes, the can chase the lands. In an AR, the mags limit your OAL. Bolt guns are much nicer on brass than ARs are. Viper/Stiller actions is making a Remington 700 Action clone out of stainless. Without a doubt the smartest way to go about building up a good bolt gun on a budget.

Lizard built me a 22 BR on a Stolle Panda Action a couple years ago. Equals a 22-250 with less powder. I put a 8 twist barrel on it so I could shoot the heavies.

Keep in mind Remington puts the same barrels on the same actions on all their rifles, short of the stuff that comes out of the custom shop. In other words, a PSS has the same hammer forged barrel that a ADL has. A lot of the $$$ difference is the stock, stainless vs carbon, and CDI factor.