Ideal .223 Bolt Action Plinker (?)

[GS455]

I'm mainly a milsurp guy but have put together a couple of new/commercial bolt action rifles, supressed, and thinking about going further.

My RPR in .308 is astonishing (to me) for the money. Just landed a 1" group @ 300yds wi 175gr FGMM.

An RAR in x39 in a nice Boyd's stock has delivered 1.5" @ 100yds wi 1970s Romy milsurp.

Have a sh_t ton of various 55gr backed up and three nice ARs in .223 but am bored with em.

Sooo, thinkin about a bolt action in .233. All cursory web scanning a steers my towards another RAR. It really appeals to me to use standard 10-20rd mags that I already have .

Thoughts, ideas?

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

I'm mainly a milsurp guy but have put together a couple of new/commercial bolt action rifles, supressed, and thinking about going further.

My RPR in .308 is astonishing (to me) for the money. Just landed a 1" group @ 300yds wi 175gr FGMM.

An RAR in x39 in a nice Boyd's stock has delivered 1.5" @ 100yds wi 1970s Romy milsurp.

Have a sh_t ton of various 55gr backed up and three nice ARs in .223 but am bored with em.

Sooo, thinkin about a bolt action in .233. All cursory web scanning a steers my towards another RAR. It really appeals to me to use standard 10-20rd mags that I already have .

Thoughts, ideas?

budget?

Those 55’s might not be the best option.

 

[GS455]

Budget? I dunno. I'm not really looking to build up a $2k chasis + custom everything rig tailored to hand loads.

Kinda the point is to get something besides an AR to start burning through this ammo.

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

Budget? I dunno. I'm not really looking to build up a $2k chasis + custom everything rig tailored to hand loads.

Kinda the point is to get something besides an AR to start burning through this ammo.

id say just grab another off the shelf rifle and toss on a budget friendly scope and get to blasting. I’d prob seek 1:9 for 55’s

 

[Turkeytider]

id say just grab another off the shelf rifle and toss on a budget friendly scope and get to blasting. I’d prob seek 1:9 for 55’s

Agree on the 1:9 for 55’s. My 110 Storm shoots that weight great. My 7 twist Savage Model 12 LRPV literally threw them all over the lot the first trip to the range. Almost 2k rounds later have shot nothing lighter than 68 grain.

 

[SkyScrapin]

Seekins HIT Pro

 

[tekmann2377]

Another option for a plinker (not necessarily a heavy barrel match rifle) is Eurooptic has Tikka Ranahan's in 223 on sale right now.

 

[mark5pt56]

For money spent, the Ruger Ranch would be a good choice, scope it and have fun. If you plan to start f'ing with it, then look at something like the Tikka. Big thing is, decide what you want and don't try to make something it's not. Example being buying the Ruger and spending 1500 or so with a new barrel and chassis.
Me, I have the RR, great little gun, stock. I also have a couple custom builds, nothing like the RR though with price, weight and performance but also not "match guns"
You could find a decent "traditional" stock, AICS mag BM, Origin action, prefit from PVA(light-med Palma) and have a really nice compact useful rifle. The easy button is a KRG Bravo stock.

 

[spife7980]

I wouldn’t build a rifle just because you have a bunch of crappy ammo. A ruger American I guess would be a cheap way to burn through it if you have to scratch the itch.

 

[TheBigCountry]

Try to find a Tikka…

CTRs in 223 can be found used. Or a varmint model

 

[TheOE800]

I’d suggest a mini action like Howa, but their factory barreled rifles are 1:8.

 

[Budrichard]

There are good buys to be had in 223 Remington 700's including 40x.
I have purchased a few in the last few years since Remington went belly up.
Gun Broker is a good resource if you vet the seller.
I have not had one disappointing purchase in the last 10 years. But I don't purchase anything but NIB or rarely used.
Last purchase was a 223 40X Varmint Special. new in the box, never fired with everything that the old Custom Shop provided.
Why do individuals purchase this stuff and never use it????
-Richard

 

[ma smith]

+1 Find an old varmit .223 off gunbroker $<1k and just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[SortOfClear]

I've seen some sweet xm-3 clone-ish .223 builds on here. If you're willing to cut and rattle can stuff, you can do it cheap and look good. This is a back-burner project for me, since changing jobs has its start up costs.

 

[Chickentoast]

A CZ 527 in 223 is also sweet - the varmint or kevlar models especially.

 

[FuhQ]

I'm mainly a milsurp guy but have put together a couple of new/commercial bolt action rifles, supressed, and thinking about going further.

My RPR in .308 is astonishing (to me) for the money. Just landed a 1" group @ 300yds wi 175gr FGMM.

An RAR in x39 in a nice Boyd's stock has delivered 1.5" @ 100yds wi 1970s Romy milsurp.

Have a sh_t ton of various 55gr backed up and three nice ARs in .223 but am bored with em.

Sooo, thinkin about a bolt action in .233. All cursory web scanning a steers my towards another RAR. It really appeals to me to use standard 10-20rd mags that I already have .

Thoughts, ideas?

Aero Solus .382" action, with a 16-20" 1:7 twist PVA Osprey prefit built by @bohem ... His barreled action specials are extremely affordable for what you get.

 

[GS455]

I wouldn’t build a rifle just because you have a bunch of crappy ammo. A ruger American I guess would be a cheap way to burn through it if you have to scratch the itch.

Yea, this is kinda where I'm at.

 

[GS455]

1:9 is best for 55gr ?

 

[jLorenzo]

For the love of god don't buy a 1/9 twist 223 bolt gun. 1/8 and 1/7 will both shoot lighter bullets fine, some of the best groups I have shot with one particular 1/7 barrel were with 50gr hollow points. 1/8 and 1/7 will allow you to shoot stuff up to 85 grain and still shoot the lighter stuff.

*Also, just buy a Tikka of choice. You will not regret it.

 

[spife7980]

Yea, this is kinda where I'm at.

Now, if you’re going to reload heavier bullets in good brass a good 223 is awesome. It’s very much at the opposite end of cheap plinking fodder though.

 

[mark5pt56]

Just saw this as I think I'm finally going to do a 16" .223 in the Screech Owl with an Origin action. But for you with the RAR.

https://jtacindustries.com/ruger-american/