New .223 bolt action for the wife/me

[mhael]

Hi All,

I havent been around for a while and unfortunately haven't done much long range shooting in the past couple years but I'm looking to change that this year. As a bonus it appears that my wife is getting more and more interested in shooting and wants to start shooting rifles.

Anyways I recently shot one of my buddy's custom .223 bolt guns and it was awesome! Very fun and low recoil (good for wife). Also, I'm thinking I could use it for varmint hunting as well.

So all that being said looking for suggestions for building a "light" custom .223 and maybe some newer solid gun smiths that aren't quite as pricey yet. Anyways I'd like to spend about 1400-2000 on the rifle so suggestions?

Thanks for the help

Trevor

 

[lazy21]

Re: New .223 bolt action for the wife/me

fn tsr/kimber svt

 

[mhael]

Re: New .223 bolt action for the wife/me

I'm sorry I shoulda been more clear. I'm looking for suggestions of "light" custom builds for .223 bolt guns

 

[Bigzams]

Re: New .223 bolt action for the wife/me

I had a budget of about the same and here is what I picked up to start out with. I picked up a Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .223 for just under 600.00 and a Leopold Mark AR 3-9x40 for about 300.00 Harris bi pod 80.00 and a old sock with sand for a rear bag so for 1000.00 out the door I am set for now.
That is by no means the be all and all of a budget build as others I am sure will tell you but for me that setup will out shoot me for quite some time. As more funds become open to me I will drop the Houge stock get better optics etc. The reason I chose the Rem700 is the availability of aftermarket products, triggers, barrels, stocks but all that at least for me is not needed since like I said the rifle in its current state will out shoot me for some time but it is nice to know that I have a platform that will grow with me as my shooting improves.
Funny thing is that while I love this setup I took the advice of another member here and also picked up a Ruger 10/22 for my daily shooter at the range since it is very cheap to shoot and it has taught me a lot of the basics that I found myself shooting better with my .223 now without breaking the bank.
With the left over monies I would invest in a reloading setup to help absorb some of the costs of ammo later on not to mention for the price you spend on some match grade ammo you can make your own for much cheaper.

My .02 cents

 

[neeley205]

Re: New .223 bolt action for the wife/me

if your budget is approaching $2K, you can do better and "lighter" than most factory rifles. contact someone like wnroscoe here on the hide. most of these factory rifles will leave you with some compromise your price range can avoid. (heavy ass barrel or crappy stock or booty trigger, etc.) for $2k you can probably get yourself set up with a McM or comparable stock, trued rem action, quality trigger and a quality barrel with a contour you actually want. you might have to source some of your own stuff, but if your running a common action like the 700, you can find decent condtion used stocks etc. and save yourself hundreds.

you cant add all the flash people like, but I'm willing to bet at the end of the day he will send you home with a rifle you can be proud of.

If you do decide to steer the direction of an already built rifle or your $2k cap includes glass, check out some of the Sako or Tikka .223 bolts. they make some quality gear that dont all have the heavy barrels that US makers have begun to shift more towards.

best of luck to you.

 

[dlouie87]

Re: New .223 bolt action for the wife/me

Since you are a Californian... and from southern CA.

Check out R&D Precision. Randy should be able to help you out there with a custom build. Or you can try to get ahold of Randall @ http://www.ar15barrels.com/

Also check out CAPRC.com . good info on there.

-daniel