I'm kicking around the idea of a bolt rifle in .223 to do some (go ahead and laugh just don't tell me) long range shooting, in my case 200 yards. I'm too old and out of shape to hike farther than that to set targets and have nowhere that I know of offering longer ranges anyway. I don't think I have eyesight any better than that anyway. So, now that the laughter has subsided, I'd like to know who makes the best entry level rifle right now. I've got a nice Leupold VX III 3.5-10x50 in an A.R.M.S. mount I can put on it or I can change the mount. I'll use that scope as it should do a good job and save me a lot of money. So, which out of the box rifle is the best starting point?
- Thread starter LDB
- Start date
Tikka T3 Varmint
I went with the Remington R5 moved on to custom rifles now But the R5 is a great starter
Can't go wrong with the Tikka T3 and I frequently see them for sale here on the Hide for decent prices. Good starter rig to ease you into LR shooting! Don't put yourself down. We all had to start somewhere, when we got the LR shooting bug. 
Grab a Tikka.
Tikka t3 for sure
Mossberg MVP Varmint
Tikka for sure...I'm not at all impressed with the quality of current production Remington and Savages.
I think you mean a Remington 700 5R here?
A Tikka is a great gun that has a lot of following here.
.223 is a cartridge that may be ok to start out with but if you plan on pushing farther and can afford to put a bit more coin into ammo for a .308 it may serve you better off in the long run.
My most recent rifle purchase is a Savage Model 11VT .223, available as a special offer only from Dick's Sporting Goods. It retailed for about $550-570 with a reasonably decent hunting scope mounted.
I replaced the scope with a Mueller 8-32x44, added a short folding bipod and developed a match load using PPU brass, 23.7gr of Varget, CCI BR-4 primers, and the Hornady 75gr HPBT Match seated at 2.260" OAL. I shoot it at 250yd in our club matches and it's competitive. I can see my bullet holes with this scope at that distance.
Greg
I replaced the scope with a Mueller 8-32x44, added a short folding bipod and developed a match load using PPU brass, 23.7gr of Varget, CCI BR-4 primers, and the Hornady 75gr HPBT Match seated at 2.260" OAL. I shoot it at 250yd in our club matches and it's competitive. I can see my bullet holes with this scope at that distance.
Greg
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Tikka is a nice gun, check out the Howa offerings also. Very nice rifles for the price.
{donning flame proof suit}
I suggest that the best place to start is with a 22LR bolt action rifle. You can shoot it 20X as often for the same cost structure as a 223. And at the beginning of a shooting career, you need that added practice time. If you put a descent scope on it you can play long range ranging games at 200 yards dialing in drop and windage that would be ignorable with 223 or higher calibers. So that when you take you 223 to 500 yards you won't be completely lost.
Although there is nothing wrong with the Tikka, Savage,... 223 rifles....308 rifles,...
I suggest that the best place to start is with a 22LR bolt action rifle. You can shoot it 20X as often for the same cost structure as a 223. And at the beginning of a shooting career, you need that added practice time. If you put a descent scope on it you can play long range ranging games at 200 yards dialing in drop and windage that would be ignorable with 223 or higher calibers. So that when you take you 223 to 500 yards you won't be completely lost.
Although there is nothing wrong with the Tikka, Savage,... 223 rifles....308 rifles,...
This is a good idea, except there are still those low life maggots buying all the 22LR ammo they can get their hands on hoping to sell it at 3X the cost on the interwebs. Even in my area, 22LR ammo doesn't last long. Since I refuse to pay one penny more than retail for any ammo, I shoot other calibers until things return to normalcy.
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