Best bang for buck .223-.243 varminter

McClintock writes, I know that Savages have the reputation for shooting well but they are as ugly as Chelsea Clinton.
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What we are getting here is a quirky opinion, backed up by nothing-- except maybe bias.

I have a Savage Model 12, and I think it looks fine.

I guess if you can't "ping" the gun on accuracy, try any goofy argument you can cook up.
 
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Buy up that Sav 11 mattri. You'll find nothing better for the price and no factory gun is as versatile as a Sav.

Sorry Micky I have to disagree. Some Savs aren't pretty but they're not as ugly as any Clinton woman.;)
 
Went for the .223 but missed out- damn the luck. Have a line on another savage, a 110 in 270. I know it's a little bigger than I had originally planned but for the price I may go ahead and get it.
 
jo191145 said:
Buy up that Sav 11 mattri. You'll find nothing better for the price and no factory gun is as versatile as a Sav.

Sorry Micky I have to disagree. Some Savs aren't pretty but they're not as ugly as any Clinton woman.;)
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TOTALLY AGREE.................:D

cale
 
mattri said:
Really wanted the .223 but just missed out, it was sold before I could contact the guy.
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Savages versatility. Buy the 270, a spare 223 tube, extra bolthead and a barrel wrench and you can have a single shot varminter and a deer rifle all with no gunsmith. Gotta love that barrel nut;)
 
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Another Savage vote

I have a Savage 10 FP on 223 that I have put in a B&C #2999 vertical grip tactical style stock ( http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=161586/ ) that shoots wonderfully at distances out to 600 yards. http://www.savagearms.com/10fp.htm The factory stock is flimsy, but the guns shoot great and gets you into a good rifle and aftermarket stocks are plentiful.

We routinely shoot groups at 300 yards in the 2" range with 69gr Sierra MatchKings from the prone position with this gun in our Club matches. I have shot this gun out to 600 yards and it stays in the 10 ring on an NRA target when I read the wind correctly with this same bullet.

One large advantage of the Savage 10FP 223 is that they have a 1:9 twist barrel as opposed to a 1:12 twist in most other factory 223's. Also changing barrels is a simple do-it-yourself job.

One thing I have experienced lately is I got a bad barrel on a 12 LRPV in 223 with a 1:7 twist barrel. Savage promptly replaced the barrel and the last group I fired with this barrel was at 200 yards and was 1.3" for 10 shots with 8 of them under .5". This was with an un worked up HOT load using a 80 grain Sierra MatchKing that I am working up for 1000 yards.

I now have 5 Savage target rifles and am classified by the NRA as a High Master in Highpower Rifle.


George
 
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Go with the savage, Remington has grown too fond of "over length throats " to be accurate.some are gonna argue, but when you get a barrel wth a chamber at the upper end of the tolerance specs, sorry about your luck.
 
Hmmm...strange...

Big Al said:
This is not fair of me I know. I absolutely hate that short neck piece of crap, the .243 from a reloaders stand point it has nothing to offer compared to the 6mm/.244 Remington. You want a great ctg? Go with the Howa Micky recommends and find it used and barrel to whatever you want that does not need any action mods. You will be a happy man if you get a top makers barrel and have someone like Micky do the work, it's called bug holes my friend. You will have a rifle you don't have to hide from your friends and just take a few bucks from a few others out there. :D
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Hmmm...strange that David Tubb won the High Power National championship with that .243 piece of crap several years ago at Camp Perry.:confused: And...strange that, "piece of crap" .243 is so vastly more popular than the 6mm Remington (an excellent cartridge by the way).

virg
 
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Just another opinion but, I'd look at a Tikka T3. Made by Sako and affordably priced...around $525 new. A very good value in a well made gun IMO. We all know about opinions don't we?--Mike Ezell
 
I found this thread while searching for 223 and stevens 200.
Just got myself a Stevens200 in 223,for eactly the same reason-play around and see...
@docsleepy:
can I ask how much of the action did you bed? did you go beyond the magazine well? Asking because I read somewhere that Savage rifles dont like being bedded BEHIND the mag well
Greetings from Oz
 
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Factory .223

I skimmed the responses and may have missed this, but all factory rifles aren't created equal.... all across the counter .223's don't have the same twist and won't all shoot the same bullets. I would start with the bullet I want to use and then decide what twist I need and then pick the rifle with an adequate twist. The typical Remington .223 has a 1:12 twist and will shoot 40-55 gr bullets well, but not 36 gr Varmint Grenades. A Savage .223 with a 1:9 twist will shoot the 36 gr Varmint Grenades and the 55 gr polymer tipped bullets up to 69 gr HPBT MK. The 1:7 and 1:8 AR's shoot the heavier 77+ gr match bullets. So I have .223 rifles with 1:12 (40 gr Nosler BT) and 1:9 (55 gr Nosler BT) twists. You have to do your homework on-line because the guys behind the counter at most retail stores can't tell you the twist or what it will shoot. nhk
 
Whatever you do . DO NOT waste your money on a POS Tikka. They have a very fast twist barrel and a very short magazine so it is wasted twist. I had a T-3 Varminter and although it shot OK it was a designed POS. couldn't load anything anywhere near what the barrel wanted.

BTW the BEST rifle I own is Savage 270 rebarreled to 6mm Imp with a 8 twist Kreiger barrel. The long action lets me shoot any size bullet I want and seat them right. The only rpooblem is that it's not a "walking varminter @ 12lbs. For that I have a T/C Icon that shoots OK and is easy to cayy.
 
Fast twist, short magazine

Rooster 50 said:
They have a very fast twist barrel and a very short magazine so it is wasted twist. Couldn't load anything anywhere near what the barrel wanted.
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Same holds true for what I've seen in AR's too; 1:7 & 1:8 twists, long throats and loads limited to 2.25 OAL for magazine length. Load for optimum node and crimp 'em. nhk
 
I have a lot and have built a lot of 223s and 243s.

I would vote for: Ruger #1V 223. It will shot in the 4's and is safe to shoot.

Or save some $ and get a bolt action with questionable gas path with a failed case.
Get a Stevens and wear safety goggles.
 
Clark said:
I have a lot and have built a lot of 223s and 243s.

I would vote for: Ruger #1V 223. It will shot in the 4's and is safe to shoot.

Or save some $ and get a bolt action with questionable gas path with a failed case.
Get a Stevens and wear safety goggles.
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A savage bolt is solid in the rear. No chance for hot gasses to exit from there unlike some other bolt actions.
If you decide you want to blow up the entire action I doubt it would matter what gun you chose.
 
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I've got a Howa 1500 Varminter Supreme .223 and what a little sweetheart! And now that I've started to load my own, wow! And too, you can't go wrong with a Savage either. So, either/or.

Cheers,

Mark
 
Found a Stevens 200 in .243 for a price I couldn't say no to. Still working up loads but best group to date is .441. That was a buddy shooting, by best so far is in the .6s with 85grn Sierra HPBTs.
 
Savage

Another Savage fan here.

Sold a .243 to a guy and set it up (break in and sighting in) in model 11, and it shot .5" groups from the get-go, some less than that, but average of .5" (@100yds).

I use a Stevens 200 .22-250 for Coyote hunting, and it also delivers roughly .5-.75" groups consistently [although I've not shot it in weather over 25 degrees F, so I can likely get them a bit tighter in more "comfortable" conditions] with Hornady 55gr V-MAX factory loads. I likely wouldn't even look at anything but a Savage, when considering bang-for-the-buck value.

Drew
 
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Picking a rifle

Problem is the darn barrels eventually give up the ghost, so a little prudence now will be money well spent later. Pick a platform that lends itself to component replacement in the future. Just look through a few catalogs and see what you can buy barrels, stocks, scope bases and triggers for and that's the route to go. The Remington 700 action is the most imitated (cloned) and Savage offers a lot of aftermarket options. The original barrel may or may not be all that hot, but a lot of them will shoot. You got to $tart $omewhere. nhk
 
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