Best .223 varminter

SYNTHETIC

Upgrading from my weihrauch 60j 22 hornet.

Used mostly for lamping. Which of the following is the best and most suitable rifle. Would rather not have to do much work post purchase (accurate out of the box).

My top contenders:
-Remington 700 (which model? - vtr, sps, vls, etc.)
-CZ 527 kevlar
-Tikka T3 (probably TAC)

Wildcards:
-Savage Arms FCV
-Sako 85

dev110

SYNTHETIC wrote: »

Upgrading from my weihrauch 60j 22 hornet.

Used mostly for lamping. Which of the following is the best and most suitable rifle. Would rather not have to do much work post purchase (accurate out of the box).

My top contenders:
-Remington 700 (which model? - vtr, sps, vls, etc.)
-CZ 527 kevlar
-Tikka T3 (probably TAC)

Wildcards:
-Savage Arms FCV
-Sako 85

I would have to say the CZ or the Tikka the remington is only a pimping gun (I think)

I have the CZ Kevlar and have no faults with it. Will shoot anything from 40gr to 75gr bullets and very accurate. A few have them on here.
Virminhunter is selling his CZ Kevlar but not sure if it still for sale. Check the for sale section.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056274212

The Tikka Tac is very accurate also and I have seen poulo6.5 shoot a fox at ~326 yards with 75gr hornady.

No experience with the savage or sako.

ormondprop

I'm just after changing my weihrauch hornet for a sako 75 varmint in .223 that i picked up at a nice price 2nd hand, i was originally looking for a 204 but loved the sako and couldn't afford a new one in 204. Out of your main 3, my preferance would be tikka then cz and then remmy, havent used a sako 85 but a lot of lads prefer the older models and the 75 over the 85, haven't used a savage either but they're meant to be great

johngalway

T3 Tactical if you don't want to do any work.

charlie10

i have the tikka lite in stainless and i love it ,its the dogs bollix i havent shot the others you mentioned but i am deadly chuffed with the tikkas accuracy

Tackleberrywho

A remington VSSF II is incredibly accurate (and beautiful) factory rifle with varmint loads 35-55 grains.

If I was to pick a close second a Tikka and then a sako and last CZ.
I'm not a fan of the plainess of the tikka or teh stock.

I hate the bolt on the CZ .223 and the magazine (personal pref)

I prefer the sako 75 over the 85, very accurate off the shelf rifle.

All of the above will kill foxes.
Yes a remington will take tuning, but so will most of teh others.
I would not overlook HOWA

dev110

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Yes a remington will take tuning, but so will most of teh others.
I would not overlook HOWA

Fine tuning? Is that why all you have left of your .223 remmy is the action?

Tackleberrywho

dev110 wrote: »

Fine tuning? Is that why all you have left of your .223 remmy is the action?

Remington, action & stock

The joys of a remington is like the joys of lego, you can build anything you want out of it

dev110

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Remington, action & stock

The joys of a remington is like the joys of lego, you can build anything you want out of it

The stock isn't standard though

Tackleberrywho

dev110 wrote: »

The stock isn't standard though

I am always tweaking things to make them better!
I plan to try lower the scope this summer with lower rings, also on the wish list

just like you want a Karsten for your CZ :eek:
And a nicer trigger!
Then you will want a new stock when you start to push for tighter groups and longer range;)

clivej

I have CZ 223 varmint with the precision Kevlar stock. Shoots way better than I can. The stock is great to hold and has an aluminum bedding block embedded in it thats a match to the rifles action and a single set fully adjustably trigger, thats what your paying the money for.

Also the bolt is nice and free and the magazine easy to load and release from the rifle.

Glensman

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

A remington VSSF II is incredibly accurate (and beautiful) factory rifle with varmint loads 35-55 grains.

If I was to pick a close second a Tikka and then a sako and last CZ.
I'm not a fan of the plainess of the tikka or teh stock.

I hate the bolt on the CZ .223 and the magazine (personal pref)

I prefer the sako 75 over the 85, very accurate off the shelf rifle.

All of the above will kill foxes.
Yes a remington will take tuning, but so will most of teh others.
I would not overlook HOWA

The Howa 1500 would represent the best value of the .223's available.
Nice trigger, strong action and good out of the box accuracy. My mate just ordered one in .223 with the ambi-thumbhole stock.... Beautiful!

zeissman

I would narrow the choice down to the remington vssf11. the CZ kelvar, the Tikka T3 tac, and the Sako 85 varmit. Then go and look and handle them all then decide.
Any of them will be good enough for your needs.

lb1981

I bought a second hand(new) Tikka t3 laminate stainless from a boards member. I am absolutely delighted with it, just need to get a higher mag scope for it.I have used savage, cz and howa 223's and i think the tikka is by far the best.Have to say the howa is a really good gun for the money.I can not comment on the Remington ,had a rem shotgun and it broke my heart so i have a dislike for the brand, but if you look through the hardware page a lot of lads on here have them and swear by them.(think it is just the pimping part they love);)

pugw

I wouldnt ignore the secondhand market theres a lot of nice lightly used guns out there at decent prices like in ormondrops case! Another option you could look at is buying a factory rifle and make whatever adjustments before you get the gun (floating barrel, trigger and threading).

bunny shooter

Best .223 Varminter .............................. is any .223 rifle you rebarrel to a .204 Ruger

FISMA

SYNTHETIC wrote: »

Upgrading from my weihrauch 60j 22 hornet.

Used mostly for lamping. Which of the following is the best and most suitable rifle. Would rather not have to do much work post purchase (accurate out of the box).

My top contenders:
-Remington 700 (which model? - vtr, sps, vls, etc.)
-CZ 527 kevlar
-Tikka T3 (probably TAC)

Wildcards:
-Savage Arms FCV
-Sako 85

Synthetic,
Have you an amount that you are willing to spend?

Can you post some prices for the rifles you have listed?

At the prices I am seeing (in the states), the Howa 1500, scope, rings, and mount goes for about one third the price of a Sako 85.

Will paying 200% more improve your groups?

Does your shooting justify spending the higher price?

Not trying to be offensive, but too many lads spend too much money on kits that they never see the full potential.

In general, as is the case with myself, I limit the rifle, not the other way around.

If you can see the difference in your shooting, then look at the Sako 85 or a custom 700.

Glensman wrote: »

The Howa 1500 would represent the best value of the .223's available.
Nice trigger, strong action and good out of the box accuracy. My mate just ordered one in .223 with the ambi-thumbhole stock.... Beautiful!

I have to agree with Glensman here. For the price of an SPS, you should be able to pick up the 1500.

Out of the box, the 1500 will have a nice overmolded stock and great trigger.

I have the Howa 1500 in 7mm Mag and 223 and the Rem 700 in 30-06/CDL and 223.

I would take my 700 in 30-06 over the 1500. However, I like the 1500 in 223 over the SPS.

Click here for a truly depressing price...

SYNTHETIC

For a start I wasn't thinking of prices on my initial list but of course value for money comes into the equation.
I wouldn't mind spending a bit more cash if i knew I was getting a quality rifle that wasn't going to let me down. (A rifle for life)
If the howa does what you say it does then the prices are quite eye opening, compared to say the tikka.

FISMA

They are all quality rifles and I doubt that any will let you down.

The Howa may be the best price for performance.

The Tikka is like the affordable Sako.

Keep in mind your shooting distances are going to be up close for lamping. I believe that at this range it is more about the shooter than anything else.

If I were in your shoes I would consider the Howa and then some nice glass. At the prices I am seeing, I could get the Howa + $1000 scope for about the cost of the Sako.

Have you prices for the 223 in Eire on
Tikka T3 Lite
Howa 1500
Remington SPS
Sako 85
CZ 527
?

Glensman

I have a Howa myself in .270 and my friend was so impressed he's getting one in .223- and he didn't want us to have the same rifle... Variety etc.

I can't fault my Howa. They are a wee bit boring, but there you are.
It was a gunsmith that put me on to the idea of a Howa- he said the action was slightly better than a rem 700 and I could shoot away and if I ever have extra cash I could put a custom barrel on her.

The maths was adding up so I bought one without ever seeing one in the flesh.
I would LOVE a Sako- which was the gun I wanted in the first place- but the Howa is through bushes and over fences etc and I would hate to put a gun worth the money of the Sako through that.

FISMA

One thing that is hard to determine Synthetic is how things change over time.

This is one area that I find the Remington 700 wins hands down.

Some of the cars I have had were better, gas mileage and acceleration wise, around 70,000miles than they were from the factory. Some firearms age well.

Likewise, my 700's seem to shoot better over time. Definitely, the action becomes smoother. It is almost as if they are wear patterning to me.

Tackleberrywho

FISMA wrote: »

One thing that is hard to determine Synthetic is how things change over time.

This is one area that I find the Remington 700 wins hands down.

Some of the cars I have had were better, gas mileage and acceleration wise, around 70,000miles than they were from the factory. Some firearms age well.

Likewise, my 700's seem to shoot better over time. Definitely, the action becomes smoother. It is almost as if they are wear patterning to me.

My .223 deffo cycles much slicker than my .308 remmy

Some guys buy cars, and then go modified (I do the same with rifles)

My .223 shoots much better than I can achieve out of it, and yes it has a new barrel, but thats it, the rifle is still the same, just uniquely mine

for varminting I would go with a heavy 24@ 1/8 twist as it seems to handle a larger vareity of ammo better.

Paulo6.5 is building a semi custom Sako with a truflite barrel for less than the asking price of a new SAKO


So never think one rifle is for life, always think about upgradeability (if that is a word)

von dreyse

Thanks for asking the question Synthetic , the makes and models I had in mind were all listed there, and thanks to the other guys for the heads up on the howa also. They are at a cheap price all right I have seen some good reviews on them in the Irish Shooters Digest but I would take some of them reviews with a generous pinch of salt!