berthaboo Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 I will be in the market for a 223 soon and was wondering what rifles everyone uses and what to stay away from ? what moderators do you use ? I plan to reload my own too so if you reload what cases ect do you use ? at the moment I am thinking along the lines of a Remington 700 due accessorizes available to customize the rifle to my own requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Time to get the popcorn out. Everyone thinks their rifle is the best and everyone else should get one. The answer is whatever rifle feels comfortable to you. I've had a CZ527 which was nice and light, magazine fed and really nice to shoot. I've also had a Remy 700 VSSF that I sold because I didn't want to chop and thread the fluted barrel. even without a mod it was really nice to shoot. I've currently got a Howa 1500 with a varmint barrel. It's equally as good a rifle as the others (and a friends Tikka before the elitists get started). The Howa is a tack driver and has taken uggins of foxes out to 300 yards or so. People used to slag them as they were cheap when they first came into the UK. They're far from it now. You'll hear people slag off the Remy 700. I've never had a bad one and either has the soup dragon. We currently have four between us she has .223 and .243 and I have .243 and .308. All shoot well. The CZ 527 is an excellent foxing rifle due to it's weight, balance and handlability. Also walking about in the field with a loaded mag in your pocket, it's an all round convenient bit of kit. Oh, and I forgot the single set trigger which is either liked or loathed but makes a difference. Get behind a few different rifles and see what suits you best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Edwards Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 When I was looking for one around a month ago, it was a toss-up between a Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter, CZ 527 and Remington 700 Police. I already had a CZ, so fancied something different, and the R700 Police had a too long barrel, more of a match barrel, so it would be ridiculously long with a moderator. I went for a Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter. The Steyr safety and magazine system is really good - The magazine has two stages, the first where it's locked in the gun but can't be loaded, the second where it's in the gun and a round can be loaded into the chamber, so you can walk around with the magazine safely in the gun, and not rattling around in your pocket, then press it in when you need it. The only centerfire moderator the shop had in stock was an A-Tec, which was £230. Personally, I can't recognise any difference in noise between my .17HMR and .223, the .223 just has more recoil. I'm a relative newbie to centerfires, but I'm looking into reloading, but at the moment I don't use enough ammo, and the ammo I do use are cheap Prvi Partizans. The Lee reloading handbook is really good, I've been studying it for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 I don't think there's a bad CF rifle out there nowadays. Non of the main manufacturers out there would be selling in the numbers they are if they weren't up to the job. In my opinion it all comes down to personal preferences for the accessories which either come as standard or can be bought for any particular rifle to make it 'yours', or best value for money out of the box. Steyr, Remington, Sauer, Tikka, Sako, Savage, Winchester, Browning, Howa, Ruger etc etc. Go and have a look at them all. I have no idea which is the best seller, but it will be for a reason. Don't worry about accuracy, they're all more capable than we are and nothing you shoot at will know the difference. I tend to choose what I like, based on looks more than anything else, regardless of what others may say or think. Choose what you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spandit Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Bought an RWS Titan 3 on an expensive whim. It's very accurate & feels a lot better made than my mate's CZ and Wetherby. Some don't like the tang safety but I do and it's a switch barrel too if that takes your fancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pork chop Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 i must have been realy unlucky as i had two bad remington 700.first one went back after two days and its replacement would'nt group under an inch @100 y which to me wasn't good enougth for a varmint rifle.still got two remington custom's that shoot very well one being the replacement that i had a 204 tube put on it.a lot of people like remingtons but they are to hit and miss for me i'll never buy a new one again.tikka or cz for me or if funds allow sako Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Had forgotten about CZ! I don't know why as I have one in .22rf, and if their CF are half as good as their RF, then they'll be hard to beat all round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 Tikka T3 are excellent rifles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_R Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 Perhaps an idea of what the main purpose of the rifle will be might steer decisions and opinions somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berthaboo Posted July 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 main purpose of the rifle will be to use it for foxing. I have a CZ 452 in 22lr but always wish i got a Ruger 10/22 due to the amount of mods you can get. CZ's does what it should and well but It just lacks something if you know what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kes Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 Perhaps an idea of what the main purpose of the rifle will be might steer decisions and opinions somewhat. Knowing this will guide comments more to your circumstances - e.g. my own experience with .223 suggests a magazine is easier at night and a bull barrel (varmint) is unhelpful when clambering over fences as it more than counterbalances the stock and wont stay on your shoulder. However a niggeloh double strap carrier would solve that but not the extra weight to carry. From a vehicle is a different matter. My Remington 700 VLS is a very accurate rifle but suffers from bullbarrelitis and floorplate syndrome. Its still capable of being carried and shooting foxes at 200+ yds off sticks, but there are easier ways to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikka.223 Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Tikka T3 or CZ 527 I have T3 in satinless lite and varmint both excellent rifles,my mate had a CZ 527 laminate which was an excellent gun.He sold it and bought a Sako 85 hunter laminate,he regretted ever changing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert 888 Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Got a cz 527 varmint kevlar 23.5" & 1/9" twist, bought it second hand and hand load for it the rifle shoot extremely well if I do my bit,it shoots 40g-60g very well prefering 52g amax and 55g vmax. I use ppu and hornandy cases. I mainly use it for target, its not too heavy to carry, as I fox with it and use it for muntjack stalking. The mod I use is a tad on the heavy side but its an stainless over barrel ase northstar around 600grams. Only down side it has a 5 shot mag and I need a 10 shot. Edited July 24, 2014 by Albert 888 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxwit Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) Some good advice here and I have to say (yes I have one) the tikka is an exceptionally good rifle. Out the box accuracy was outstanding. The bolt is very smooth. I have also shot the remington 700 and cz. I have to say that for the money the cz was cracking but the trigger was not as crisp as the tikka. I would say a little notchy. The 700 was spot on as well. As others say go for what you like and what you want. The cz and the remi are featherweight compared to a Howa though. Edited July 23, 2014 by Foxwit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I have owned Rem 700s and they all shot. Couldn't bring myself to buy a new one now as I have seen the results of poor quality control that has blighted the guns recently (hand tight barrel that you could literally unscrew by hand) does it get any worse?. Consider carry weight once all kited up, action size should be in keeping with the smaller round not a bigger action packed out with spacers. For this reason I thing CZ 527, Sako vixen,75 or 85 etc. there are others though. I just feel a lot of the .223 thing is lost once you put it in a bigger package. Moderators? the ,223 moderates well as it don't burn a lot of powder and it don't need a long barrel for field use I should buy a small, none strippable moddy in stainless ( I have been using an MAE T12 Scout a while and its a little gem of an over barrel type) I don't like muzzle mounted only (too long, too far away and likely to come loose and droop on the thread IMO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brooksy97 Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Savage all the way 1/9 barral one of the most accurate out of the box. 223 I have had, don't let the cheap stock and heavy trigger pull put you off, I had my trigger adjusted and put some lead shot in the stock and it's now perfect, it's a little heavy but it's perfect for foxing this is just my opinion. I'm sure there are many haters out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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