Recomendation for a .223

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RookieGuy

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Hi folks its great to be here and I love this forum.
So as a new shooter I have a .22 Henry and a .22 savage mark II with the heavy barrel and accu trigger bolt action.
I love both guns although I lean to the Henry lol.

I am shopping now to go up to my first center fire and am kind of hesitant.
I have read good things about the .223 and the ammo is cheaper so where to start?
I like the savage brand as its in my budget but am considering other options.
What would you folks recommend and what are your experiences shooting a .223 caliber?
Thanks !
 
Like zeuce says, what are planning on using the rifle to do? If you're thinking hunting, you'll pretty much be looking at varmints only. However, new bullet technology has added the cartridge to deer sized game as well. That may not be legal where you are though. It's not in Alberta, but is in Ontario, for example.
 
.223 is great for target as recoil is minimal. Legal just about anywhere for Coyote, fox etc, limited in some provinces for Deer.
Whitebox Winchester pretty cheap - considering.
Savage axis starts at about 350 up to unlimeted for a custom job. Decide on budget and go from there.
Pretty flat shooting out to 300 + Yards

Friend got Axis and it shoots well enough at 100 to drop my jaw...
 
I shot a Savage Axis 223 blued and scoped that a young guy got for his birthday on the weekend. He picked it up at Canadian Tire in Fredericton. Cost was $389.99 and Savage has a re -bate on right now for a $50.00! . The dude used up his saved Canadian Tire money and got himself a nice sling , bi-pod and cleaning kit. He was very excited and could not stop talking. I found the the rifle very nice for the money and may get one myself. It shot very well out to 100 m right out of the box! I also let him shoot my old SKS and with the look on his face I think I have converted another to the 7.62x39 world.
 
If you are considering an Axis, the Axis II should start showing up soon, if it hasn't already. Savage has added the Accutrigger to the Axis II, as well as upgraded the scope.
You'll find some pretty good deals on the older Axis models as dealers start thinning out their stock, but it might be worth waiting and spending the extra $100 or so to get the Accutrigger.

My $0.02
 
...used to use my .243 on coyotes, but it had its drawbacks...a few years ago i found a sale on a Remington SPS... i could get it to shoot MOA reloads, but then the groups would go wonky and i'd have to fiddle with the (cheap) plastic stock...finally bought a Boyd's laminate...hardware dropped right in + floated to boot...and i was back in action popping yotes off the front porch at 300 yards...but i don't think i saved any $ going this route...another Rem idea that should never have happened...nice calibre though...
 
Thanks a lot for the response guys.
I am kinda confused with the 16/116 and 11/111 in the savages? What is the measurement difference for exactly? Also they are on sale now and have rebates both at cabela and basspro.
I am not sure with the differences. I would prefer a stainless steel barrel so it wont rust in the rain I think. Also I am taking the hunter ed, course now and the teacher told us to spend the extra bucks and buy a blued barrel? So anyways I cant seem to find any info on if the savages are blued.
I apologize for my ignorance but its a learning curve.
 
RookieGuy said:
Thanks a lot for the response guys.
I am kinda confused with the 16/116 and 11/111 in the savages? What is the measurement difference for exactly? Also they are on sale now and have rebates both at cabela and basspro.
I am not sure with the differences. I would prefer a stainless steel barrel so it wont rust in the rain I think. Also I am taking the hunter ed, course now and the teacher told us to spend the extra bucks and buy a blued barrel? So anyways I cant seem to find any info on if the savages are blued.
I apologize for my ignorance but its a learning curve.
Click to expand...

...don't apologize, we were all there

...you'll find every reasonable answer on this forum ...you gotta find out what works for you and go from there

...i still use my blued, walnut stocked bolt action i bought in 1979 ...and my 870 (1976) has been out in torrents as well ...they have no rust, the rifle has never lost its zero in spite of being in baking heat or covered in freezing rain, sleet or -30 temps ...just wipe it down, clean it, and store it in a dry place ...that said there's a lot of + for stainless
 
Savage uses numbers to identify their different models of rifles and letters for features. The two digit number means it is a short action and a three digit number means a long action.

For example: 16/116 means the stainless steel weather warrior series. 16 FCSS is stainless short action .243/.308 etc and 116 FCSS is long action .270/.30-06 etc

11/111 means the blued model in the hunter series. 11 is short action and 111 is long action.

The majority of guns are blued and is the standard finish. Some are offered in stainless or some other specialty coatings. They are not rust proof, only rust resistant. The standard blued rifle is fine for the majority of people and will be fine for inclement weather if properly maintained. Rifles with stainless barrels are more expensive to manufacture and therefore cost more than the standard blued models.


RookieGuy said:
Thanks a lot for the response guys.
I am kinda confused with the 16/116 and 11/111 in the savages? What is the measurement difference for exactly? Also they are on sale now and have rebates both at cabela and basspro.
I am not sure with the differences. I would prefer a stainless steel barrel so it wont rust in the rain I think. Also I am taking the hunter ed, course now and the teacher told us to spend the extra bucks and buy a blued barrel? So anyways I cant seem to find any info on if the savages are blued.
I apologize for my ignorance but its a learning curve.
Click to expand...
 
RookieGuy said:
Thanks a lot for the response guys.
I am kinda confused with the 16/116 and 11/111 in the savages? What is the measurement difference for exactly? Also they are on sale now and have rebates both at cabela and basspro.
I am not sure with the differences. I would prefer a stainless steel barrel so it wont rust in the rain I think. Also I am taking the hunter ed, course now and the teacher told us to spend the extra bucks and buy a blued barrel? So anyways I cant seem to find any info on if the savages are blued.
I apologize for my ignorance but its a learning curve.
Click to expand...

11 vs 111 means short action vs long action. .223 is a short action; .30-06 would be long.
11 vs 16 means blued sporter barrel vs stainless steel (16 is their 'weather warrior series - stainless)
 
If you can manage a few extra nickles and dimes the Weather Warrior 16 / 116 series is a bit of a step up from rifles found in the 11 / 111 line-up. The stocks on the Weather Warrior series have the accu-stock so it is stiffer then the less expensive 11 / 111 line. Both will work fine - but my preference would be the WW 16 / 116 especially if you can find one on sale.
 
Highwind said:
If you can manage a few extra nickles and dimes the Weather Warrior 16 / 116 series is a bit of a step up from rifles found in the 11 / 111 line-up. The stocks on the Weather Warrior series have the accu-stock so it is stiffer then the less expensive 11 / 111 line. Both will work fine - but my preference would be the WW 16 / 116 especially if you can find one on sale.
Click to expand...

You are somewhat right the 16/116 are stainless, but they do not all have the accustock. It depends on the model and when it was made. I bought a 116 package about three years ago and it had the standard stock.
 
RookieGuy said:
Hi folks its great to be here and I love this forum.
So as a new shooter I have a .22 Henry and a .22 savage mark II with the heavy barrel and accu trigger bolt action.
I love both guns although I lean to the Henry lol.

I am shopping now to go up to my first center fire and am kind of hesitant.
I have read good things about the .223 and the ammo is cheaper so where to start?
I like the savage brand as its in my budget but am considering other options.
What would you folks recommend and what are your experiences shooting a .223 caliber?
Thanks !
Click to expand...
for me a 223 needs to be a semi auto, something to think about
 
Brian46 said:
for me a 223 needs to be a semi auto, something to think about
Click to expand...

Grey_Wolf said:
Meh, to me nothing needs to be a semi auto. Something to think about.
Click to expand...

Screw that... own one of each. Both shoot amazingly well with cheap ammo, too. :)

That being said, try to find a Stevens 200. They stopped making them a couple years ago. Much nicer stock than the Axis, smoother bolt function too. Downside is the blind centerfeed mag on later models. Not the easiest to load with big fingers.
 
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