What caliber to choose.

[greg11]

I have a Stevens 200 in .223 which I recently bought a Boyds' prairie hunter stock for. Then I went and found a decent load for the rifle.

I originally bought the .223 for coyote hunting. But now that I have it, I'm addicted to bolt guns and moderate accurizing. So I was going to order a Shilen SS Match barrel for the gun.

HOWEVER...

With this in mind, and considering that changing chamberings in the Savage action is a snap, I was thinking of moving up to a bigger caliber (and keeping the original boltface and barrel). This way I'd have two guns, effectively speaking.

So, if I were going to move to another caliber for my short action, what would you guys suggest? I initially thought .260 Rem., but then I read that in a Short Action, you need the remove the bolt to extract an unfired round seated to the lands, and that long .260's won't fit in a magazine.

Are there similar concerns regarding the other popular 6mm/6.5mm rounds? How about availability of components? Whats the most popular?

 

[warrenb]

Imho lighter shooting is easier to learn. I'd stick with .223 or perhaps 6mmbr. You'l need to change the bolt head to a .473 for a 6mm or 260 regardless.

Again depending on calibre choice you may be able to get a mag from savage or just single feed.

 

[AKD]

Agreed. Your limited to your bolt face.

 

[scallywag]

I know lots of guys that eject 260 just fine I think it I the 284 that requires you to remove the bolt to eject or go to a long action

 

[Mystic Precision]

Working on a supply of bolt heads....but don't hold your breath.

A fast twist 223 will do alot for LR precision shooting and the cartridge has excellent accuracy potential. This is all I pretty much shoot.

If you want to swap bolt heads, you can then shoot pretty much anything. The Savage is likely the longest SHORT action on the market. There is no issue ejecting a cartridge almost 3" long.

The new center feed mags will house a rd 2.9" long so the options are huge.

I have shot the 260 improved for years and it is a gem. Superbly accurate and very easy to tune. The reg 260 is no different except you go a little slower and trim more often.

The 6BR is another stellar rd. All the chamberings you see or hear about in competition got there because they shoot and are easy to set up. There are dozens of options.

If you get into the barrel swapping thing and can get some bolt heads and mags, the new gen SA with center feed det mag is factory designed to go from the 223 family through to the WSM family.

If you want to single feed, pretty much everything else will work.

Jerry

 

[warrenb]

Working on a supply of bolt heads....but don't hold your breath.


Jerry

Now you tell me I just agreed to pay $50 for a new savage 223 bolt head. I think I'm paying through the nose but wanted a spare.

 

[agent_mango]

Honestly, if it's only for paper targets, I think the lower cost and gentle recoil of 223 is the best bet. I have a 1 in 8" twist 223 barrel for shooting up to 80 gr bullets, and my first experiments will be with 69/77 gr SMKs. I chose it for an all around fun range gun. Jerry and a few others on here use 1 in 7" twist 223s and the 90 gr Berger VLD for F/TR.

In the past I've ordered some bottom metal from the Savage factory parts department, and they were nice and helpful. Has anyone tried simply calling them up and asking to buy a bolt head? It's not like headspacing is rocket science, and there's the same question of headspacing whether it's a new bolt head or a new barrel.

I've read on an American forum that brownells ships bolt heads to FFLs only, but midway ships bolt heads to anyone.

 

[boss-hog2]

Now you tell me I just agreed to pay $50 for a new savage 223 bolt head. I think I'm paying through the nose but wanted a spare.

Thank your lucky stars that you were able to get one $50 is dirt cheap-- I paid $55 US + $20 shipping from SSS when they were still able to ship to Canada and I was happy with that.

 

[matty86suk]

What about a 223AI in a fast twist barrel??

 

[Mystic Precision]

Now you tell me I just agreed to pay $50 for a new savage 223 bolt head. I think I'm paying through the nose but wanted a spare.

That IS a good price. My pricing will likely be north of that IF I can get them.

Savage will not sell their bolt heads to the public because of liability.

Jerry

 

[warrenb]

I take it all back. I am very happy with the price.

 

[ErikT]

Be careful with switching barrels! I started doing it years ago, and now I have hunting barrels in 7mm WSM, .250 Savage, .308, and .45 ACP. Plus target barrels in .223 and .308. It's definitely fun, and keeps me interested. I'd recommend a heavy .223 barrel with a fast twist (mine is 1-8) to start with, just to keep it simple for now. Getting a new bolt head seems to be troublesome these days. By the way, you can't go wrong with a Shilen barrel. Mine will give me 1.5-inch groups or better at 200 metres all day.