223 all rounder help

[Ugly duckling]

My budget is $2k, friendly shooting targets, scrub/stalking, spot lighting. Factory ammo only. I have no experience in hunting and will be taken out by an extended family member.
I am on a budget and that's why I've chosen the .223.
i have 4 rifles with big differences between them all, im looking for the best all rounder IN YOUR OPINION, i will put prices at the end of each rifle to help also.
•Howa 1500, MDT hs3 chasis, 20" threaded blued barrel 1:9 twist, 10 shot MDT mag, magpul grip, vltor imod rifle stock, PWS fsc muzzle break, PWS enhanced buffer tube, swivel bipod, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1850
•Tikka T3X lite blued 20" blued barrel 1:8 twist, GRS berserker stock, swivel bipod, bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$2080
•Tikka T3X varmint blued 1:8 twist, lucky 13 tactical bolt handle, swivel bipod, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1850
•Steyr pro hunter, swivel bipod, cerakote barrel/action, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1875
Dont forget i am on a budget and this will be my only centre fire for a long time

The extended family member has alot of rifles to use if i want to take bigger game also.

[Gwion]

Steyer looks ok but I'd be going for a Howa Mini action. Proven by many to preform with OSA factory ammo. Put a Voetex hts on it, $100 for some rings and you'll still come out cheaper than $1800. Save up over time if you really want a new stock for it.

[Gwion]

Howa mini varmint 223 'the barn' $750
Vortex Hts 4-16x50 $870 'scoped out'
Rings$50-150.....
Under $1800.

Bored waiting for a plane...

[bladeracer]

My budget is $2k, friendly shooting targets, scrub/stalking, spot lighting. Factory ammo only. I have no experience in hunting and will be taken out by an extended family member.
I am on a budget and that's why I've chosen the .223.
i have 4 rifles with big differences between them all, im looking for the best all rounder IN YOUR OPINION, i will put prices at the end of each rifle to help also.
•Howa 1500, MDT hs3 chasis, 20" threaded blued barrel 1:9 twist, 10 shot MDT mag, magpul grip, vltor imod rifle stock, PWS fsc muzzle break, PWS enhanced buffer tube, swivel bipod, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1850
•Tikka T3X lite blued 20" blued barrel 1:8 twist, GRS berserker stock, swivel bipod, bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$2080
•Tikka T3X varmint blued 1:8 twist, lucky 13 tactical bolt handle, swivel bipod, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1850
•Steyr pro hunter, swivel bipod, cerakote barrel/action, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1875
Dont forget i am on a budget and this will be my only centre fire for a long time

The extended family member has alot of rifles to use if i want to take bigger game also.

Of those four I'd go with the Howa.
Is the Imod stock legal in NSW?

[in2anity]

Howa's are great, but IMO if you can afford the Tikka, go the Tikka - they're a better quality setup than the Howas. Have you looked at the Tikka CTR by any chance?

[dipper]

I have a Tikka T3 Varmint and I love it, it's accurate and with the heavy barrel you can shoot at a target for a while without the barrel heating up. There are two things I don't really like about it, it's really heavy and not really a carry around scrub gun and it has a full size action which makes it a little annoying for a little .223 cartridge. But seeing as I only really use it on the back of a ute it isn't an issue and the accuracy more than makes up for the cons.

If you want a gun you can carry around I'd get the T3x lite, I wouldn't bother with a stock for it, save yourself the $600 and put it into a better optic. Or if you're set on the optic you can spend the money on an aftermarket trigger guard and AI magazine well with a couple of 10 round magazines. You'd need to do a little filing of the stock to get it to fit perfectly but it's worth it for 10 round mags.

The benefit of the Howa is that they are extremely customisable and shoot pretty well. I have no experience with the Steyr's but have handled a couple and didn't really like the feel of the bolt.

Have you thought about a CZ 527 classic? They are a mini Mauser action with CRF, nice little guns and they're around $1200. Not sure how customisable they are though.

[COLLECTOR 1]

[list=][/list]I've just brought a mini Howa, stainless heavy barrel....after torquing down everything it's without a doubt a laser beam...
I've had them all, over the years, and as the name implies I collect Brno,s, but these mini Howa,s are just UNBELIEVABLE
Mine is fitted up with a Tasso Target Varmint 6.5 to 24... it's used in a single cabin ute, so length is an issue... and I don't miss...

collector 1

[Cooper]

I reckon I'd go for a Howa mini action. For $750 sounds like pretty good valve! A Tikka lite would be my next choice followed by a CZ527. Can't really go wrong either way. But the Howa leaves a bit more room for a better scope etc.

[vmaxaust]

[quote="Ugly duckling"]My budget is $2k, friendly shooting targets, scrub/stalking, spot lighting. Factory ammo only. I have no experience in hunting and will be taken out by an extended family member.
I am on a budget and that's why I've chosen the .223.
i have 4 rifles with big differences between them all, im looking for the best all rounder IN YOUR OPINION, i will put prices at the end of each rifle to help also.
•Howa 1500, MDT hs3 chasis, 20" threaded blued barrel 1:9 twist, 10 shot MDT mag, magpul grip, vltor imod rifle stock, PWS fsc muzzle break, PWS enhanced buffer tube, swivel bipod, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1850
•Tikka T3X lite blued 20" blued barrel 1:8 twist, GRS berserker stock, swivel bipod, bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$2080
•Tikka T3X varmint blued 1:8 twist, lucky 13 tactical bolt handle, swivel bipod, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1850
•Steyr pro hunter, swivel bipod, cerakote barrel/action, Bushnell AR optic drop zone 223
$1875
Dont forget i am on a budget and this will be my only centre fire for a long time


Can't speak to Howa or Steyr. I don't have and have never fired either. I have a Tikka Super Varmint...excellent action, very accurate beautifully made. I also have CZ527 carbine...just as accurate as the Tikka, lighter weight and shorter 18" barrel, action is fine but not as good as Tikka, magazines are not as good either but it's a great carry rifle and has open sights when you don't want a scope.
I just bought a Ruger American Ranch rifle and to my amazement it's as accurate as the other two to at least 150 metres. Action is sloppier than Tikka but works perfectly especially while holding to shoulder for fast cycling. The rotary magazine has been fine but I've only put 100 rounds through it. I have a Holosun red dot on this short (16" barrel) very light carry all day rifle. Was only $750 so to me it's a bargain and very durable. Don't know how they can retail a rifle of this very good quality for the money.
I was firing my own reloads (55gr Hornady cheap projectiles, 25.5gr 2206H powder, Federal small rifle primers). Tried some ADI bulk ammo as well 55grain Sierra and these worked perfectly but I did not do accuracy comparison.

If I had to own just one of these for your application I would go with the Ruger or one of the lightweight Tikkas. Just my experience, we are all different.

Sam

[bigfellascott]

Whatever you buy make it lite - you'll soon realise why I say that if you buy a heavy barrel rifle for a hunting rifle ( they are designed for varminting type work shooting off a rest, lite rifles are designed for carrying around and shooting off hand.

[bladeracer]

Whatever you buy make it lite - you'll soon realise why I say that if you buy a heavy barrel rifle for a hunting rifle ( they are designed for varminting type work shooting off a rest, lite rifles are designed for carrying around and shooting off hand.

Light is good, lite means they left bits out

[Ugly duckling]

Thankyou all for your feedback its been much appreciated, i have gone with the tikka varmint model and i will say this, the steyr didnt sit right in my hand in regards to where the grip/shape is on the trigger hand, the quality is great and so was the weight, a bit disappointed because it looked like a quality bit of kit but it just didnt sit right.
The howa in the mdt chasis, i got talked out of quick by the sale guy, i did handle a varmint model that had a flat forend but felt very bulky.
Now, i am used to shooting an air rifle that weighs over 4.6 kg and when i held the tikka light, it felt flimsy imo, i know its not the case but im definitely used to swinging something that weighs so much more, the varmint stock felt great and ended up being the one, the build quality seems good, but not as good as the steyr imo.
Now the long 6 week wait because its my first centrefire, bumb friggen laws.
Oh i might ad that you can push the trigger forward on the steyr and then its a set trigger, i barely touched the trigger and it fired, very shocked to say the least, my air rifle has a custom 2 stage trigger unit and its set lite, but still no where near as light as the steyr trigger, scary scary.
I think a few random/accidental shots would go off in my hands.

[Lokvo]

Thankyou all for your feedback its been much appreciated, i have gone with the tikka varmint model and i will say this, the steyr didnt sit right in my hand in regards to where the grip/shape is on the trigger hand, the quality is great and so was the weight, a bit disappointed because it looked like a quality bit of kit but it just didnt sit right.
The howa in the mdt chasis, i got talked out of quick by the sale guy, i did handle a varmint model that had a flat forend but felt very bulky.
Now, i am used to shooting an air rifle that weighs over 4.6 kg and when i held the tikka light, it felt flimsy imo, i know its not the case but im definitely used to swinging something that weighs so much more, the varmint stock felt great and ended up being the one, the build quality seems good, but not as good as the steyr imo.
Now the long 6 week wait because its my first centrefire, bumb friggen laws.
Oh i might ad that you can push the trigger forward on the steyr and then its a set trigger, i barely touched the trigger and it fired, very shocked to say the least, my air rifle has a custom 2 stage trigger unit and its set lite, but still no where near as light as the steyr trigger, scary scary.
I think a few random/accidental shots would go off in my hands.

Hey duckling, just interested in what the sales guy had to say about the Howa in the MDT to talk you out of it?

[Ugly duckling]

I gave him my options, which i had posted on here and i had it all written out on paper for him, and straight up he questioned me about why i wanted a howa in an mdt chasis, and also said it was the most impractical gun to walk around in the bush out of the 4 guns and if i was shooting out of a 4x4 it also was the most impractical one to use, he also said the magazine comes out to far as you wouldn't want it to go past the lenght of the trigger guard and you wouldn't wont to be banging a gun around like that in a 4x4, its to nice. Also said it would be good if i was doing majority target shooting, longer distance shooting, or on the back of a ute.

Whats your thoughts about his comments on the howa in the hs3 chasis for my application ?
How do you get along with it in the scrub when hunting lokvo ?

[bladeracer]

I gave him my options, which i had posted on here and i had it all written out on paper for him, and straight up he questioned me about why i wanted a howa in an mdt chasis, and also said it was the most impractical gun to walk around in the bush out of the 4 guns and if i was shooting out of a 4x4 it also was the most impractical one to use, he also said the magazine comes out to far as you wouldn't want it to go past the lenght of the trigger guard and you wouldn't wont to be banging a gun around like that in a 4x4, its to nice. Also said it would be good if i was doing majority target shooting, longer distance shooting, or on the back of a ute.

Whats your thoughts about his comments on the howa in the hs3 chasis for my application ?
How do you get along with it in the scrub when hunting lokvo ?

Sounds like rubbish to me.
There are an awful lot of people using MDT chassis for hunting around the world.
As for the magazine, use 5-rd mags AICS if the length is a problem.

[bigfellascott]

I hope you don't have to carry that varmint long distances - you'll soon get sick of it over time (own plenty of varmints myself) love em but not really designed as a rifle to carry around all day long and not really designed for off hand shooting (doable but not really ideal for that type of shooting) more designed for shooting off a bipod or some form of rest.

Lighter is better for a general walkabout outfit especially if you intend doing it all day long type thing.

[Lokvo]

I gave him my options, which i had posted on here and i had it all written out on paper for him, and straight up he questioned me about why i wanted a howa in an mdt chasis, and also said it was the most impractical gun to walk around in the bush out of the 4 guns and if i was shooting out of a 4x4 it also was the most impractical one to use, he also said the magazine comes out to far as you wouldn't want it to go past the lenght of the trigger guard and you wouldn't wont to be banging a gun around like that in a 4x4, its to nice. Also said it would be good if i was doing majority target shooting, longer distance shooting, or on the back of a ute.

Whats your thoughts about his comments on the howa in the hs3 chasis for my application ?
How do you get along with it in the scrub when hunting lokvo ?

Ah I see. I do understand the logic though, my Howa in the MDT chassis is quite heavy and I personally wouldn't use it for hunting applications. Although the weight is primarily due to the varmint profile of the barrel, so If you took say a light/sporter barrel and then put into a MDT chassis or something similar then I wouldn't see why you couldn't use it for hunting purposes. But I have setup my Howa up strictly as a bench queen hence the crazy weight