Help pick a .223 rifle - Page 2

BIG P · January 15, 2012, 11:20 PM

Ruger works for me no matter bolt or semi.

603Country · January 16, 2012, 12:48 PM

I'd go for the bolt action and not worry too much about any followup shots. In the last couple of years, there have been a couple of times when pig hunting that I wished I'd had a semi, but that second shot usually is a lower percentage shot. On the coyotes, I shot doubles 3 or 4 times in 2011, and the second shot was always a non-running shot. It seems that if you see the male/female pair, shoot the one following. The lead coyote almost always runs a short distance to the edge of the woods, stops and looks back. Of course I may have now shot all the dumb ones. If I was in the market for a 223 bolt gun for coyotes, I'd go for a short barreled lightweight version like the Remington Model 7 or something similar from Sako, Ruger, Savage, Winchester, etc. One more thing of interest if you're a picky reloader is that with the Bolt gun you have a better chance of keeping your highly prepped brass. After the first shot, I rotate the rifle so that the ejection goes down, not out to the right. I hate losing my brass.

January 15, 2012, 11:20 PM	#26
BIG P Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2010 Location: North Georgia Posts: 1,679	Ruger works for me no matter bolt or semi.

January 16, 2012, 12:48 PM	#27
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	I'd go for the bolt action and not worry too much about any followup shots. In the last couple of years, there have been a couple of times when pig hunting that I wished I'd had a semi, but that second shot usually is a lower percentage shot. On the coyotes, I shot doubles 3 or 4 times in 2011, and the second shot was always a non-running shot. It seems that if you see the male/female pair, shoot the one following. The lead coyote almost always runs a short distance to the edge of the woods, stops and looks back. Of course I may have now shot all the dumb ones. If I was in the market for a 223 bolt gun for coyotes, I'd go for a short barreled lightweight version like the Remington Model 7 or something similar from Sako, Ruger, Savage, Winchester, etc. One more thing of interest if you're a picky reloader is that with the Bolt gun you have a better chance of keeping your highly prepped brass. After the first shot, I rotate the rifle so that the ejection goes down, not out to the right. I hate losing my brass.