Budget Varmint gun?

[deadcoyote]

I recently sold my AR-15 as it seemed to be a great idea while building it then I found myself just getting mad it wasn't as accurate as my bolt guns. So now I have a lot of .223 in my garage with no 223 rifle. I've been thinking a Savage Model 12. Savages are my favorite but the money's pretty tight right now. I saw CDNN has Howa varmint rifles on sale for $389, are these any good? Anybody know anything about Howa? How about another lower priced varmint rifle alternative?

[Jim243]

Savage Axis 223, $329 on sale. Excelent rifle.

[mikejonestkd]

Lots of great choices for a budget .223 bolt rifle:

Weatherby vanguard, Howa 1500, savage 10 0r 12, TC venture, Savage edge, Stevens 200. Take your pick, all are decent for the money.

[shanzlik]

Howa makes a good rifle. I have a 1500 .308 heavy barrel I setup as a long range target rifle and it's as good as a Rem 700 or anything else along those lines when you're talking factory rifles.

[38superhero]

what jim said...ftw

[wnycollector]

deadcoyote I just bought the .308 howa 1500 custom varmint from CDNN. It's currently on it's way to my FFL dealer. Once I get it to the range, I will give you a heads up. Over at sniper central and the snipers hide, the howa 1500 is looked on as a real bargain for a long range shooter. Most reports are between 0.5 - 0.75 MOA out of the box.

[4runnerman]

Savage 12 all the way:D

[deadcoyote]

Yeah, I hate to cut it short but I think i'm going with the Savage 12. i already own two Savage 10's and they both shoot .5 moa out of the box. I ventured into the Rem 700 world about 18 months ago and was seriously dissappointed at paying more for less in my opinion. All the Howa reviews I just read by shooters stated 1.5 moa out of the box, sub 1 moa with tinkering, bedding and handloads. I'm too busy for projects with work and a toddler at home, I think i'll stick with what works.:D

[Logs]

Just bought a Savage Axis for $275 including tax. Just put a 3x9x50 VXII on it and hope to site it in this weekend. Looks good, now I hope it shoots. :)

[k31]

savage stevens m200 or rossi rifle all about the 250-300 mark if you look around
and come in great calibers .17-308

[700sage]

M700 SPS tactical in .223! It's cheaper than a Savage M12 and probably more accurate. It comes pillar bedded. All it needs is some good glass and a good bipod.

[pabuckslayer08]

T/C venture predator edition 22-250. May be 400 bucks and a little more than the Howa or Savage but its twice the gun. You wont find another gun as accurate for under that price.

[4runnerman]

I have to IMHO disagree with last two posts. Cut and dry other than a compatition rifle ,i don't beleive anything is more accurate than a Savage.
Model 12 FVSS

[Buzzcook]

You could spend the money getting your AR-15 tuned.

[joegator]

I don't think anything under $500 can beat the T/C Venture.

[Patriot86]

You could probably find a good used AR-15 style rifle for around $500.00.
depending on what ranges your talking about, you may or may not want optics(Double that if you want optics and other toys).
I have never been a fan of .223 bolt guns, if your going to go to a bolt gun why not go to something like a .300 winchester magnum, .308 or .30-06 chambered rifle.

[.308Freak]

My younger brother bought a savage 22-250 "edge" Or "Axis". they are the same gun i guess some one else was using the edge name so they changed it to AXIS. It was 249.99 at sportsmans, and the scope is a sightron 3-9. Gun, scope, rings and mounts were 435 out the door. With hornady superformance 50 grainers i shot a 1/4" 3 shot group at 98 yards in honestly less than 35 seconds......its a great gun im just ****** i shot the best group of my life with my younger brothers rifle....:mad: Go with the edge you wont be dissapointed.

[Ifishsum]

I have a couple of the Savage model 12FV rifles, in .204 and one in .223. Both were sub-MOA out of the box with factory ammo, and even better with handloads. The .204 shoots 1/2 inch groups regularly @100 yds, highly recommended as far as I'm concerned.

[Lexter]

Another vote for the Savage.

I have a Savage in .223 that is a tack-driver...if I do my part.

[HankC1]

Go for the CDNN Howa. Won't find another heavy barrel @ $389. Howa is known for accuracy but Howa 223 is 1/12 twist, may not wrok for you if you want to shoot heavy bullets.

[Stillhunter]

HankC1 has it right,rate of twist is important in a 223. My Savage 12FV loves 55s or greater,dislikes the 45s.Rate of Twist 1-9 on a Savage 12FV.

[jhgreasemonkey]

For a budget .223 bolt gun I would go with the stevens 200 hands down. I'm not sure if you are familiar with this rifle but heres what it is. Stevens is a division of savage and the 200 is built on the old pre accutrigger savage 110 tooling. It's a pre accutrigger savage plain and simple. Meaning it will have the same excellent accuracy and quality. You can always upgrade from the factory trigger and budget synthetic stock down the road when or if it suits you.

[dodge]

I own a Savage Edge in 7-08 and for those who claim 1" or better groups out of the box then more power to them. Mine out of the box was about a 5" groups and it took some handload developement to get it to shot down to the 1" mark. I'm not real happy with this rifle and after I get back to work from vacation it'll go the way of the dodo bird from my household. Won't buy and will not recommend this rifle to anybody.

[Shoes]

Rem 700 SPS - very accurate .223REM.

[JiminTexas]

If it's a long range varmit gun, then second shots will be nearly non existant. So, why not a single shot? Remington International SPR, made by Baikal, rifles are good looking and accurate and cost just over $200 new. Rossi also makes a single shot, but I don't know about their accuracy. I've never shot one. but they are even less expensive. You don't have to pay Blaser prices for acceptable accuracy.

[hooligan1]

Woa, dodge,, maybe it ain't all the rifles fault! Could be that it didn't like the ammo, There's a list you can go through to exhaust all routes to having a superbly shooting rifle.:)