Next Rifle Question

[Rick H]

Hah, my 788 in 308 was 84.95 and I paid $5 extra for the left hand action. My first Hi Power rifle, bought new in 1970. LOL killed a little whitetail buck with it last season too. Funny how that same 150 gr. Hornady spitzer and a case full of WW 748 still kills deer.

I once had a Rem 700 bdl Varmint Special in 222 Rem. I competed with it in local benchrest competition. It was accurate but I never used cast. Today I have a 22 Hornet bbl. for my Contender Carbine, and no less the 5 .223R/5.56 rifles to handle my varmint duty. I have no experience with cast, but with 55 gr. SP. I have taken Coyote to 300 yds. and prairie dogs to half again that far. As much as I loved my 222 the .223/5.56 does everything it did and more. Cases are free for the taking too. It is hard to not own the countries standard military round for the past 55 years or so.

Yes I like the 223/5.56

 

[Pistolero]

The deer never change and what used to work will work just as good in 2319, too.

 

[waco]

I have a Savage 12FV in .223(big heavy bench gun)
A CZ527 in .221 Fireball(Nice light walk around rifle)
And a 1979 Ruger tang safety M77 in .22-250(also a nice walk about gun)
Minus rimfire stuff, that's my varmint center fire lineup.

 

[462]

Uncle Grinch,
I sent you a PM.

 

[Brad]

A CZ in 221 would be good with cast as well.

 

[Will]

I’ll throw a curve ball at you. How about a Howa Mini action in 6.5 Grendel?

They can be build pretty cheap by buying the barreled action from brownells when they are on sale

 

[Intheshop]

Had a 722 ,222. The old accuracy load of 19g of IMR4198 behind any 50-52g match JB...... is my go to load shooting cast in a .223,55g Lee.

The 243's have been stellar accuracy with cast as well. However,I've never chased the velocity on the 3 here. The 22-250 is hampered by having so much body taper on the case...... well,as I see it. And have pretty good experience using them. They get a slight bad rep with cast,and that's OK...... gotta buckle down getting the case HARD back against the bolt face. So,getting the "jam" gets a touch dicey. Have to be willing to play with the nose shape..... and don't be bashful throwing some serious PSI up in there. A 222,or 223 slow twist is more forgiving.....and a more logical place to start. But that small boltface is a bugger swapping barrels in say a Savage or R700.

You can get bolt heads for Savages though,and not too terribly $$. If you want to "play" with,or experiment..... go Savage. "One" of the nicest parts is; You get to set the headspace for over the counter dies. Set the die up so it fully sizes the case,touching the shell holder to the bttm of the die..... then adj the barrel to give .001 or .002" of clearance. It's just a darn convenient way to go about it. Could go on.....

 

[Uncle Grinch]

I came close to buying one at Oshmans in the early 70’s, but didn’t because it was too “ugly” compared to the 700. I think I’m “more educated” now and appreciate their design and accuracy.

 

[KHornet]

Honet thru 223 would fit your needs.

Paul

 

[Glaciers]

I had a Winchester 43 in 218 Bee. Great little gun would shoot bug holes. Also a early Ruger #1 in 222 Rem, loved the Ruger, could not get it to shoot. Long story short when I moved to Alaska in 74 I sold these rifles as I wanted/needed larger caliber rifles. Both those rifles are in the column of "never should have let go" along with many others. The 218 and the 222 are slow twist rifles and as others have stated cast friendly. That 218 was a fun gun to shoot and load for.
Been looking for older Savage and/or a 788 in 222 for a while now, those calibers are rare up here.

 

[waco]

A CZ in 221 would be good with cast as well.

This is something I would like to pursue. I just can't get my Lee mold to cut that tiny base clean. ALWAYS a big sprue nub. Better mold perhaps....

 

[Bret4207]

I still have a Winchester 43 in 218 Bee. Nice enough rifle, but if a Savage 23 in 22 Hornet came along I'd trade. That would give me 1 Savage 23 in 32-20, 2 in 25-20, 1 in 22lr and the Hornet. I think that's the grand slam...

 

[JWFilips]

I have a Ruger .243 Tang safety Varmint rifle in .243 Win Very accurate with cast....especially the NOE 105 gr
Low node and high node

 

[M3845708Bama]

It won't happen till next year, but I'd like to get a rifle chambered in a varmint-type cartridge. However, it would only be used for target shooting out to a maximum of 200-yards, so thought I'd ask all you rifleers for suggestions.

The cartridge would have to be of the common every-day, non-exotic, non-magnum variety, and cast bullet friendly. Additionally, rifle make and model suggestions would be appreciated.

The local used market is small, and a new rifle would have to be on the frugal side.

Thanks,
Michael

you owe it to yourself to look at a 6x45. It is very accurate, almost no recoil, uses very little powder and very easy to reload, uses 223 or 556 brass. If you set your dies for chamber, 16 reloads are not uncommon for brass. A retired friend recently had one put together and using wife’s load put all five shot into a 5/8” x dot at 200 yards on his first trip to range. A number of retired shooters (on fixed incomes) at the range have used older savages have replaced barrels and stocks with similar results. With faster twists it can handle up to 110gr bullets. It is a very well behaved accurate round.

 

[wquiles]

Good read on the 6x45 cartridge - pretty neat indeed
https://www.chuckhawks.com/friendly_6mm.htm

 

[462]

I'm aware of the 6X45 and don't doubt that it lives up to its reputation, but I will want a factory cartridge. Too, my "fun money" is limited and I'm frugal.

 

[JonB]

I still have a Winchester 43 in 218 Bee. Nice enough rifle, but if a Savage 23 in 22 Hornet came along I'd trade. That would give me 1 Savage 23 in 32-20, 2 in 25-20, 1 in 22lr and the Hornet. I think that's the grand slam...

Disclaimer: this is not an offer to buy/trade

Winchester 43 in 218 Bee is kind of rare.
I was at a gun auction a few years back, and there was a very nice one, with a partial box of ammo, the auctioneer said that box of ammo was the only box the original owner ever bought (I doubt that was true, but entertaining anyway). This was a live auction only (no callers or internet). I bid on it until $900, then quit as I couldn't afford any more. The bidding kept going, and finally stopped just north of $2k

 

[CZ93X62]

Lotta money for a rifle (Win M-43) with ammo outta print entirely, and its pre-cursor case (25/20 WCF) going the same direction.

The guy that re-barreled my Rem 788 x 22-250 is a HUGE fan of the 6 x 45. One of those would surely be a lot cheaper to run than a 243 Win, from a powder cost standpoint--or the 22-250, come to think of it.

 

[Glaciers]

Disclaimer: this is not an offer to buy/trade

Winchester 43 in 218 Bee is kind of rare.
I was at a gun auction a few years back, and there was a very nice one, with a partial box of ammo, the auctioneer said that box of ammo was the only box the original owner ever bought (I doubt that was true, but entertaining anyway). This was a live auction only (no callers or internet). I bid on it until $900, then quit as I couldn't afford any more. The bidding kept going, and finally stopped just north of $2k

Your kidding right? Please tell me your kidding.

 

[JonB]

not kiddin