Sometimes, my first thought is right. But I like to be certain and keep an open mind..223 Remington. The perfect companion to 22lr and 12ga, and your initial center-fire rifle option that makes sense in terms of having an inventory of varied chambering selections that can collectively do many different things. From there, something in 6.5mm or heavier, to open other avenues still, if and when desired.
Sometimes, my first thought is right. But I like to be certain and keep an open mind.
I'm scrawny and shaped like a pear.8mm and 7.62 x 54r. I have oodles and oodles of it.
Nope. You are correct, Sir!Maybe I misunderstood the question. They want a range rifle. To me that means a few things:
1.) Fun to shoot
2.) Accurate
3.) Decently economical
There's nothing very economical about some of the pet choices being bandied about.
Wanna put some of that 8mm thru my K98s?8mm and 7.62 x 54r. I have oodles and oodles of it.
How bout a .308 Garand?I never liked shooting off the AR platform. 40 years ago we were shooting 400 yard targets with it. (USAR) I can't even see that far with corrected vision any more!
It's unpleasant to shoot and butt ugly.
I'm a FUDD.
A used, wood .308 bolt gun would sure be purdy!
Some states allow hunting with a 223 - I know when I was a kid my Dad took a deer with a Sako Vixen in 223, although I wouldn’t recommend hunting anything bigger.Nope. You are correct, Sir!
The only other consideration was the possibility of legal hunting opportunities in retirement.
Like that would ever happen...
The usual MDS cacachittery was anticipated as well as appreciated.
That has got to be some of the most fun you can have with your clothes on. I have a lot of love for bolt actions in intermediate calibers. I recently picked up a CZ527 in 223 but it's nowhere near that accurate. I hope to get it there one day though.I have a rifle I built in .223 that is accurate to the point that it's a real joy to shoot when I'm having a good day behind the rifle. I don't even do anything specific to reload other than size my brass and then trim it to length.
Here's a pic of the rifle and a couple of targets that were shot at 100 yards. (The target with the dime - 5 shots - was shot at 50 yards.) Granted, these are good targets - groups aren't always that tight because I'm not always that consistent, but the rifle will certainly do it if I can. On that battleship target, those dots are about the size of a nickel and each shot is a hit if it breaks the line.
This rifle is actually built to be a prairie dog gun - I could have gone with 22-250, which is considered the King of the varmint gun cartridges, but I went with 223 because it's cheap, and 223 range pickup is EVERYWHERE. A guy can get a good stock of good brass if they want to take the time to sort by headstamp and weigh the cases. There is a fair bit of brass prep to deal with though - crimped primer pockets and all - but I don't mind that so much, and my reloads have proven to be a great deal more consistent than cheap factory ammo.
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Get Ed Harren to take care of that for you. He doesn't post much but he's on the boards as DocEd. He's in imams ijamsville, not too far from you. He turns the 527s into some wicked shooters. When the actions were available readily he would do PPCs on them.That has got to be some of the most fun you can have with your clothes on. I have a lot of love for bolt actions in intermediate calibers. I recently picked up a CZ527 in 223 but it's nowhere near that accurate. I hope to get it there one day though.