Best .223 £500-1000

[Stone14 9]

Whats peoples opinions on which is the best .223 centrefire rifle & scope kit for £500-1000.  I'm interested in long distance shooting overall.

[Stavross 15,790]

Second hand tikka for that money

if it’s a package you want for around a grand then Remington 700, good functional rifle, but a bit rattly or there’s the Howa 1500 if you need something to wack a fence post in, because there not much good for owt else ( just my opinion, I’m sure someone somewhere loves them ) I’d definitely look for a second hand tikka from a reputable gun dealer

P.S why do you want .223 for long distance 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Stavross

[Stone14 9]

5 hours ago, Stavross said:

Second hand tikka for that money

if it’s a package you want for around a grand then Remington 700, good functional rifle, but a bit rattly or there’s the Howa 1500 if you need something to wack a fence post in, because there not much good for owt else ( just my opinion, I’m sure someone somewhere loves them ) I’d definitely look for a second hand tikka from a reputable gun dealer

P.S why do you want .223 for long distance 

The rifle would be for foxing. And long range target practice (i just like being a sniper lol. 

Whats a good rifle for foxing then if my budgets too low ill just save more. I thought a modern rifle for that price would do the job? Thanks for your advice though im taking it on board.

[Stone14 9]

5 hours ago, Stavross said:

Second hand tikka for that money

if it’s a package you want for around a grand then Remington 700, good functional rifle, but a bit rattly or there’s the Howa 1500 if you need something to wack a fence post in, because there not much good for owt else ( just my opinion, I’m sure someone somewhere loves them ) I’d definitely look for a second hand tikka from a reputable gun dealer

P.S why do you want .223 for long distance 

Watched this video so thought the budget would be enough, what would you say I should be spending?

 

[Stone14 9]

Whwn I say long range, to me its 300-500yards, so maybe not long range in terms or rifle ranges. Just to clarify.

[ianm 2,594]

3 hours ago, Stone14 said:

Whwn I say long range, to me its 300-500yards, so maybe not long range in terms or rifle ranges. Just to clarify.

300 yds at night is a long way, 300 yds in daylight not so much. Which are you going to do most of?

[Stone14 9]

29 minutes ago, ianm said:

300 yds at night is a long way, 300 yds in daylight not so much. Which are you going to do most of?

Daylight initially, night time will probably be my final progression.

[ianm 2,594]

2 hours ago, Stone14 said:

Daylight initially, night time will probably be my final progression.

Do you intend to dial the scope or are you looking to point and shoot?

[KimE 487]

The rifles in what test are built for the US market , they have made compromises with the stocks , triggers, barrel attachment to fit the sub 400$ market. An used Tikka have adjustable trigger, nicer feeling to the stock, a used rem700 can be upgraded and custmomized for the long range shooting you want to do. A better quality scope is more likely to do what you want and keep its zero.

[si brown 8,486]

Franchi do some packages for starters, seen rifle scope and mod setups for under £800… they might not be the best but if you’ve got a set budget of 1k might be worth a punt. 
 

i use a begara b14 for deer in 6.5 they do them in loads of different calibers and if you get a synthetic there only about £700 and will turn out a finger nail size group with home loads no problem 

[Stone14 9]

Having a look into Tikka, ive seen the Tikka T3X 6.5 has good reviews. Also hearing budget guns that come with scope generally have poor scopes so I'd be happy to pay more for a tikka like this one and then save for a good quality scope. 

When looking up Tikka ive spotted Sako, that they are from the same manufacturer but sako has better quality components. So now my dilemma is tikka or sako .

 

Also can anyone recommend a good quality scope that holds a good zero with a nice clear window. Thanks.

[Stone14 9]

Is a 6.5 not too heavy for foxing? I also need to weight up the costs of ammo which I still need to look into. I did hear that .243 ammo is more expensive than .223 which is why I initially looked into .223. 

[BenBhoy 4,706]

53 minutes ago, Stone14 said:

So now my dilemma is tikka or sako

If you're on a budget (even if you weren't) Tikka every time. The £££ extra frills of the sako be better off on your scope.

[Deker 3,478]

The words Budget and LONG range shooting don't sit that comfortably together.

Of course you can get some good results, but the longer the range the better the equipment you need.

In the field I rarely shoot past 200 yards, and very rarely past 300 yards, my field tools and ammo are perfectly adequate for that.

I also use the same tools on the range out to 1000 yards and get results of a sort, but when I use a pals proper target rifle set up for the distance I'll get nearly 50% V Bulls, that's a massive improvement.

Almost any rifle brand is capable of some decent results out to 500 yards, Tikka, CZ, Howa, Remington, etc., would be good choices in what some may call the budget range.  And you don't actually have to spend a fortune on glass either, but probably should.     You are not going to buy a decent, entire NEW setup for distance shooting for £500-£1000, and to be honest you may well have to spend a bit of time looking for used at that price as well! 

Your real problem is overall accuracy, repeatability, reliability, dialing, etc., with cheaper equipment.

Remember its gun, scope/mounts, bipod, probably moderator as well, and decent ammo, you will not do consistantly well without pretty much all that.

[Wolfdog91 7,099]

Honestly if it you can roll your own ammo you really don't need a top class rifle to start out. Can't say the same about glass though. But (and I'm not sure about how it is for y'all ) you can get some pretty nice optics now days that 10years ago would have cost you $1500 for less then $500 .

Arken 

Athlon

Primary arms

SWFA (SS)

All have great units under $400 and they all have amazing track record to date.

As far as a rifle, Mossberg Patriots are like $300 here all day. Again not sure about y'all. But my .243 only needed two days worth of load development to get nice fast sub MOA groups to the point it's pretty boring imo.

A decent scope ammo and possibly a better stock in the future ( or just add a $30 cheek riser) can do wonders.