Looking for a .223 Rifle

I can speak to Howa. They build the best budget rifle out there IMO. Their standard stocks are kinda shitty but the metal work is impeccable and they shoot great. You've got a pretty fat budget so there are lots of options. I think a howa 1500 is an excellent choice. Its like a vastly improved remington 700.

Lots of great varmint rifles out there in 223 that will easily be great 300 yard shooters. I highly recommend putting your hands on a howa

Free floated barrel without having to have an extremely rigid stock is my guess. Many budget rifles have free floated barrels and very flimsy stocks that will flex into the barrel on a rest. I guess rather than make a rigid stock they decided to make it stay far from the barrel. Somebody probably thought it looked cool too.

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Have more .223 ammo than any other ammo so I'm looking for a good .223.

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Keep in mind barrel twist, some of the 223s come in 1-12 twist and will only shoot low grain 40-55gr bullets well.
Not saying it won’t shoot the 60-70grs but just may not shoot them well. I bought a heavy bull barrel 18in 1-8 twist upper so I could shoot 62gr fusions for deer and pigs and it stacks them, I also put in a drop in trigger and it makes it way more accurate.

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As far as bolt guns, are there any others that should be on my list? Top end budget is $2,000.

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Should absolutely consider the tikka or CZ 223 rifles.

Hey WhiskeyThrottle,
Glad to hear you're looking for a new gun. I always like it when folks buy a new gun. Although I have limited personal experience w/ the specific guns you mentioned I'd like to add a few thoughts. I'd not heard of the Franchi prior to this, but it looks like an interesting gun. I did note it's kinda heavy, weighing 9.4# (unscoped) w/ a 24" barrel. I don't have the RR you mentioned. OTOH, my cousin has a RR in 223 and it's very accurate. I have experience w/ Howa having bought a barreled Mini Action in 223 Rem 6 months back. I converted it to 20 VarTarg (221 Fireball or 300 Blackout brass necked dow to 20 caliber) by switching out the factory barrel w/ a custom barrel and adding a handgun stock. I really like the Howa Mini Action for something like the 223. Compared to it's regular action (like on the Axiom), the Mini Action is shorter and lighter. The Axiom you're looking at weighs 10.9# w/ a 20" barrel. The Mini Action weighs 5.5# w/ a 20" barrel. The Franchi and Axiom would be better bench guns, but the Mini Action's going to be a lot more handy and lighter if you move around much while hunting. Howa guarantees sub 1" groups at 100 yards w/ premium ammo. Before swapping out the barrel, my factory barrel shot good w/ handloads I had for a different 223. While I think you'd be happy w/ a Howa, I would suggest looking at the Mini Action.

As far as other guns to look at, I can personally endorse Savage and Mossberg bolt actions. I've got 5 Savage bolt action centerfire guns and all are very accurate .A friend of mine has a Savage Axis and it also is very accurate. I went on a prairie dog hunt once w/ a guide who shot a Mossberg and it was a very accurate gun.

With any of the aforementioned guns you'll have lots of money left over to spend on high quality optics and ammo. One can get a very accurate 223 bolt action w/o spending much money. Your biggest challenge now will probably gun availability.

Howa Mini Action w/ factory rifle barrel and handgun stock.


Howa Mini Action w/ custom 20 VarTarg barrel and handgun stock.


Finished gun in 20 VarTarg in the field

What kind of ammo do you own? Is it all 55gr standard .223 /5.56?

That would be what I’d start looking at 1st.

Not all .223 ammo is the same and and you need to buy a gun with a proper twist rate.