.223 or .308 in a paper punchin' bolt action ?

[ATeaM]

I want an accurate paper puncher in an easy to come by, affordable caliber. I've been set on the .223 for cost alone, but now I'm thinking stepping up to a .308 wouldn't be a bad idea, just in case I decided to hunt or otherwise.
Along comes an ad for a local shop, check out these two rifles and tell me what you think. I'm trying to budget this at $400 +or- $50 for the rifle, and around $150 for the scope. Tell me what you think of these two rifles and whatever else I should consider.

 

[Spectre]

At what distance do you plan on firing? That would help determine between these two calibers, as well as your sensitivity to recoil.

Also, are you only thinking of these two because of cheap surplus ammo? If so, you may want to consider how accurate you want to be, because you will have some limitations with military surplus stuff.

If you want a truly accurate, soft-recoiling rifle that will work well at ranges out to 350 yards or so, you may want to consider something like a .243 or a 6mm Remington. .243 ammunition will be a little easier to come by, but is not quite as powerful as 6mm Remington. It will also work well out to 150 yards or so on deer. Personally, in your case, I might go for the .22-250. This is known to be an extremely accurate caliber; recoil is not fierce; ammunition is not prohibitively expensive. If you handload, or are willing to pay a little extra, you can also get ammunition that will work well on deer (if .224 is legal on deer in your state), as the .22-250 has several hundred extra FPS over a .223.

 

[Karsten]

ATeam
I should think both would do you a great job for entry level and for some time to come. I would lean a little towards the Savage for resale when you need to upgrade.
As for a $150.00 scope, Simmons, BSA or something along those lines for the time being in a 4x16x40MM should get you out there.
No Flames on cheaper scopes guys, remember he has a budget :009:
I would highly consider reloading to .308 round and work something up the works in either rifle. Either get a case of Boxer primed Hirtenberger from http://www.aimsurplus.com and shoot it up for the brass. Accuracy would be the greatest but you would be spending cheap time learning all the bad habits you need to break and then you would have 1000 pieces of brass. Then you can reload at MOA groups.
If you need help on reloading equipment let us know and I am sure we can get you pointed in the right direction.
Just a little something for say Prairie Poodles at 500 yards or so in .308

Good Luck

Karsten

[Edited by Karsten on 05-12-2001 at 03:45 PM]

 

[Chad Young]

Ok, this is just my $0.02:

Get it in .308.

My reasons why:
1. Longer effective range that either .223 or .22-250
2. More likely to be legal to hunt deer with (In FL, can't hunt deer with .223 or .22-250)
3. Better bullet tolerance to wind and obstructions
4. (Compared to .22-250) greater availability of match-grade ammo as well as millitary surplus for practice.
5. Greater range of bulet weights and types.

I selected .308 for my Savage and have been extremely pleased with it so far.