Welcome guest, is this your first visit? Create Account now to join.
  • Login:

Welcome to the NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.

Night Vision NZ Terminator


User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 5 of 5
Like Tree6Likes
  • 3 Post By Ground Control
  • 3 Post By Ground Control

Thread: .223 Factory ammo Budget Project Rifle .

  1. #1
    Member Ground Control's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Australia / Marlborough Sounds
    Posts
    1,354

    .223 Factory ammo Budget Project Rifle .

    I haven't been back to our place in the Sounds for over two years now due to the Virus Shit .
    I thought I might contribute some posts to show what I'm up to over here in Australia .
    Shooting on our property here in Central QLD isn't like hunting in NZ and most shooting is vehicle based and often at night .
    From the beginning I decided that I wanted to try getting a Budget .223 rifle shooting sub 25mm @ 100m consistently with Factory ammo .
    I gave myself a Budget which I will explain as time goes on .
    This will be an honest account of my journey and the actual money spent ( Not what we all tell our wives )
    So here goes .
    I purchased a Howa Compact Tactical
    Fluted Barrel .223 rifle 1 in 8 twist from Cleavers in Brisbane $694.00 delivered .



    I chose this model for a couple of reasons - HACT Trigger , Fluted Barrel ( I know all the reasons why Fluted is just a waste of time but Holy Shit I like the look of it )
    Threaded barrel ( important for reasons that will be explained ) , Heavy barrel but only 20 inches long not the 24 inches of the Varmint model ( Short , Stiff , manageable from a vehicle )




    The PTA cost me $ 41.95 ( PTA is a Permit to Aquire and you can't buy a firearm without one )


    A Bloke I know locally is a Pro Shooter ( Roo's and Pigs ) and has for years used Howa .223 rifles but the first thing he did was ditch the Hogue piller bedded stock for another Hogue but a fully alloy bedded one .
    After doing heaps of research it was clear thar this was the best budget way to go .
    Is it the best option ?
    No , but it costs $345.00 delivered and sorts out the flexible forend and bedding in one move .
    Here is a pic of the original pillar Stock , see how the barrel channel gap isn't even , and just breathing on it makes it flex .



    So diverting off the Stock for a minute , I wanted to improve the Bolt knob .
    All of my other bolt rifles now have larger round Bolt knobs , they just are nicer to use and improve function in my opinion .
    The Howa's bolt knob/handle is on the smaller side so a Tourbon rubber knob was ordered off EBay $14.85 delivered .




    The installed knob wasn't that good a fit due I think to the shape of the Howa's knob .
    It moved around a little which is not the best , so I had to use some contact glue which sorted out the problem .
    This alteration to the Factory rifle like all the changes that I do is easily reversible , I will be doing zero gunsmithing / permant removal
    of anything and the rifle will be able to be returned to Factory at any point if I want to .



    Now the Stock , it is a Hogue full alloy bedded in Tan colour $345.00 delivered .



    So at this point lets do a $$$ talley up . ( all in AU dollars )

    Rifle $694.00
    PTA $41.95
    Stock$345.00
    Bolt. $14.85

    Total $1095.80

    So much for this being a " Budget " gun because there is still lots to do .
    Last edited by Ground Control; 20-02-2022 at 05:35 PM.
    Tahr, Mooseman and charliehorse like this.
    FALL IN LOVE WITH THE NUMBERS , NOT THE IDEA

  2. #2
    Member Ground Control's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Australia / Marlborough Sounds
    Posts
    1,354
    I really deliberated as to using 2 piece bases or a single rail , because its a top loading rifle I was nervous that a rail would make it harder to load rounds into the mag .
    In the end I went with a rail because I believe they eliminate any misalignment problems .
    I found a Leupold rail online for $89.95 delivered . I found cheaper rails but Leupold is a recognised brand and it's foolish to scrimp and save to much on mounts and rings ( I've been bitten in the past )

    I made sure that the screw holes were cleaned out with acetone to remove grease and oil before loctiting them to the reccommended torque settings .
    I've found out the hard way in the past of the loctite not working because of dirty threads and the mounts coming loose .
    This is the grime from one hole .



    After I was happy with everything I mounted the rail




    The total has just gone to $ 1185.75
    FALL IN LOVE WITH THE NUMBERS , NOT THE IDEA

  3. #3
    Member Ground Control's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Australia / Marlborough Sounds
    Posts
    1,354
    Gave the Bore a good cleanout of the grease / oil that new rifles come with .




    Then mounted a Vortex 4-16 FFP scope .
    This isn't going to be the final Scope for this rifle , but it would do for initial testing .
    It sits in some Burris Z rings , the ones with the inserts .
    I'm not adding this Scope / Rings $$$ to the total but when I do decide on the right combo it will be added .
    The Vortex and rings came off my Tikka T1x rimfire which I haven't used for a while .




    Next I added a Comb Cheek riser that I've owned for a while ( purchased off EBay ) , this will be staying on the rifle so must be added to costs .


    $ 60.95

    Total now $ 1246.70
    FALL IN LOVE WITH THE NUMBERS , NOT THE IDEA

  4. #4
    Member Ground Control's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Australia / Marlborough Sounds
    Posts
    1,354
    I already had a selection of ammo from previous .223 rifles I've owned .



    Picked up some more factory ammo to add to the selection I already have , Initial testing won't be very serious , just a a few 5 shot groups to see what the rifle likes and hates .



    I have a Barrel Tuner inbound and real testing will begin when I recieve that .
    Tahr, Mooseman and Micky Duck like this.
    FALL IN LOVE WITH THE NUMBERS , NOT THE IDEA

  5. #5
    Member Micky Duck's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Geraldine
    Posts
    24,797
    do me a favour...when do do your accuracy test...do a 9 shot group,1 round of each...be really interested to see what you get...my bet would be no more than 1.5" at hundy...

 

 

Similar Threads

  1. Alpine Rifle - Factory Ammo
    By GlenM in forum Firearms, Optics and Accessories
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 04-09-2021, 10:54 PM
  2. Budget 223 ammo
    By akaroa1 in forum Reloading and Ballistics
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 24-11-2018, 04:22 PM
  3. Best $1000 budget rifle ??
    By viper in forum Firearms, Optics and Accessories
    Replies: 118
    Last Post: 25-09-2017, 08:19 PM
  4. budget rifle scopes for 308
    By huglife in forum Gear and Equipment
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 01-09-2017, 01:04 AM
  5. Factory Ammo for 308 Bush Rifle
    By Dino in forum Reloading and Ballistics
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 13-10-2012, 09:20 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Welcome to NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums! We see you're new here, or arn't logged in. Create an account, and Login for full access including our FREE BUY and SELL section Register NOW!!