centrefire field rifle?

Benchrest, F-class, Metallic Silhouette, Handgun Shooting and anything other form of target shooting!
Post Reply
User avatar
V|PeR
.22 WMR
Posts: 124
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:04 pm
Favourite Cartridge: .22
Location: Perth WA

centrefire field rifle?

Post by V|PeR »

Well I am thinking of starting centrefire field rifle as well.

From what I have been reading, .223 is a reasonable cartridge choice but any suggestions on rifles - remington, tikka etc

what is everyone else using?
User avatar
MISSED
Moderator
Posts: 8377
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:23 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 20 PPC
Location: YASS

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by MISSED »

Do yourself a favor Viper step straight past a 223 and into a 204.
User avatar
V|PeR
.22 WMR
Posts: 124
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:04 pm
Favourite Cartridge: .22
Location: Perth WA

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by V|PeR »

Didnt even give the 204 any thought.......do they burn barrels out quickly? With a kid on the way the purse strings in this house have been tightened
User avatar
MISSED
Moderator
Posts: 8377
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:23 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 20 PPC
Location: YASS

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by MISSED »

V|PeR wrote:Didnt even give the 204 any thought.......do they burn barrels out quickly? With a kid on the way the purse strings in this house have been tightened
Viper how many shots will you fire a year?(be realistic)
So if acceptable accuracy lasted for 3000 rounds how long will the barrel last you in terms of years.
User avatar
V|PeR
.22 WMR
Posts: 124
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:04 pm
Favourite Cartridge: .22
Location: Perth WA

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by V|PeR »

yeah fair point Missed.....can see barrel lasting a number of years as would probably shoot it max 10 times a year at 42 shots = 420 plus few practice and i have 6 years life.

from what i read a 204 is bit more costly to run?

ALso, you suggesting 204 as it shoots flatter or what are the other advantages?
User avatar
jimbo
.17 HMR
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:11 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 6 PPC
Location: South Australia

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by jimbo »

If you are serious about shooting any rifle discipline do yourself a REAL favour and check to see what the best shooters in that discipline are using.

We are fortunate down here to have some of the best field rifle shooters in this country competing at Para Range.
I spoke to Rod Frisby and Dave McCarthy last Sunday about your question, and they told me that they use the 222 Remington for Field Rifle shooting. Mind you, they have pretty classy outfits with custom action and barrels, etc. Why use the 222 over other calibres?

OK, for rapid fire you need a cartridge that will easily chamber from a standard magazine - the 222 does this superbly. The 222 is slightly more accurate than the the 223, as evidenced by the fact that the 222 was the top benchrest cartridge in the world before the PPC blew everything away. The 223 was good, but could not quite match the 222 in pure group shooting accuracy terms. Because you only shoot to 200 yards, heavy bullets are not required. A good 52 grain match will do the job.
Recoil is also a factor, and the 222 causes no problems there.

Some shooters have used the 6mmPPC, but there is a bit of work required to get the short cartridges to feed reliably from any magazine. You have to get through the rapid fire section first, remember. Can't afford lost points through a foul up.

Having said all that if you must use a 223, then it will do the job for now, but in time when you get good at it you will need to upgrade to a match barrel and a 222. Forget the 204 - great varmint cartridge, but not for field rifle comp.

Me, well I'll stick to benchrest, but if I got back into field rifle, I would use a 6 x 47mm (222Mag necked up to 6mm), but that is another story.



Brendan Atkinson
User avatar
Rabbitz
.338 Lapua Magnum
Posts: 2421
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 9:05 am
Favourite Cartridge: 222
Location: Barossa Valley, SA
Contact:

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by Rabbitz »

jimbo wrote:If you are serious about shooting any rifle discipline do yourself a REAL favour and check to see what the best shooters in that discipline are using.

We are fortunate down here to have some of the best field rifle shooters in this country competing at Para Range.
I spoke to Rod Frisby and Dave McCarthy last Sunday about your question, ...
<snip>
Brendan Atkinson
This is why I like this site....

Great work Jimbo
mistit
.308 Winchester
Posts: 1602
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:42 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 220 swift ack
Location: Orrangeville

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by mistit »

never really shot field rifle but there is a beautiful tikka master sporter in 222 on here that would make the perfect outfit :D
User avatar
alex1
.17 HMR
Posts: 214
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:23 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 223
Location: near ballan

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by alex1 »

Hi mate. I have a ruger 223 and love it. It’s all factory based and I still love it. I don't have time to go to the range and don't have time to reload. I can still shoot bunnys to 200m and can fit a reasonable priced scope to suit the equation.

Mate at the end of the day it all ends up to what your tastes are and how far you want to shoot out too. The further you want to shoot the more it's gonna stab you in the pocket.

Realistically the scope plays a huge part of the equation and a quality firearm regarding barrel and trigger.

If you are a farmer, I would just go factory based. If you are a range shooter then something else might be your gold regarding accuracy. These types of sport, leisure, fun, gold and life are two totally different categories in my opinion.

At the end of the day it all comes down to within an inch.

Hope it helps mate.
:)
User avatar
trevort
Spud Gun
Posts: 12710
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2006 9:21 pm
Favourite Cartridge: Tater
Location: Melbourne

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by trevort »

Missed and Alex dont realise your talking about a particular competition. They think your talking about a hunting rifle.
As far as competition advice goes, do what Jimbo tells you!
User avatar
V|PeR
.22 WMR
Posts: 124
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 11:04 pm
Favourite Cartridge: .22
Location: Perth WA

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by V|PeR »

cheers guys

plenty more food for thought there
jacksaligari
.223 Remington
Posts: 448
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:24 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 6br
Location: Central victoria

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by jacksaligari »

does anyone out there know were there is a 6x45 reamer i can lend borrow buy,and a set off dies as im pretty keen to give one off these a go as i have a6mm barrel with only 500 rounds threw it.thanks ,jack
User avatar
stinkitup
.338 Lapua Magnum
Posts: 3217
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:46 am
Favourite Cartridge: 6.5x55
Location: Lower Hunter Valley

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by stinkitup »

Could prob get from the states, dollar is up too, check out dave manson or Pacific Tool and Gauge.
morerams
New Member
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:09 pm
Favourite Cartridge: 308
Location: Brisbane

Re: centrefire field rifle?

Post by morerams »

A small 6mm is my pick too, I built a 6mm BR for the job, after using 223 & 6mm PPC, way better than any 224 cal, seems to feed better in more guns than the PPC's, bullet holes are clearly easier to see at 200m and they buck the wind way better too as I rarely have to hold outside of the 10 ring at 200.
I also have a 6x45 which is a great case for the job and feeds better than the BR, but lack of magazine length is an issue in many 223's if you want to change to 6x45. 55 gn bullets are ok but 70gn bullets are better but you have to seat them fairly deep in the case.
Post Reply