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Need a bit of hand-holding for my incoming Tikka Varmint .223
Man.. where to start? First I will say that this will be my first rifle and I am very excited to be part of the Tikka family as I have read nothing but raving reviews about their products. I choose .223 because this will be a paper puncher and I should be able to put a good few rounds through it without breaking the bank. That being said, the majority of my shooting will likely be in the 200yd range due to availability HOWEVER I don't want to limit myself to that with a purchase. Given the budget, if I can hit out to 600+ I would love to have that option available.
Scope: Budget for the scope is around $500. I have been looking pretty hard at Vortex and Leupold, but Weaver seems to have great reviews also and the Zeiss Conquest line looks nice though it may be slightly out of reach.
Rail: Going to throw a Picatinny rail on, but I am not sure if I will need a 20 MOA rail or a 0 MOA. Will that entirely depend on the scope or will the longer distances push me directly into a 20 MOA?
Sorry for letting my ignorance hang out – I have been reading and learned an enormous amount of information about rifles that I didn't know before, but starting to get to the paralysis by analysis point of things just … not working. Hopefully you guys can help out with your knowledge and experience! The biggest part is done now (choosing the rifle) and what a relief that is… now to get this puppy in and get to plinking!
On a side note, are there any small things I might need to pick up? Looking around, looks like a Wheeler FAT Wrench would be a good investment… anything else I should add to the list?
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8 Replies
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Hi great rifle I have a .223 St/st varmint, I don't know if you can get Hawk scopes where you are but there a good scope for your budget
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I've been thinking about buying one of these myself. I've got a 22-250 varmint model that I really like.
A $500 scope is tough. You might take a look at the Burris MTAC with the gen 2 mil-dot reticle. I've got one of those on an AR that seems to work nicely.
Do you have a bipod to prop the front end? Those are nice to have.
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Hi great rifle I have a .223 St/st varmint, I don't know if you can get Hawk scopes where you are but there a good scope for your budget
Will do some research, thanks!
I've been thinking about buying one of these myself. I've got a 22-250 varmint model that I really like.
A $500 scope is tough. You might take a look at the Burris MTAC with the gen 2 mil-dot reticle. I've got one of those on an AR that seems to work nicely.
Do you have a bipod to prop the front end? Those are nice to have.
I don't have one picked out yet, not sure how that slipped my mind. Will do some research, any suggestions?
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Bit of an update, have narrowed down the scope choice to either the SWFA SS 3-9x42mm FFP mil/mil or the Burris Veracity 2-10x42mm FFP MOA/MOA. Both seem to have nice quality, good turrets, and decent glass (good given the price). I think I am leaning towards the SS.
Read that 20MOA rails are more for the 800+ range, so I don't think I will be needing one of those. Both tubes are 30mm with plenty of play, so I think I should be fine.
Looking at either TMS or Shooter's Ridge for a bipod (Harris clones). Cost ~40-50 and allow me to spend a bit more on the glass. Wish I could ensure I would always be able to use a bench/rest, but I don't think that will really be the case so perhaps dropping the coin on those in the future, but for now the utility of the bipod wins out.
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I just put together a 223 ai T3 super light & picked the SWFA fixed 6x for it. With a total of 44.2 mils of erector travel, I should be able to dial out past 1k easily. I've taken it out to 430 fire forming cases & been happy with the setup. I will shoot some long shots with it, but it's primarily going to be a hunting rifle, and most shots will likely be way inside 200- so 6x works for me.
I'm saying all this to give you some context. I wouldn't skimp on bipods- it's Harris or bust for me (9-13 swivel with notches). I've never regretted going with simple, reliable glass & putting money into high quality components for the rest of the build. And for $300, you'll have a hard time finding a more reliable scope than the SWFA fixed powers. You can always bounce the scope onto another project later & upgrade the scope for this rifle, but you're likely to regret not going with Harris now.
Just my 2 cents…
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I'm saying all this to give you some context. I wouldn't skimp on bipods- it's Harris or bust for me (9-13 swivel with notches). I've never regretted going with simple, reliable glass & putting money into high quality components for the rest of the build. And for $300, you'll have a hard time finding a more reliable scope than the SWFA fixed powers. You can always bounce the scope onto another project later & upgrade the scope for this rifle, but you're likely to regret not going with Harris now.
Just my 2 cents…
Thanks for the advice! Could you elaborate on what makes them a cut above the rest? I see a lot of people say Harris is the end-all and also a lot of people saying *some* of the clones are quite nice, just don't find much on the WHY.
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Simply put- I've broken almost every one of the others I've tried, & haven't broken any of the four or five sets of Harris pods that I own. Jason is the only dude I've known to break a set of Harris bipods- and I'm not sure how he managed that…
On a side note- the last set of caldwells I bought did hold up pretty well- they liked to loosen themselves up fairly often, but didn't break. I ended up giving them away after about two years.
For a while I wanted to try atlas, but after watching a guy curse his on a muddy field course, I gave up on them. I'd love to get my mitts on the new Elite Iron setup, but they're pricey & I keep spending money on T3's! -
vortex viper. plain one. less $ than higher end viper hs,pst etc. buy used here,broker,various other sites. have had no bum deals on buying used optics.
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