Left handed Varmint recommendations

[Blobby159]

I too am left handed.

Was looking at the CZ 223 American - nice little rifle. Tikka's are good, but action is a long action. Sadly Sako don't do the small sized action in a 222 or 223.

But ended up with a new in box, but that had been sitting for a while Remington 700 Varmint SPS left hand rifle for a steal. It has a thick heavy barrel, the newer xMark Pro Trigger, and a tupperware type stock. It shot very well straight out of the box with cheap factory ammo - haven't measured group sizes, but pretty much all rounds touching each other. Have a load with PPU case, 50gr bullet and a full cup from a lee loader - and works really well. Haven't shot any live targets yet, but its great on the gongs.

It has a cheapish matt finish, and the bolt body was also covered in this. When I got bolt was kind of gritty in feel, and brass was coming out scratched. An evening with some 600 and 1200 wet and dry, plus some polishing compound just polishing the burrs off the feed rails and then polishing the bolt race and the bolt itself it now feeds really smoothly.

I will restock it at some point, but doubt it will shoot any better.

Trigger is now adjusted and pretty good and on a par with the Timney that is in my 22rf Brno.

Your story is pretty much mine with a Remy700 in .223 and model designation HBVS (heavy barrel, varmint synthetic) and it shoots a dream with classic light weight, frangible bullets like the 53gr Hornady V-Max that I use for foxing. I adjusted the trigger down to just below the 2lb mark and like you, spent some time gently polishing the bolt shaft and edges of the bolt runways in the (internal) magazine area and now the bolt rides smoothly and the brass doesn't get slight longitudinal marks any more on its journey from the magazine into the chamber.

That rifle, boxed and brand new cost me a paltry £475 when I bought it from a Gunshop something like 20 or so years back. It is STILL doing me good service with the foxing side of things and then it also doubles down as a pretty useable range rifle out to 600yds anyway, with 64gr Berger flat based Target/Varmint bullets!!!...

That rifle, though a tad rough and even a little crude at the edges when initially taken from its box was a BARGAIN, and has been one of my BEST BUYS in retrospect ... It does EVERYTHING I ask of it without fuss and the foxes and the occasional long range bunny during Springtime just keep dropping whenever I touch off a round! I couldn't get a lefthand version those days, so adapted my handling to suit though still shouldering left-wise...

If you CAN now buy similar but in FULL Lefthand guise, and you want an accurate shooting, no fuss foxing rifle that can double up as an informal range rifle out to 600 yds or so you I would advise that you will have to go a long way to beat a Remy 700 Heavy Barreled rifle in .223cal ... My viewpoint based on a couple of decades of personal shooting experience.

ATB ....... and shoot safely

 

[Heym SR20]

Your story is pretty much mine with a Remy700 in .223 and model designation HBVS (heavy barrel, varmint synthetic) and it shoots a dream with classic light weight, frangible bullets like the 53gr Hornady V-Max that I use for foxing. I adjusted the trigger down to just below the 2lb mark and like you, spent some time gently polishing the bolt shaft and edges of the bolt runways in the (internal) magazine area and now the bolt rides smoothly and the brass doesn't get slight longitudinal marks any more on its journey from the magazine into the chamber.

That rifle, boxed and brand new cost me a paltry £475 when I bought it from a Gunshop something like 20 or so years back. It is STILL doing me good service with the foxing side of things and then it also doubles down as a pretty useable range rifle out to 600yds anyway, with 64gr Berger flat based Target/Varmint bullets!!!...

That rifle, though a tad rough and even a little crude at the edges when initially taken from its box was a BARGAIN, and has been one of my BEST BUYS in retrospect ... It does EVERYTHING I ask of it without fuss and the foxes and the occasional long range bunny during Springtime just keep dropping whenever I touch off a round! I couldn't get a lefthand version those days, so adapted my handling to suit though still shouldering left-wise...

If you CAN now buy similar but in FULL Lefthand guise, and you want an accurate shooting, no fuss foxing rifle that can double up as an informal range rifle out to 600 yds or so you I would advise that you will have to go a long way to beat a Remy 700 Heavy Barreled rifle in .223cal ... My viewpoint based on a couple of decades of personal shooting experience.

ATB ....... and shoot safely

what scope do you use on yours. Mine has a 6x42, but think i want something more like a 10x42.

 

[Blobby159]

what scope do you use on yours. Mine has a 6x42, but think i want something more like a 10x42.

Went a bit nutz whilst I had a few pounds in my pocket 'Heym SR20' and bought a good second hand Bushnell Elite 6500 4.5x30x50mm with a simple double X reticule (my personal favourite as I cannot get along with the complex ones in various high end units). I am perfectly capable of holding off into a side wind and/or adding a bit of holdover for anything I wish to engage that is passed my chosen zero range, and have done this all my shooting life. Complex, ranging reticules are lost on me mate!.. Ha! Overkill on a foxing rifle I know, especially as when lamping it stays around the 8x to 12x magnification, certainly no higher than that, but I also use her (the scope and really accurate combo of my 53gr V-Max loading in my terrific .223 Remy700) for some sunny afternoon/evening fox and rabbit whacking at extended ranges, and there that high-end magnification is a pleasure to use and gets me to targets I would otherwise have had doubts about or not even seen perhaps?...

Got the self same Bushnell Elite 'scope on my current range rifle in 6.5x55Swede and it serves me very well there too, though cranked up to more in the 25x range of magnification. If I can see the target I can usually hit it, and on MOD ranges, like Bisley for instance, the range is never in question anyway is it?.. Just the wind to deal with... No problems there then eh??? Hahahahahahaaaaa!!

ATB ....... and shoot safely.

 

[Mr. Gain]

Was told CZ527 doesn't come in LH option by importer.

I'm sorry to hear that.
It's still listed on their web site: CZ 527 American LH