Savage Bolt Center Fires .223 vs .308 Calibers

In another post FROGGY made the following comment about upgrading a .308 :

Decent glass good rest and bag and maybe a 223 to start,but I saw you are military so a 308 may be already in your favor so just shoot it,reload for it,find the load it likes and load,load,load then shoot,shoot,shoot.

In addition to by MKII BSEV .22LR target rifle I have a .44 magnum lever and .30-30 lever. I want to go up to a good longer range bolt action target rifle and considering the .223 and .308 calibers. I really like the 12 BTCSS (.223 only) and the 12 BVSS (available in .223 or .308).

Currently limited to 250 meters in outdoor range and 100 meters indoors. Strictly target shooting - I am not a hunter. I know .223 is easier to shoot but short of buying another gun later in the other caliber what is the best way to go if this was going to be the LAST GUN EVER BOUGHT . . . . . Pros and cons on the best caliber.

For what you want to do......I'd pick/suggest the 223....

Much more fun to shoot....much cheaper to shoot....

With the 9 twist tube you have an endless bullet selection....

Buy a decent scope and mounts....learn the rifle well....

Later on....build a barrel in an interesting caliber...like..

the 6BR...6XC.......260.......

;D

For what you want I would say the 12bvss hands down. Cheaper to shoot either reloading or factory,capable of very very small groups right out of the box.
I put one together from parts bought from a vendor here,trigger is right at 2lbs., barrel is 26" it has after market recoil lug and is in a out of production Savage laminate stock.With a Mueller 8.5=25 scope @100 yards it maintains about .3-.4 every time out.
Look in the vendors section I believe Northland had one complete rifle for a very reasonable price.

12bvss in .223!

For short yardage the 223 will be perfect, wont beat you up with recoil, and is the bvss stock has a more squared off forearm and will ride the bags better than the thumbhole version.

Later if you want out of the 223 just order a barrel from Northlander or find one here in the classifieds, and do a barrel swap on your action and youre done.

Dont worry about it being "the last gun ever bought", cause once youre hooked you'll be looking for more...trust me on that one!..LOL

You'll also need to change the bolt head from 223 to 308 besides a barrel change.

I went through this same process just a few months ago. I initially planned on getting a .308 but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of a .223. I wasn't buying a hunting rifle either. I already have a hunting rifle. I wanted a target / varmint rifle that would get out to 1000 yards eventually if I could find a place to shoot that far. That's stretching it for a .223 but with the right ammo it can do it. Plus shooting a .308 enough to become accurate enough to shoot 1000 yards was just going to be too hard on my neck (herniated disc). So I went with the .223. I have a .30-06 for shooting Bambi and it's good for Minute Of Deer to 300 yards. It's not as accurate as the 12 LRPV I ended up with but it will do. It's rare to find anywhere to even shoot 300 yards where I live. Most shots would be 100 yards or less.

There really just isn't a lot of reason to go to a .308 for distance shooting. Yes they are considered more accurate by many people but the .223 is getting better all the time. I can shoot a group under 5" at 400 yards with my .223 so I'm not complaining especially considering I'm pretty new to long / medium shooting.

I really like the thumbhole stock in the BTCSS but the idea of being able to have another barrel for the BVSS is interesting. If you have the two barrels - .223 and .308 - and the two bolt heads can these be swapped back and forth with a little work?

very little work IMO ;)

You'll probably end up with both :) Both have their merits.

If you decide on .223 I'd suggest a fast barrel like a 1:7 then get some 80's and have fun. We regularly shoot from 300-900 meters with .223's using 80's. They even do fairly well past 900 but consistency falls off to the .308 out there, I guess if you really want to hit things that far at least .223 is half as much as .308 to load so you can shoot more. Another advantage is you can easily call your own shots with a .223 which comes in handy when shooting alone

The .308 is fun and it's got a bit of a power advantage (tongue firmly in cheek) on the .223. But unless you really need to teach the paper who's boss you'll have to pay in terms of recoil with the big heavies, making calling far shots a little tougher when you're alone. Shooting 110 v-max's it is really consistent out to 500-600 Meters and really blows stuff up at closer ranges (but then again so does Ammonium Nitrate and dark aluminum powder, so I hear :) ) For really long shots on steel I prefer the .308 simply because the gongs dance more making it easier to determine an actual hit. It really surprises me how much a bullet smacking into a rock wall sounds an awful lot like a gong hit. I also find it easier to reload .308 because I have huge hands and the components are easier to handle.

We just put together a rig for the kid that works for me. It's my old 10FP in .308, converted to .223 with a Lothar barrel and a new bolt (about $400 for everything) and he has all of the .308 stuff with a wrench and a set of head-space gauges to convert it back in a few minutes. Kid loves it. We've gone out and shot .223 for the morning and switched to the .308 for the afternoon. All under the watchful eye of his cynical "everything sucks that's not a remington" roommate who grew increasingly less outspoken as the day progressed.

Neither would be a bad choice but I think the best is both :)
BTW Cabelas Has a great deal on 110 BA's in 338LM ....... Last rifle ...Please :D

You can have 2 or more barrels for either model, you just need different bolt heads for the different calibers.