Looking for some insights on picking a bolt-action varmint rifle.

• Caliber:  .223 Remington


• Bolt action


• Threaded barrel, 20-26"


• Takes an external mag (no internal blind mags)


• Not picky about the stock, it'll probably get swapped to a Boyd's anyway


• 1:9 or 1:10 twist, will be shooting 55gr poly-tipped handloads


• Will be used for sage rats, prairie dogs, etc.


• Price:  hoping for $800 or less street price, but I'm willing to listen to advice.

I'm looking over the offerings from Tikka, Savage, Ruger, and beyond.  Wondering if anyone has a specific recommendation that fits the above criteria.

Your requirement rule out the most accurate rifle I’ve ever had the pleasure of shooting.

CZ 527, except 16.5” barrel.


https://cz-usa.com/product/cz-527-american-synthetic-suppressor-ready/

Or a CZ 527 Varmint sent off to have the barrel threaded.

I have a 527 Varmint I bought for my son, it is ridiculously accurate.

Which is?

@Metonymy I'll be watching to see if anything fits your specs.

I used to use Remington Sendero models that were decent and available in the past. It was a no brainer as my friends all lent me their homework and we all used the same designs and loads. But, as we are all aware, Remington has gone astray and may never recover.

Years went by and my old hunting friends have passed on. I started up prairie dogging again a few years back and I wanted factory rifles to cover a few seasons while I rebuilt old rigs with burned out bbls. Boy was I disappointed in the lack of models available for prairie dog use. It caused me to re-think my strategy.

I took a split a few years ago and went with 223 40 grain VMax out of WOA Varmint uppers for the majority of the shooting out to about 350 or so, and then I switch to the heavy bbl bolt guns with 1:7 twist and heavier bullets for the shots out at distance. I ended up here because when I went to find decent bolt guns, I was disappointed in the lack of available models fit for purpose. That was a few years back, so maybe folks will chime in with better ideas now.

My current plans are to have them built to order, but that isn't within your $800 budget unless you already have the action and takes a long time too. If you don't hear anything that fits the bill, I would start thinking about what action you like and slowly start planning to have the gun built the exact way you plan to use it. It isn't what you wanted, but you are part of the way there when planning to swap the stock, so having the action, trigger, and bbl done to specs isn't that much more philosophically, however, it will change your timeline and budget.

Let's see what the forum comes up with. If nothing fits your requirements, you can always slow down, save up, and have the gun built exactly as you want it.

Best I've found so far is:

Savage 110 Predator

Street price is mid $700
Mag-fed
Threaded 22" barrel with 1:9 twist
Savage trigger

Ticks all the correct boxes without going into the $1200+ custom built price-range.  I may have to give this one a try.  Still doing a bit more research as I'm not in a rush to buy, but this is a promising candidate.

I have two of these.

Savage 12 Varmint

I still use them, but to be honest I had to put a ton of debugging work into getting them to ignite various primers. I bought one of them lightly used and one brand new, and they came from different places and have spread serial numbers, but both had the same ignition problems.

I debugged them and solved the issues, but it left a bad taste in my mouth... I'm not sure I will keep them once the bbls are gone, or if I will risk having them re-barreled.

In several instances, guys at the club who bought similar centerfire Savage rifles, had receivers so crooked that the guns could not be boresighted without custom orthopedic mounts.

We have a 250 member cap, so that means the QC issues with Savage rifles are not rare. They can be capable of good performance when/if they work, but the sloppy QC is a real issue.

Another friend who had a similar wood stocked one in 204 Ruger made the mistake of sending one back to Savage when it had that same crooked issue. Here was where Savage turned the corner on me...

They agreed it was a reject and then they kept it and couldn't replace it with the same kind because they don't run them in 204 very often. They ended up sending him something in a chassis gun that he agreed to, but he regretted it. That left me really wondering about Savage. During their summer shut down for vacation and plant maintenance, they were bought out by members of the board of directors. Maybe this will help?

So, not to dissuade you from that model just because it is a Savage, but get your hands on one first and buy it from someone who will help you get it straightened out if there are problems.

My two heavy Savage 12s in 223 with 1:7 work okay now. Mine are not predator or walking rigs, they are for being benched near the truck and shooting sustained sessions from a swivel table. They use proprietary magazines that work okay. They have a decent trigger. I run SMK 77 and SMK 80s through them and they have been effective on prairie dogs to 600 yards, but are not as good as the old Sendero rigs from previous decades.

I'm still looking for a lighter bolt gun to walk with for coyotes in order to dedicate one rig to these crazy CA lead-free ammo restrictions. We are allowed to red-light at night, but the light cannot be attached to the gun. Just another crazy left wing anti-hunter law that makes me miserable...

I'll keep watching for heavy varminters and lighter predator rigs along with you, but I'm fairly sure I will have to use what I have ready for this year. I will probably burn both of those Savage bbls by the end of this season, so I am hoping to have a better plan for next year soon in case I decide to order bbls for rebuilds. It takes almost a full year to have the rigs back in my hands at the point where I order.

Mossberg MVP Varmint seems to have all your criteria except it is chambered in 556. Also the Ruger American Predator but with a 1/8 twist. Both guns have a good track record of shooting 55gr .223 very accurately.

I shoot polymer tip 55gr bullets from Nosler & Hornady and get sub 1/2MOA groups with 2 of my 1/8 twist barrels. I wouldn't shy away from a 1/8 twist for 55gr bullets.

I would reccomend a howa 1500 varmint. Most accurate factory rifle I have only thing I have changed is the stock. I get consistent 3/8in groops with 25.5gr of tac under a 53gr smk, 1/2in groops with  25gr varget under a hornady 52gr otm, 3/4 in groops with 25gr varget under a hornady 68gr otm.

Remmy 5R in 223
https://www.remington.com/rifles/bolt-action/model-700/model-700-stainless-5-r-threaded-barrel
Can be had both new and used within your price budget.  Only caveat...the stock.  Has the typical internal box mag.
Easy fix...take off the HS stock and sell it on ebay, and get yourself a magpul hunter 700 stock with floorplate that takes mags.
Thats what I did, except with a 308

Thompson center compass is a good rifle for the money I have one coming in 308.

My MVP loves 55 gr stuff stupid accurate.

Used Remington 788, but you'll have to thread the barrel yourself. You won't regret  it