Inexpensive .223 for Practice?

[kad11]

If you don’t buy this rifle I will if you’re ok with sharing where you found it.

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[kad11]

Have you shot both?


Yes, the Americans can shoot decent groups. Yes, they are cheap. Yes, you can kill deer with them.


The RAR stock is quite possibly the flimsiest, POS stock on the market. Yep, you can kill a deer with it. It also flexes and contacts the barrel almost regardless of what you do to it. Leave it as stock, almost guaranteed to have contact causing “flyers”. Hog it out to free-float, and you just reduced rigidity even more, and it flexes even more. Take more out to stop it touching, even more flex.
You can add arrows, bedding compound, etc to the forend to stiffen it, but you just added weight, and the stock is so flimsy you just transferred the pressure back to the action area. Now it flexes under the action, again causing POI shifts. There’s no legitimate fix for the factory stock.


Magazines- if you go standard RAR magazine, it’s at least flush, but has COAL limitations, and it’s not uncommon to have feeding issues. Additionally I have seen multiple crack from being dropped. If you go AR mag, COAL limitations again, and now it’s not flush fit.

There’s nothing horrible about scope mounts for the RAR, however integral is always going to be stronger, more durable, and simpler.



Ok, so replace the stock with a Boyd’s. Now the $275 rifle is a $475 rifle, with compromised mags. Or go Magpul hunter, but AI mags are not flush, the forend is flimsy as well, and you just added weight..... and that $275 rifle is now $575.


The trigger is certianly better than a R700, but it isn’t a prize either, and the reliability and weather resistance isn’t near a T3 trigger. Each of the guys that tried to stick with the RAR “cause it’s cheap”, replaced the trigger. That $275 rifle is now $725 with a sub par action, barrel, trigger, and stock.


The RAR is like a savage with a bit better action feel. They are money pits if you care at all about consistent performance. Take them off the bench, shoot from field positions at awkward angles with time constraints, on realistic sized targets, and count hits and misses.... NO ONE stays happy with a RAR. They simply do not maintain static point of impact. And as a practice rifle, absolute knowledge of where that bullet is going is paramount.


If a dude wants the cheapest rifle made to throw in the cab of his tractor to shoot running pigs at 50 yards, sweet. Tape the barrel to the stock to at least help with that, and don’t expect anything more from it.

I'll hold out for the Tikka. Thanks for the details on the RAR.