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  1. #1
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    Default Rail for Howa SA 223: To 20MOA or not?

    Essentially, as the title asks... at some point, I keep on believing someone will lift his ass at CFR and approve this license, and when that happens I want to have all the stuff ready to get the gun shooting.

    The PURPOSE of the gun is primarily a less-expensive-to-shoot-than-308 range toy, with the option to see how far I can reach and ring some steel (within the constraints of the caliber).

    Eventual plan is to put something along the lines of a Diamondback Tactical FFP on it (for this rifle I believe the 6-24x50 is ideal) but for now I have a Nikon 4-12 with Warne mounts available, which I'll use to get the gun shooting.

    I want to put a 1-piece rail on, and I like the Warne MountainTech range. The straight and 20MOA versions cost the same, so perhaps my question should rather be: what do I lose by opting for the 20MOA version rather than the straight one?

    The Nikon has 60MOA total internal adjustment (30 to a side) and the Vortex has 65MOA total, so one could perhaps say there's a small chance of running out of adjustment to get the rifle zeroed? Practically, I prefer a 200m zero distance (~5MOA absolute drop), so I don't think the risk is too big of running out of adjustment.

    What am I perhaps not thinking of?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Rail for Howa SA 223: To 20MOA or not?

    I would go 20 MOA rail.

    None of my Howas allow the half of available elevation with standard mounts. My (1 in 12) 223 Howa is a nice challenge to shoot out to 500m as far as wind calls go, but I can dial out to +-700m. Means that most of my shooting(200-500m) is done with the scope relatively close to its optical centre.

    Among +- 20 Howas owned by myself and shooting buddies I haven't hears of any where they could zero at 100m because of a 20MOA rail. Tha Warne rails are great, other local option is from Gunwarrior.

    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Rail for Howa SA 223: To 20MOA or not?

    The limiting factor here will be the barrel twist rate if it is anything slower than 1 in 8”. If you have a barrel that can stabilize the 70+gr bullets, you’ll have increased capability.

    I have been down this road with a 1 in 12” barrel shooting 53gr V-max bullets. At a 100m it would group under a half inch with ease. Things got wonky past 400m though.

    My advice; if you have a stock with an adjustable cheekpiece, get the 20moa rail, if not and you plan on keeping the original stock, stick with the standard rail until you run out of knob and would like to go a little further.

    The appeal of shooting greater distances with my .223 dissipated quickly once I got a .260R.

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Rail for Howa SA 223: To 20MOA or not?

    Twist is 1:9, and it should stabilise up to 70gr bullets (my plan is 69gr Scenars at ~2900fps). Out to 400m this load has the same (vertical) trajectory as my 308's 155gr Scenars at 2800fps, which I use for gongs. I don't foresee getting into serious long-range shooting but I do see this as "inexpensive" (per shot, lets forget about capex ) practise. I have 2x 308s (so don't need hunting rifle backup) so the 223 fills the gap nicely between them and my 22LR. If I buy another rifle after this one it'll be a larger bore (probably a 9.3x62) so I don't see one of the fancy 6 or 6.5's in my future.

    One day the 223 will go into a new stock (but that's the LAST planned thing) for now I'm going to work around a stiffened standard stock. I'll add a cheek riser to this stock if I find it necessary (which I probably will), it doesn't need to be fancy, just functional.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Rail for Howa SA 223: To 20MOA or not?

    With a Zero MOA rail, you will only ever be able to use about 45% of the scope's elevation adjustment range. Good enough if you are limited to 300m or so.

    With a 20MOA rail, you will still stay inside the elevation adjustment range from as close as you want to where the elevation dial runs out of travel. No negatives, just more range. You will also be working closer to the center of the range for most shots, meaning you look more through the center of the lenses and not the peripheral areas. This gives better optical clarity, especially on more affordable scopes.

    With the better 69 and 70 gn match bullets, you can extend the range of a 223 significantly, so enabling your scope to dial these longer ranges makes perfect sense.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Rail for Howa SA 223: To 20MOA or not?

    I did not even think about the optical clarity aspect. Makes sense.

    My kneejerk has always been to get the 20MOA rail, but today I suddenly wondered if it's just a much of muchness. I'm convinced now there aren't really any negatives, compared to the straight rail.

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