[Wilson Dew]

I am sure many of you have been wondering where to find a Remington CDL left handed .223 since it has been shown on the 2005 Remington web site. I got tired of calling around to all the distributers with no one having any in stock so I wrote direct to Remington and the answer is posted below:

"Thank you for visiting Remington Country! We certainly appreciate you taking the time to write in with your question. The CDL in 223 in Left Hand will go into production mid-third quarter (July, Aug. Sept.) and will be available at the very end of the third quarter or the beginning of the fourth quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec)."

All well,
W.

 

[Wilson Dew]

.223

As a follow up I called a buddy who is a gunsmith for GANDER MOUNTAIN and ask if they had any info on the new CDL Left Handed .223. He got on the computer and said that there were 11 on order. I guess that is for the whole Gander Mountain system but I don't know. All I know is I want one and have been waiting for Remington to put out the .222/223 bolt face left handed sporters since the 700 came out circa 1962.

W

 

[Wilson Dew]

Here at last...

My gunshop called and said the .223 CDL Left Hand is here at last.
Of course he messed up and called my home phone instead of my cell phone as I asked him to do. So my dear wife took the call and now knows what I'm up to. He is going to have to cut his price by al least an extra $20.00 for his mess up.

I'll report back in a couple of days as to fit and finsh etc.

W

 

[Wilson Dew]

.223 Report Left handed CDL

First factory and handloads were not good at all. The gun looked well finished but would not shoot. I had a friend glass it and float the barrel. Then I had a little better luck but not much better. I thought the new Nikon 5.5 to 16.5 Monarch might be the problem so I took it off and put on an old Leupold 3x9. I also tried some IMR 3031 with the 50 grain Hornady SX and BINGO! Three shots touching at 100 yards. Several times. It appears 3031 is the powder of choice. I've just put the Nikon back on and will find out if the scope was the problem or if I just hadn't hit the right load combo. It looks like this is going to be one sweet shooting gun.

Later,
W

 

[Wilson Dew]

Update on .223

Well I'v had enough time at the range over the last few days to tell you the LH CDL is one FINE shooting gun. The 5.5 -16.5 Nikon was not the problem. Finding the right seating depth and powder was the hold up. With a clean cold barrel the first two shots will touch at 100 yards. The third may move about .5 inch away but the group of three will fit well under a quarter which is close to an inch. The best load so far is the Hornandy 50 grain SX with IMR 3031 at the max book loading of 25 grains. Winchester primers and brass.The best of all is the first two shots will be where they need to be and not way off to the side of the target. In other words, I know where the first and second shots will be on the target.
I had to give $649.00 out the door for the rifle with tax included. I know that price could be beaten if you can get one for wholesale.
The CDL stock is a beauty although there is no figure in the wood. Gun sits on the bags well and has just turned out to be a real delight. I'm glad that the quality of Remington seems to be on the way back... at least this gun appears to built as it should be.

 

[Wilson Dew]

.223 CDL again

This gun still continues to amaze me. I'v been using 26 of W748 which is the max load in the Winchester loading book. With CCI 450 mag small rifle primers I am getting groups of 7 to 10 shots at one hundred yards that can be covered with a dime. The odd thing is that instead of the groups becoming more open as the barrel heats up they seem to stay the same. Very unusual for me to have a rifle that won't loose its ability to keep small groups as the barrel gets hot. One thing though is a 40 grain Nosler BT will not group better than about 1.5 inches with the several powders I've used. It seems the best bullet so far is still the Hornady 50 SX and that is OK by me because they are not as pricey as the plastic tip offerings from Sierra, Hornandy and Nosler.