Can anyone tell me their experiences using the Mossberg MVP Varmint rifle in .223?

[chutestrate]

I'm looking at a friends rifle, and I'm seriously interested. I am reading some decent things on line about the rifle, but if there is a current owner out there willing to share first hand experiences I'd love to hear them.

[aubie515]

I'd get a Savage Axis II or Savage/Stevens 200 before a Mossberg MVP. I belong to the Mossberg forum and MVP owners will tell you that they are not precision guns. Every Savage/Stevens I ever owned was a hammer and you can upgrade them for better barrels. I believe you can upgrade the Mossberg as well, but if I had to choose, I'd go Savage ever time. Now, keep in mind I've owned a few Savages, so YMMV, but I'd trust a Savage for a low budget rifle over anything else in it's price range.

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

My experiences with an MVP Patrol in .223/5.56 were not encouraging. with 5.56 the rifle was a 3-4 MOA groups, with .223 the groups were better 2-3 MOA @ 100yds.

[Noah_Zark]

Accuracy in my MVP Patrol is generally under 2 MOA using the open sights using Federal XM193 FMJ; I don't have a scope on it. I can bust claybirds standing on edge on the 100 yd berm 10/10 all day, and maybe 8/10 at 200 yds. I've had it about a year and have busted three coyotes with it.

My complaint with the MVP Patrol was that USGI magazines were like a broomstick in a bathtub in the factory Mossberg magazine well, and the USGI mags would tilt down at the front and cartridges would not feed. I had to buy a new mag well from Tromix ($75) and that took care of it; cartridges now feed without issue from USGI mags.

I'm satisfied with the MVP Patrol now, but the USGI mag fit issue has been known for the 10 years that the MVP Patrol has been offered. Mossberg should have fixed the problem. But, it's like Ruger selling 10/22s with crappy trigger groups, and offering a $75 upgrade in the form of a BX trigger with a much better trigger pull. That's a crime, IMO.

Noah

[Yoder]

What kind of ammo were you using? Most bulk .223 is not awesome. I went from 3-4 MOA to under 1 just by switching to some Hornady V-max with one of my AR's.

[frankski]

What kind of ammo were you using? Most bulk .223 is not awesome. I went from 3-4 MOA to under 1 just by switching to some Hornady V-max with one of my AR's.

Good point. My RRA ARs and Tikka t3 shoot pretty much the same.

Federal bulk is the worst, about 2-3 inches at 100 yards.

Wolf Gold is good for 1 1/2 inches.

Reloads with cheap Xtreme .223 bullets is 1 to 1 1/2.

Hornady, Speer, Barnes, good bullets, hand loaded are 1/2 to 3/4”.

By the way, I’d highly recommend the Tikka if you’re looking at a .223 bolt gun. Magazine capacity is a negative, so buy extras.

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

@yoder I have it documented somewhere on the mossberg owners forums.. but best results I was getting were WWB .223 45gr. even then it was a 2 MOA rifle at best.

@Noah, We had several issues with it, Misfeeds, light primer strikes, Magazine randomly falling free.
Magazine issues were resolved by the Tromix magwell and replacing the factory spring with a slightly stronger one to prevent the mag from working free due to recoil (what little there is).
If you have a rifle that consistently is sub 2 MOA I think you lucked out.

My only other experience with another MVP series rifle is a Patriot in 6.5 and it is abysmal. 4-5 MOA with an optic. Last I heard its back at Mossberg again and has been there since Mid June 2020.

[csemle01]

I have the MVP Predator with the 18.5" threaded barrel in .223/5.56. I have a Vortex Diamondback tactical 4x16x44 on it. It has been fairly accurate with .55 grain ammo (1 MOA or less). I believe the newer ones have improved the mag well as I haven't really had any mag issues. I prefer 20 round GI and 10 or 20 round PMAGs for it. I look at it as a compliment to my Daniel Defense Carbine. Its not a high end precision rifle, but at the price point, I didn't expect it to be.

[ItchyTick]

I won one in a raffle and was not impressed with the accuracy. Got rid of it.