222/223 calibre riffles

[trooper]

who makes centrefire models

[Devilishdave]

Buy a gun mag like Gun mart and you will get loads of good ideas.

Remington 700 is going at £430-470 at the moment with the synthetic stock. Steyr Manlicher are doing a nice rifle ready screw cut for £600 depends how much you want to spend realy!

 

Dave

[trooper]

i'm looking for a 222/223 calibre centrefire rifle and information on brands.

 

also the pros and cons of a centrefire rifle in small calibre compared to a rimfire.

[Frank]

I have just got a CZ 527 .223 centerfire rifle. I find it excellent for fox control.

Rimfire rifles, which include .22lr, .22 magnum, .17 HMR ect, dont really have the energy for serious fox control.

Anything from a .22 Hornet up in centerfire will do a humane job on a fox.

Rimfires are usually used for rabbits and winged vermin on the ground with a good back stop.

It all depends what you are going to use the rifle for?

Maximum killing range for foxes with a .222 on fox size vermin is 250yds, with the .223 being 300yds max.

But when im usually lamping, i will not go beyond 200yds at night.

For rimfires, i would not go beyond a 100 and only 80yds max for the .22lr.

Their are many makes of .223, more than their is of .222.

The .222 is slowly getting phased out by the .223, this is a shame as the .222 is accurate. The .223 is accurate too, with the advantage of having cheap ammo for it, buckets of it usually, escpacially if you reload.

The .223 starts at the cheap end from CZ 527 models, Howa,(i think iv spelt that right :*) ) to the big names, like Sako, Manlincar, Saur, Blazer ect. Tikka make an excellent model in their new T3. Tikka are manufactured under Sako, but are cheaper to by. Most people prefer the old Tikkas, the 595 models.

It all depends how much you have to spend. If you budget is tight, you cant beat a CZ 527. Great value for money in IMO.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Frank

[trooper]

i am looking to spend about $800 canadian. I live in British Columbia, Canada

 

it will be used for grouse, snowshoe hares. and maybe coyotes???

 

I'm new in the field of hunting and haven't been hunting for about 10 years so i want to gain confidence in small game shooting first.

[Devilishdave]

Dont think there will be much left of a grouse if you drill it with a .223

 

Dave

[deadeye ive]

i am looking to spend about $800 canadian. I live in British Columbia, Canada

 

it will be used for grouse, snowshoe hares. and maybe coyotes???

 

I'm new in the field of hunting and haven't been hunting for about 10 years so i want to gain confidence in small game shooting first.

Thats around £400 in our money

 

Over here as said previous the CZ 527 ,as for myself its a Tikka M595(£500-£600) in .223

 

As for your quarry if its 80% Hares and 20% Coyote why not consider a 17 hmr if your intending to eat the hares or even the .22 hornet.

 

 

 

I would had thought grouse is taken in flight using a shot gun but thats over here

 

 

Ive

[Frank]

I agree.

I think a .22 Hornet would suit your needs well.

A CZ 527 .22 Hornet should not be too costly.

You could use winchester 45 grain Soft Points for the yotes and Hornady 35 grain v.max for the grouse and hares in factory ammo. I would think, using a 12b shoutgun would be better for the grouse though.

You can also if you get into reloading, make up a deadly accurate load for the particular quary your going after.

If you are mainly going for yotes though, a .223 would be the better choice.

Edited September 27, 2005 by Frank

[dunganick]

my short list would be

 

Sako 75 hunter

 

Sako of older model 2nd hand

 

howa varmint or stadard

 

tikka t3

 

tikka older models

 

brno 527

 

old model brno's

 

other guns are good, but the above list i have handeled (expect the howa) and are exceptional guns, the howa is cheap and a rem 700 action copy with bits of sako and model 70 incorperated in, it is also japanise i believe and a very highly rated gun.