Which rifle?

[Ireland's Finest!]

I'v been shooting for nearly a year now and I currently have a u/o 12g by browning, However I am thinking of investing in a rifle but i dont quite know which calibre of one to buy, I want one that takes down foxes easily but not too much power as I would be shooting rabbits with it aswell. It will be my first rifle so I dont want any big names or prices, any reccomendations would be great thanks

[Vipa]

I'v been shooting for nearly a year now and I currently have a u/o 12g by browning, However I am thinking of investing in a rifle but i dont quite know which calibre of one to buy, I want one that takes down foxes easily but not too much power as I would be shooting rabbits with it aswell. It will be my first rifle so I dont want any big names or prices, any reccomendations would be great thanks

 

I would say .223 for fox and will do bunnies albeit a little overkill (may not be too good if you want to keep the meat intact) or consider a .17HMR, whilst perfect for rabbit, it will take fox but may be a little light without perfect shot placement.

[vampire]

.22 hornet would do what your asking

[Farmers saint]

The 204 is worth a look mate, great for long range rabbits and will sort a charlie out

[kyska]

The 204 is worth a look mate, great for long range rabbits and will sort a charlie out

 

.204 looks the way forward, you'll not be dissapointed or what you need, they more than sort out charlie....

[sapper063]

22lr is ok for foxes up to 60yds no problem

[njc110381]

I'd say anything bigger than a .22 Hornet will be a bit much for bunnies really. A Hornet is good if you want to reload but not so much so if you don't. A .22lr or .17HMR will be ok for Fox if you get really close to them. I recon about 60 yards is a safe bet for either of them.

 

There's also the option of a .22WMR. Not so common these days but I recon it would suit your needs pretty well by the sound of things and will give you a little more range on the Foxes.

 

I guess an important question would be do you want to keep/eat the bunnies you shoot? If so anything other than .22lr will really require head shots to save the meat. If on the other hand you don't want the meat then that makes things much easier and you can pretty much shoot them with whatever your force will allow you to have! As a tool mainly for Fox but also something you could splat bunnies with a .22 Hornet, .204 or .222/.223 would be a great choice.

[Dekers]

If fox is a serious contender then .22WMR and/or Hornet! If you reload then the Hornet is a good bet but perhaps bigger CF could be considered as well.

 

For a SINGLE rifle then you need to consider the above.

 

 

[Tom Robinson]

go for a cz 17hmr

best value for money, and the ammo isnt to expensve

the 17hmr is very capable of taking out foxes and is perfect for rabbits

[RichPWRR]

IF,

 

I was in exactly the same situation a few months ago and decided to go for a CZ452 in .22LR with a mod. I can already hear everyone else saying what a c**p decision but as yet i have not regretted it (the seven charlies and countless rabbits back this up) and let me explain why. Like you, this was my first rifle and so i was not too keen on the idea of spending a huge amount. Therefore, a few things needed to be considered. Cost of the rifle, noise (for the bunnies) stopping power and cost of ammo.

 

Cost of Rifle - i went for a new CZ452 which was not expensive but you get a lot of rifle for the money. Everyone i know that has a CZ loves it. There are also loads of v. good s/h rifles on the market too (mainly because people are trying out .17 but this is more because it is a new toy as much as anything).

 

Noise - I can guarantee you will be getting more bunnies than charlies. If this is the case you want a nice quiet round so you can pot as many as possible. The .22 sub-sonic HP will make hardly any noise (when using a mod). This means you can shoot away until you run out of bunnies. the .17 and everything else makes much more noise, even with a mod, becuase the rounds are super sonic and break the have a ballistic crack.

 

stopping power - The .22 with sub HP rounds is perfect for bunnies, and good on charlies out to 60m. anything more makes a hell of a mess of bunnies. If the charlies are a bit further, I have a spare mag with CCI Stingers (Hyper velocity ammo) which gives more punch. The extra noise on this does not matter if you are only going for a charlie. Therefore you can have the best of both worlds where as you cant down power and quieten a .17 or more.

 

Cost of ammo - .22 ammo is so much cheaper than anything else (even the more expensive hyper velocity rounds are much cheaper than the nearest ammo (.17HMR). This means a number of things - because this is your first rifle you will be wanting to spend a lot of time putting rounds down range to get comfortable with your rifle and to gain more confidence before shooting live quarry. This also means you can spend a bit more on kit as well seing as you are just starting.

 

I am sure most people will say this is rubbish but it is certainly what i have found and i was in exactly the same situation as you. The other bonus is that it is generally easier to get .22 on your FAC.

 

Hope this helps

 

Rich

[Redgum]

Really have to disagree with shooting foxes with .22lr with subsonic ammo, stingers may do the job better but fall on accuracy. If it really has to be one rifle and a rimfire then the .17hmr or .22 wmr will surfice but forget 200yd foxes that you may read about on here.

I was out with a chap and he decided to shoot a fox with his .22lr with subsonics while lamping, it was me that had to chase after it and finish it off.

A well placed shot with a .22lr with subs in ideal conditions will probably kill a deer stone dead but hunting in the field is not like that ( obviously this would be highly illegal and just used as an example)

With the wide arch of the trajectory of a .22lr with subs you really have to know your distances and bullet rise/drop to place a shot in the head or heart of a fox that is not stuffed, this is not a job for an inexperienced shot.

The flatter shooting hmr is not ideal but takes alot of the quessing out of making an accurate shot, especially at night.

[bullet boy]

That's a difficult one.If you buy a Centrefire it will be good for Fox but it will smash up Rabbits.The only calibre I'd suggest is a .17 HMR.-this will be ok for Fox at sub 100yards providing you hit vital kill zone and perfect for Rabbits hitting them in the head especially if you want to eat them!

[RichPWRR]

Really have to disagree with shooting foxes with .22lr with subsonic ammo

 

Redgum

 

I don't generally recommend shooting foxes with subsonic rounds (unless they are less than 60 yards in which case a HP to the head would be more than sufficient) - If you dont like Stingers, you can use velocitors which is a hyper velocity round that is not quite as quick a Stingers and does not suffer from the inaccuracy of the Stingers. I am managing to get less than a 1" group at 80 yards which is more than sufficient for a fox.

 

Rich

Edited June 14, 2010 by RichPWRR

[RichPWRR]

Essentially it comes down to a couple of questions:

 

1: Are you going to shoot enough foxes to warrant the over kill on the bunnies?

 

2: Are you going to be shooting enough foxes to warrant the massive hike in prices if you go for something more than the .22LR.

 

If the answer is no then you know what to go for. At the moment I get probably 200 bunnies for every fox.

50 rounds of .22 cost about £4 (about 8p a round). .17HMR cost about £20 - £30 so for example take it as £25 per 100 (about 25p a round). Therefore for those 200 bunnies you are paying an extra £34 roughly. Then take into account that this is your first rifle and you will undoubtedly be putting a lot of rounds through it innitially, the price difference for every 1000 rounds is between £120 and £220 depending on which ammo you buy.

 

If money is no issue then by all means go for a .17HMR but for me that money could be better spent.

 

Rich

[kyska]

Another major consideration will be whether the OP is 'allowed' by plod to shoot fox with anything other than a CF.